Why play a music instrument?

"Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without"

Confucius

Playing an instrument or singing is a great way to spend time and develop your skills into a regular hobby. It is fun for everyone including yourself and entertaining for friends and family. Engaging in music is not just that though, there is a plenty of benefits to your emotional and intellectual self which are discussed below.

It is scientifically proven that learning music stimulates brain development, particularly memory, cognitive skills and speech recognition. Due to the fact that a musician has to turn notes written on paper into hand movements, the motor skills are greatly improved.

Learning to play an instrument and learning theory and history of music gives you an opportunity to learn something new every day and widen your horizons. Furthermore, it has been argued that music makes it easier to learn a foreign language as it boosts your listening skills and develops a note reading skill. Interpreting patterns and sounds are the key practices while learning to play an instrument which are the skills that also help while learning a language.

Playing an instrument develops creativity skills with a potential for both children and adults to pursue a career in it and achieve great success. It also boosts up person’s confidence which will aid in succeeding in any other areas. It also gives one a great sense of achievement once they have mastered a music piece or a particular skill.

Whether you are a child or an adult, being involved in extra-curricular activities bring something different to your life making it more fun and interesting. It also puts into test your time management skills as you have to find time in your daily routine for an activity you love.This way you learn to manage your time better and do things you like, and some say that children who do this from early age are more likely to succeed in their academic performance. Playing an instrument also develops skills like self-motivation, attention and discipline as the key to learning an instrument is setting up practice times and devoting yourself to it.

Nina Kraus is a neuroscientist who researches the impact of playing music on our brains. She suggests that it enhances our cognitive skills and affects positively our nervous system. Musical training, according to her, offsets memory losses and hearing impairments which are two most common complaints of older people. In this case then it can be said that music impacts the ageing process.

Our brains control important these vital factors like motor skills, hearing, storing audio information and memory which become more active and efficient when a person is learning how to play an instrument. And this can improve person’s daily actions and their performance in planning, being alert and emotional perception.

Playing an instrument has been also medically proven to reduce stress levels and change our responses to it. Moreover, musical practice is hoped to extend to the field of neuropsychological rehabilitation. The most important thing to pick the right instrument and enjoy playing it!

Sources:

• http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/19535.php
• http://www.soc.northwestern.edu/brainvolts/projects/music/index.php
• http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2012/01/kraus-neural-timing.html
• http://www.yourpacemusic.com/