6 fantastic benefits of learning a musical instrument

Hey bros,

I find music to be truly enriching. I believe that it contributes to so much I do, and it really shaped me over the years. My 8 years of guitar gave me a lot of confidence, especially when it comes to speaking and playing in front of people. I do still get nervous on concerts, but the feeling rarely stiffens me up now. You know, if you never touched an instrument, try it! I'm going to hit you with 6 reasons why you should do that.

1: playing an instrument makes you more creative

Interpretation of different pieces really adds your flavor to everything you play. It literally stimulates the creative side of your brain and helps you think outside the box. Being able to express your creativity through an instrument can be pretty fun too!

2: you often learn more than just music from your teacher

When learning an instrument, a teacher most likely will help you on your journey. Whilst music teachers might seem on edge all the time, your private teacher is patient and often shows you more than just how to play the instrument. Yes, of course you need to get a teacher who isn't too strict or boring, but if you find one of the golden mentors, then they also share life advice and general wisdom.

Mentors are important in life, and learning an instrument can provide such a relationship. I can guarantee that having a personal teacher is very different from being instructed in school. After 8 years of meeting my one teacher once a week, we do know a lot about each other, and get along very well.

3: you get the good kind of confidence

Being able to play an instrument is pretty cool. You shouldn't learn it solely to impress others, but such moments will happen in your life. It makes you more attractive, and by all that amount of social validation, it will give you more confidence and security in life. That's because instruments are also excellent for killing stress, and can help you make new friends.

If you dare to perform in small concerts, then that will also get easier and make almost anything else in life appear less scary. And finally, it's the good kind of confidence because even though being better than others in playing a certain instrument can make you arrogant, but then again, you know that your teacher is much better than you. This seemingly counterintuitive relationship makes you humble. I actually refer to this in my summary about the book ego is the enemy because that book teaches you, that it's good to be an eternal student / you can literally learn from anyone.

4: you get more productive + better time management

When growing up with learning instruments, you do have to practice to progress. I was very young when I started, and I didn't practice often or consistently, but the constant duty to practice actually boosts your discipline to implement the habit. I bet my time management wouldn't have developed so fast if it wasn't for the constant pressure to practice systematically.

5: playing an instrument improves your cognitive abilities

In other words, this means that you get more intelligent. It is scientifically proven that music improves your ability to learn, memorize and abstract reasoning. It's mostly because the way our brain processes music is similar to memorizing information. So if you ask yourself why stuff in school seems relatively easy to you, maybe it's because you play piano. :)

6: while it is truly enriching, it's damn fun!

Being able to jam along your favorite songs, play beautiful pieces and dip your toes into music theory and history can be very exciting and entertaining. It can give you a sense of accomplishment when you see how you progress and play things you could have only dreamt of a year ago. Making music opens up boundless opportunities to challenge your brain. Composing your pieces is also an interesting activity to try out.

Conclusion

Even if you're 60, it is never too late to start. Learning an instrument is a fun and personal experience which only holds benefits, so possibly consider making music instead of just listening to it. Don't expect gigantic results fast, though. Truly impressive performance takes hard work combined with consistency. I find it magical, when my fingers just move by themselves to play a piece that is deeply programmed into my brain, and I wish for others to experience that magic too!

Well, thanks for reading this far. If you already play an instrument, then just keep going! If not, consider trying out some instruments and meeting a nice teacher to embark on a journey with.