Since you are here, chances are the thought of becoming a guitarist has popped up in your mind not once or twice. We are not here to convince you to embark on the journey on the spot – just state some facts, that inevitably will do so. Check them out and see for yourself if you would be interested in benefiting from all of them (and actually plenty more) while learning the guitar!
1. Exercises your brain
Concentration and memory are two things you use in all areas of life so their constant development is much needed. Playing the guitar is an extremely enjoyable way of improving them – yeah some people also enjoy doing math exercises, but do they really? As you spend more time focusing on different guitar exercises or songs, you’ll find that your ability to focus on other tasks outside of playing music will increase as well.
2. Improves fine motor skills
If you’ve ever tried to learn how to use chopsticks, you’ll know how difficult it is to coordinate your fingers. Learning how to play the guitar is kind of like that, but about a thousand times more difficult. Just like picking up a new sport, learning to play the guitar greatly improves your hand-eye coordination as it requires very specific movements. The best part about improving your motor skills from playing music is that it translates to other activities like knitting, martial arts, and sports.
3. Еnhances your creativity
Whether it’s writing original material or reworking a song for a cover, the guitar is going to unleash your creativity. Since you are thinking of learning exactly the guitar you must find it inspiring and exactly that inspiration will boost your imagination. Who knows, you might even surprise yourself.
4. Provides emotional release
Probably the most enjoyable aspect of playing the guitar is the happiness that comes from expressing yourself through music. The free expression found in creating music is linked to many health benefits – playing the guitar can also lower blood pressure, decrease your heart rate, reduce stress, and lessen anxiety and depression.
5. Boosts your confidence
Learning to play the guitar can have an enormously positive effect on your self-esteem and confidence. As you learn to play, chances are you’ll end up playing in front of a family member, a mate, some potential bandmates or even an audience. Playing guitar in front of others, however scary at first, will build your confidence in expressing yourself publicly and sharing your creativity.
6. Creates connections
It’s definitely possible to spend your entire musical journey jamming alone in your bedroom, but the best musical moments come from playing with others. Finding people to jam with can lead to meeting a ton of cool like-minded people. The shared experience of playing music together can also strip away a lot of psychological barriers and often leads to close and long-lasting relationships.
7. Increased appreciation of music
Once you know how music works and have tried to create it yourself nothing will ever be the same… Seeing, listening and thinking about how the notes fit together in your favorite songs played by beloved musicians of yours – you’ll be surprised at how much more you’ll enjoy music.
‘Learning how to play an instrument, any instrument, will increase your ability to appreciate music on a deeper level of understanding and (I believe) emotional connection. This is because you can relate more to the music and the artist performing it.’ – Philip Quintas
8. The Cool Factor
Let’s be honest for a moment. Playing the guitar is just cool. A guitar player who is comfortable with the music they are playing simply radiates confidence. Naturally, that is going to look cool no matter the setting. Sure, learning guitar just to look cool is a bad way to go about this, but the fact remains that it’s an incredible feeling to play your creations in front of an audience in awe.
If you need more reasons, check out also these articles here, here and here. When you are ready to embark on your guitar journey – join Neli’s Guitar Family and subscribe to her YouTube channel! You can also sign up for a lesson HERE – the first one is 50% off!