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  • Writer's pictureHannah D :):)

The Benefits of Playing an Instrument


Benefits of playing an instrument

Greetings friends! Today I'm going to talk about the benefits of playing an instrument. I've been part of Oklahoma Homeschool Bands for about a year and a half now and I love it so much! I have amazing friends and amazing band directors there and Tuesdays when we practice are my favorite days of the week. I play piano for the stage band, advanced trumpet, and trumpet in pep band. I also play flute/piccolo in some small ensembles, and accompany soloists on piano.



here's our pep band after an exhausting and amazing night caroling with our instruments!

And I love it! Okay enough chit-chat, here's why you should play an instrument!


The Scientific Benefits of Playing an Instrument


There are many benefits that come from playing an instrument. Scientists have

conducted several experiments and studies, and learned a lot about how the brain is stimulated when a person plays an instrument. In the past several years, neuroscientists have made enormous breakthroughs in observing what happens in a person’s brain when they perform tasks such as reading or solving math problems. They observe the brain using machines such as fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) and PET (Positron Emission tomography) scanners. Then these scientists observed what happened when a person listens to music-and the results were astonishing. When someone is listening to music, their brain explodes into fireworks as they process all the different parts of music and put those parts together.


Listening to music vs. playing an instrument


When a person is listening to music, their brain can be described as a backyard firework

display. When a person plays an instrument, it is comparable to a city-wide fourth of July

fireworks festival. Playing an instrument is the brains equivalent of a full-body workout. Why is playing music so stimulating to our brains? It is engaging practically the whole brain at the same time, primarily the visual, auditory, and motor cortices. And as playing music strengthens these functions, they become stronger and stronger, which allows us to apply that strength in other areas. Playing an instrument requires fine motor skills, which are controlled in both hemispheres of the brain. It also combines the linguistic and mathematical portions of the brain which the left hemisphere is more involved in with the creative and novel portions of the brain, which the right hemisphere is more involved in. For these reasons, playing music has been found to increase the volume and activity in the brain’s corpus callosum, which is the bridge between the two hemispheres.


Benefits to Musicians


So we’ve discussed what happens in the brain when a person plays an instrument. Now

let’s discuss the ways musicians are benefitted by playing an instrument. Since the corpus

callosum’s volume and activity is increased, this increases musicians understanding of both logical/mathematical operations, and creative/artistic operations. This means musicians have better problem-solving skills in both academic and social situations. They also have higher executive functions, such as logical/critical thinking. Musicians have enhanced memory, causing them to create, store, and retrieve memories much more easily and efficiently than their non-musical counterparts. Musicians have faster auditory, tactile, and audio-tactile reaction times. Musicians also have an altered statistical use of multisensory information. This means that they're better at integrating the inputs from various senses. Learning a musical instrument increases gray matter volume in various brain regions, It also strengthens the long-range connections between them. Additional research shows that musical training can enhance verbal memory, spatial reasoning, and literacy skills.


So how do I choose the right instrument?


Now that we’ve discussed what happens in the brain when someone plays an

instrument, and the benefits that musicians enjoy, you’re just dying to go out and buy your own instrument, right? But how do you choose which instrument is perfect for you? Going out and learning all the instruments that exist (of which there are thousands) is certainly an option. If that is your goal then more power to you! I play piano, trumpet, flute, piccolo, ukulele, and I’m about to learn soprano saxophone. And that keeps me real busy. One of my friends play nineteen instruments! But here’s how to pick that one perfect instrument for you. (For me-piano.)


For young children, violin and piano are the most popular choices. Piano can provide an excellent gateway into learning other instruments later in life, but it is also a wonderful instrument to stick with for the rest of your life. Violins can be manufactured in smaller sizes which are good for tiny hands.


When you are older, if you wish to play a woodwinds or brass instrument, there are some important factors to consider. If you have small hands you will have trouble playing an instrument such as the Bari sax, or the tuba. If you have large hands it will be harder to play a finer instrument, such as the oboe.


You need to find out if you like the way of holding your instrument. For example, if you really love the flute, but find that holding it is awkward, then you won’t enjoy playing it.


Do you enjoy the way sound is produced? If you love the sound of a trumpet but hate blowing into one, then you won’t enjoy playing it.


Do you enjoy the sound of the instrument? If you hate the sound of the clarinet then you won’t enjoy playing it.


Also, don’t feel pressured into playing a popular instrument, just because everyone else is. If everyone is playing electric bass, then you might want to play it too, just because of the

coolness factor. But be warned-the feeling of being cool will wear off, and you will be left with an expensive instrument and no motivation to practice.


On the flip side, don’t choose an instrument simply because it is not as popular, and so you feelyou will have more opportunity with it. For example, if you pick up bassoon or French horn because they aren’t popular, and so you feel like you will get better spots at auditions, and be invited to play more, they might be fun at first. But if that’s the only reason you chose to play that instrument, it will grow old quickly.


I hope you found this post insightful and I greatly encourage you to learn an instrument! I promise you will not be disappointed! If you have any questions at all comment below and I’ll reply as soon as possible!

Au Revoir! Hannah :):):)


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