Studies suggest that learning to play an instrument can improve your brain significantly. Learning an instrument improves a child’s intellectual ability, perceptual ability and cognitive skills.
A number of studies show that music lessons in childhood can provide benefits in the long run as we age. This musical learning acts as an added defence against memory loss and cognitive decline.
Musical training creates additional neural connections in childhood that can last a lifetime and therefore can compensate for various shortcomings that we face as we age. Those music classes that you took in your childhood trains your brain to have better motor control and coordination. Any musical instrument requires you to have excellent eye-hand coordination, other than that, music reading and listening skills also boosts your brain whose effects can be seen in later stages of life.
A study conducted in 2003 by Gottfried Schlaug showed that brains of adult professional musicians had a larger volume of grey matter than the brains of adults who didn’t have any musical training. The study also concluded that fifteen months of music classes leads to structural brain changes which are associated with motor and auditory improvements.
If you haven’t started any training yet then don’t worry you can start your training even if you are an adult. In fact, you’ll have a better chance at learning because of the following reasons:
- You’ll be learning because you want to: Children often throw tantrums when they are made to attend music classes. Adults, on the contrary, learn for their own pleasure. Therefore, they do not treat it as a burdenand have a better commitment to the instrument.
- You can learn complex concepts easily: Since adults have much more developed skills and an advanced ability to understand technical explanations, it is easier for them to understand some difficult musical concepts as compared to children.
- Better attention span: We all know children have very short span of attention whereas an adult can sit for an hour without loosing attention. Any instrument needs you to have good concentration so that you are able to grasp the technicalities of it. Therefore, adults are able to learn better and quicker.
- Fluency in reading: If you want to play any instrument then you have to learn how to read musical notes. Children find it difficult to understand those musical notes, on the other hand adults can easily understand those notes as their reading skills are completely developed.
- Emotional development: Music is an expression of yourself and your emotions. Adults have profound emotions who can understand music better and create music because they have experienced intense emotions.
So, if you are a young adult and planning to take music classes, you shouldn’t hold yourself back. You’ll be able to reap the following benefits if you decide to get musical training in your adulthood.
- You’ll be calmer: Music teaches you to be patient. It requires perseverance to master any instrument. So, if you plan to take music classes in your adulthood you will see that you become more patient. Music tunes also have a soothing effect on our brains playing any instrument even for a few minutes will make you calmer.
- Beat the process of ageing: Learning musical instruments have a lasting effect on your brain. Our cognitive functions weaken over age, but any sort of musical training help you to have advanced abilities like concentration, memory and coordination.
- Your creative juices will start to flow: The monotony of life often switches off the creative part of our brain. Music is all about creating new tunes, it forces you to use your creativity, therefore, turning on the closed vaults of your brain.
- An escape from stress: Music is known to relieve stress. We all have used our earphones to escape from the room. People use music to even meditate. Music can help you get rid of your stress and lead a more wholesome life.
- Better Health: Different instruments have different health benefits, for example, playing flute strengthens your core muscles. All instruments require you to maintain a certain discipline. You cannot have a slouching back while playing a piano, or a guitar. Therefore, it improves your posture and acts like a good workout for your entire body.
To conclude, we can say that music can be solution to a lot of your problems, especially if you are an adult. It elevates mood, reduces stress, relieves symptoms of depression, boosts memory and takes care for your physical health as well. It can surely do wonders for your physical as well as mental health.
I hope this information helped you make a decision in the favour of music.
So, if you have passion for music and you are holding yourself back because you think that it’s too late now, then you should definitely book yourself a music class and get started.
It’s never too late!
