Some people learn a musical instrument because they think it makes them look cool. But, you’d be surprised to know that learning how to play an instrument can actually benefit your health and improve your mood. So, check out that guitar tutor in Salt Lake City because if you learn how to play the guitar or any other instrument, you’ll get to enjoy the following health benefits.

Improves cognitive abilities

Simply put, when you try to learn a musical instrument, you’re also developing your brain. Scientists have discovered that musicians score higher results in cognitive tests than those who don’t. The reason behind this is that you’re exercising parts of your brain you haven’t before.

Improves coordination

Ever tried playing a drum set? When you watch an expert drummer bang on the instrument, you might tell yourself that what they’re doing doesn’t seem too difficult. But, when you get behind a drum set and start emulating your favorite drummer, you’ll notice right away that it’s harder than it seems.

That’s because people who don’t play instruments are not as adept as musicians when it comes to motor skills. When you’re hitting the snare drum with your left hand and hitting the hi-hat with your right hand, you’re telling your brain to do two different things at the same time, which can be disorienting. In addition to that, you need to use your two feet as well to play the bass drum and lift and lower the hi-hat.

So, when you practice learning an instrument, you’re developing your brain to multi-task, which can help you develop better coordination. And it’s not exclusive to playing the drums. If you’re playing the guitar you’re doing two things at the same time too. You’re strumming or plucking the strings with your one hand while you’re holding down the same strings in a pattern with the other.

Improves reading and listening skills

You also develop your reading skills because you need to read the notes and play at the same time. And since you need to play your instrument at a particular tempo, you need to improve your ability to read notes quickly.

On top of that, you get to develop your listening skills too when learning a particular song without having the notes in front of you. For example, you hear a popular song on Spotify or on the radio and you want to know how to play it on your guitar. If you don’t have the notes to that song, you’re forced to listen to it and figure out what the notes are. Eventually, you’ll learn what the notes are by listening to the song repeatedly.

Improves concentration

Learning an instrument can also help you focus more on what you’re doing. As mentioned earlier, you need to develop your coordination when playing. This means that you need to concentrate on playing your guitar while reading the notes, which is quite a feat for anyone who hasn’t played an instrument before.

So, if you want to learn a musical instrument, then good for you because not only will it make you look cool but it will also benefit your mind and body.

Photo by David Lusvardi on Unsplash