Learning a Musical Instrument – 6 Scientific Benefits
Do smart people just like to play music, or does learning a musical instrument actually make people smarter?
There are so many ways to strengthen the brain (diet, exercise, sleep, reading, math, word puzzles, and art, just to name a few). However, studies are repeatedly showing that music affects the brain in ways that nothing else can.
While there are many benefits that come from simply listening to music, the real magic happens when we are actively involved in creating it. In this article, we’ll talk about a few of those benefits, and how you can start learning a musical instrument.
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Academic Success
The Harmony Project, based in Los Angeles, provides music education to low-income youth. Since 2008, 93% of seniors in the program were going on to college, while other seniors in their neighborhoods had drop out rates over 50%. So they teamed up with Northwestern’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory to find out the scientific reason for this success.
Their study showed that the even small changes in the level of involvement in music class (attendance, paying attention, participation) made a big difference in the neurological changes the children experienced.
Nina Kraus, director of the laboratory, told Time magazine, “I like to give the analogy that you’re not going to become physically fit just by watching sports.” Active participation is key, and learning to play a musical instrument is the best way to do that.
Language Development
When we start learning music, our brain starts to pick up and process sounds that it wouldn’t otherwise hear. This is especially beneficial to young learners, as it helps with literacy. For example, children in the study were able to more easily hear the difference between the words “pill” and “bill.”
Children’s brains are especially malleable, so the earlier someone someone starts music lessons, the better. But you don’t have to put your two year old in piano lessons, and you don’t have to be a child or even a school student to reap the benefits of playing a musical instrument!
Problem Solving Skills
This really interesting TedED talk by Anita Collins says that “playing music is the brain’s equivalent of a full-body workout.” While listening to music does spark intricate brain activity, playing music involves almost every part of the brain. When playing an instrument, the left hemisphere, which handles linguistics and math, works together with the right hemisphere, the creative and visual side.
Because of this, playing music actually increases the volume and activity in the “Corpus Collosum,” which is the bridge for communication between the two hemispheres. This helps musicians problem-solve more effectively by using the both sides of the brain.
Executive Functioning
Playing music involves both creating and understanding emotional messages, which contributes to musicians having higher levels of executive functioning. This means they have better self control, and are better able to pay attention, organize, focus on tasks, think flexibly, apply knowledge, and manage emotions.
Enhanced Memory Functions
Executive Functioning also affects the way we process memories. Musicians are better able to create, store, and retrieve memories because of the many types of details they associate with each one. We all could use better memory in our busy lives, and this is one benefit that can definitely help with aging!
Fun
I recently read The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again by Catherine Price. I don’t know why it took so long for it to finally click for me – one of the reasons I love playing music is simply because it is fun! Price explains how “true fun” is where playfulness, connection, and flow meet. True fun is essential for our well being, and the ability to play music (even in the learning stages) can provide all of those things.
How to Learn
From in-person lessons, to virtual lessons, to self teaching, there are SO many ways to start learning a musical instrument!
The first step is just choosing an instrument! The best instrument to start with is the one you are personally most excited about.
Next, find a teacher. We definitely encourage you to look for teachers in your local area. Do a quick google search for “_____ teacher near me” or use a website like Thumbtack to help you find one. An in-person teacher can help you personally in ways that a website can’t, and keep you accountable. We think the price is worth it. Plus, you might develop a lifelong friendship!
However, if regular music lessons are not in the budget right now, there are some great online options. You can always look up youtube tutorials, but we highly recommend signing up for lessons if you can. Committing to take lessons will be so much more effective, just like how signing up for a race helps motivate you to exercise.
If you have already decided you want to play piano, FlowKey is an excellent website to start with! You can learn to play the songs you want to play, whatever your current skill level may be. You can get started for free today and and see if it’s a good fit for you. If you choose to pay for it, the cost is still much less than private piano lessons. You don’t even need access to a piano to start!
If you’ve chosen guitar, you can start a free trial with GuitarTricks and see what you think. Join more than 2.8 million registered users and learn to play great songs in whatever style you want!
However you choose to learn, we are excited for you to start!