Professional guitar player and teacher Tom Hess will be the first to tell you that time, patience, and regular hard work are required to develop your skills as a consistently solid guitar player. The benefit of this is that you are well-prepared to pursue a successful career in the music industry, as many guitar players aspire. But what about the person who has no plans to pursue a music career – are there benefits that come with learning to play the guitar that make an effort worthwhile? Several things come along with the ability to pluck or strum. Here are just a few.
De-stress!
Have you ever heard that petting a dog or cat reduces stress? Well, the same thing is true about playing the guitar. A clear correlation exists between actively playing and lowered heart rate and blood pressure. Chronic high blood pressure is especially a key cause of heart disease, so anything that can help you reduce or prevent this is a good thing. Aside from these physical benefits, you can approach your practice sessions or performances how yogis approach their meditation – as a time to escape from the worries and pressures of daily life and let the stress fall from their minds. This has benefits that carry over into every aspect of your life, especially because it helps you get a good night’s sleep.
READ MORE :
- The Meaning of Life
- Training Matters in Career Building
- Masks and Safety Measures for Protecting Self from Airborne Particles
- 5 Important Points to Consider When Travelling with Pets
- Adding Memorable Stage & Lighting Effects to Your DJ Event
Get Smart!
The connection between mathematical and musical ability has been well-appreciated for a long time. However, it hasn’t always been clear whether these two things come together or whether one can help develop the other. However, it looks like learning to play the guitar can actually help stimulate the areas of the brain that control mathematical thinking. It is also becoming accepted that the act of learning to play music helps to improve memory and the areas of the brain that control the fine motor control of the hands – this means that learning to play the guitar could make you better at a whole range of other things at the same time.
Have Fun!
When it comes right down to it, playing the guitar is fun! A study conducted by McGill University has found that listening to music releases dopamine, the pleasure hormone associated with sex. This means that just listening to music makes you feel perfect, and playing it adds another level of pleasure to the mix! Besides how playing your guitar makes you feel, think about how it makes your friends feel when you pull out your guitar at the beach party. The social benefits of being able to strum along while your friends sing their favorite songs are many – not the least of which is the fact that studies repeatedly confirm that people find people who can play guitar to be more attractive. This is a definite plus!
As you can see, there are many benefits to learning to play the guitar, so why not start today?