These are the top 10 reasons why everyone should learn to play the guitar
From strengthening
your sense of well-being to boosting your creativity and confidence, there are many
benefits to learning to play the guitar
Music can often be food for the soul, and so learning to play a musical instrument such as the guitar can often strike a chord with both adults and children alike.
Unsurprisingly, the guitar is one of the top choices for people beginning their musical journey. Multiple studies have shown that listening to as well as learning to play the guitar not only improves our vital signs and overall health, but guitarists have also long recognised the therapeutic benefits of playing too,
What’s music to our ears is also beneficial to our physical and psychological well-being.
So, whether you want to learn to string like the legendary Jimi Hendrix or even get down with some Steve Vai-style riffs and licks, there are plenty of reasons why you should learn to play the guitar.
1. Guitar can boost your brain power
Like many instruments, if you’re a beginner taking guitar lessons, it will require immense concentration in order to constantly improve, get better, and learn new techniques.
Studies have shown that playing the guitar improves the grey matter in the brain resulting in improved memory power.
Memorising chords and patterns not only act as a good workout for your brain but can increase your mental fortitude over time.
2. It can boost your confidence
Aside from the obvious burning desire to be heard and admired for a new skill, guitar lessons – both beginner and advanced guitar lessons - can help improve your confidence.
Guitar offers a creative outlet helping you to carve out your own niche and sound while also building more confidence and self-esteem.
It's easy to set small goals in music. That could be finishing a piece or just playing to the end of a line of music. When accomplished it can give you a profound sense of achievement.
And if you end up playing for friends around a fire pit or even on-stage performing music in front of an audience, it will take a certain level of confidence to do so, and you will reap the rewards that can have positive impacts on other aspects of your life.
3. Enhances your coordination
Learning to play the electric or acoustic guitar requires a certain level of hand-eye coordination, which is developed with practice. It takes quick movements of the fingers, hands, and arms to play guitar. Your fretting and picking hands will be performing different types of movements simultaneously. At the same time, you’ll be reading guitar tablature and/or music and converting that information into specific motor patterns.
Learning to play an instrument causes the parts of your brain that control motor skills to grow and become more active.
4. Improves maths
Did you know that music and math are highly intertwined Studies have shown that students who play instruments are often better in math and achieve higher grades in school than students who don't. Learning music theory – in this case, the ABRSM theory - requires that we understand beat, rhythm, and scales and teaches us how to divide, create fractions, and recognise patterns. Yes, we’ve said it here - learning to play the guitar can help improve math skills at any age.
5. Boosts your listening skills
Listening is pivotal when learning to play the guitar. It requires you to listen carefully to the pitch, rhythm, and key. You learn to know when you’re playing a wrong note. When tuning your guitar, you’re listening out for whether the pitch you're playing is high (sharp) or low (flat).
With consistency and practice, you will be able to recognise chords by ear and overall improve your playing standards.
6. Makes you more disciplined
Getting good at guitar playing requires persistence and determination. Being strict with yourself and dedicating time to practice makes you more disciplined, and this can help you in many ways besides playing the guitar.
Developing good technical habits takes time and patience. It takes practice and this can help with self-discipline and being persistent in the pursuit of playing the instrument well.
7. Guitars are versatile instruments
Guitars are used in almost every music genre from jazz to country and heavy metal. As a guitarist you don’t have to concentrate on one musical style. If you take the electric guitar, the plethora of effects at your disposal is extensive from different amps, and pedals to pickups.
The guitar is both a rhythm instrument and a lead instrument. Some guitar players concentrate on one or the other, but most are skilled as rhythm and lead players.
8. Build social skills
Playing the guitar can help build your social making new friends as you connect with new people whether that is your tutor, other learners, and even the great team here at Art of Guitar as we love nothing more than to meet fellow guitarists.
9. To understand rock, you need to understand the guitar
When we think of rock we often think about the guitar. The sound of rock is traditionally centered on the amplified electric guitar, which emerged in its modern form in the 1950s with the popularity of rock and roll. Over time it has evolved and been influenced by other sounds, but at its core remains the guitar
10. Finally, it’s a good way to release your creativity
A guitar is one of the most expressive and musically diverse instruments in the world. Eric Clapton once said: “In playing, I suppose my greatest gift was to express the way I felt or the willingness to express myself.”
The guitar is your way to express yourself and release that creative energy whether you want to do it for yourself or family and friends, and better still, for a crowd. Learning to play the guitar can give you a sense of freedom and creativity that we all crave.
So here at Art of Guitar, our tutors will help guide you every step of the way. Whether you’re a beginner or want to fine tune your skills, we work with some of the best in the industry. So go one, pick up that guitar and start your musical journey with us today.