Why play guitar?
There’s a pretty good article by Mike Duffy on the Fender website that talks about some of the real benefits of playing music. Fender consulted Daniel Levitin, author of “This is your brain on music” who stated that, “Playing an instrument can… improve a person’s overall well-being. Playing even five minutes a day can lead to a range of physical, mental and emotional benefits.” According to Levitin, after 60, playing an instrument can help you retrain and remap neural circuits that are inclined to atrophy, which sounds to me like it almost certainly helps you to stay sharp! Plus, playing guitar is just plain good fun.
What about guitar lessons for kids?
Well, learning to play an instrument teaches patience, focus, responsibility, humility, confidence and discipline. It exercises fine motor skills, tests their problem-solving as well as engaging both left and right brain functions. I like to tell my younger students that playing guitar makes them smarter. From Sonomusic.com:
“Extensive research has shown that those who had music training were generally smarter than their counterparts; children who learned to play musical instruments did better in their academic studies than children who had not. This links back closely with the improvements learning a musical instrument has on memory; as both sides of the brain are engaged it develops not only memory but other skills as well. In a research paper titled Music Training Causes Long-Term Enhancement of Preschool Children’s Spatial-Temporal Reasoning, it is reported that “…music training is far superior to computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children’s abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning math and science.” There are further studies in both children and adults that show a correlation between musical training and academic success. It goes without saying that some of the smartest people alive have been heavily indulged in music training and Even Einstein stated, “Life without playing music is inconceivable to me… I see my life in terms of music…I get most joy in life out of music.”
Daniel Levitin also opines that mental relaxation can be another positive result of playing an instrument. “Playing an instrument has a meditative aspect that can release calming hormones in the brain, reduce the stress hormone Cortisol, increase productivity and help to create social bonding (to combat loneliness in the digital age)” adds Levitin. “Playing music with other people produces the chemical oxytocin, a binding chemical that promotes trust and social bonding and makes you feel better.”
So if you’ve ever wondered why time passes so quickly when the band’s in the groove, now you know- it’s brain chemistry.
The guitar is intensely personal in an impersonal world.
There is no obstacle between the instrument and the heart,
Only the layer of skin on the fingertips.
The guitar is a small, gentle voice, in the midst of this world’s noise.
That is why the world is listening.-Andres Segovia
and if all that’s not enough reason for you how about this: do girls really fall for guitarists?
I cannot say about all of them but I can tell you that one certainly did :-)
I like to encourage my young male students by telling ’em that guitar is “a huge babe magnet”. That always gets a smile.
This is a true thing though: regular practice = more skillful playing = confidence and confidence is interesting and appealing. You can substitute any two items in that sentence that net you more confidence, and if “cherchez la femme” is your endgame, I’m pretty sure you’ll get noticed. Remember always to be a gentleman though please; that is how a proper guitar player does.