“I know that most joy in my life has come to me from my violin,” – Albert Einstein
As an adult, you have many ways to choose to spend your time. Maybe you’ve thought about taking up an instrument, but for whatever reason, you think it’s somehow too late. You’re too busy with the daily stresses of life. You might be thinking it will be too hard, or take too long to get “good”. Or, you may feel overwhelmed just figuring out where to begin – after all, music lessons can be nerve-wrecking.
The good news is that you are never too old to start learning music. Playing music is not only a great way to relax at any age, but it has many benefits that carry over to other aspects of your life. Taking music lessons in Alhambra at the Alhambra School of Music is a great way to get started, since this helps greatly with making any of these obstacles manageable. Here are some excellent reasons to study music at any age:
1. Stress Relief
Making and learning music is an incredible way to relieve stress. We all have numerous stresses in our daily lives. Playing music requires its own concentration and mental focus, which is a great way to escape from everyday pressures. Like losing yourself in a good book, playing music changes your mental state, putting you in the moment and pulling you away from the stress of the daily grind. Just picking up an instrument and making music (or trying!), no matter what your skill level, quickly puts you in a focused mental state and is incredibly therapeutic.
2. Social Benefits
As we grow older, it is easy to become more isolated. Music is inherently a social activity, and is most fun when you’re playing with other people. Obviously, making music together involves getting together regularly, and is a great reason to get out of the house more often. Playing together also develops non-verbal communication skills involving body language and listening that are unique. The resulting feeling when you are blending with other players, making something bigger than yourselves, is truly indescribable. By taking music lessons at the Alhambra School of Music, you get the opportunity to work with talented instructors and learn to develop a sense of communicating with others musically. As the best music school in Alhambra, San Marino, and San Gabriel, the Alhambra School of Music is here to be your trusted partner on your musical journey!
3. Increased Self-Esteem
The sense of accomplishment from learning new skills is undeniably satisfying, and music offers an endless opportunity for developing a multitude of skills. No matter whether you’re a complete beginner or have been playing for years, there will always be new goals to accomplish. From simply learning to make a sound, to playing simple melodies, to becoming a concert soloist, each new skill offers a new sense of accomplishment.
Studying music and taking music lessons can also help you get out of your comfort zone. Performing in front of an audience can be terrifying at first, but also exhilarating. The feeling of accomplishment gained when you can use music to share something of yourself with others can definitely give you a new-found sense of confidence. Whether you choose to pursue music through piano lessons, guitar lessons, voice lessons, drum lessons, or even ukulele lessons – our expert Alhambra-based music teachers are here to guide you on this path and ensure that you’re feeling confident about your musical abilities, as well as improvement through every lesson!
4. Keeping Mentally Active
Few activities use the entire brain in the way music does, and is a great way to keep the brain active and flexible, as evidenced by numerous neurological studies. Taking music lessons (especially piano and guitar lessons) can involve lots of logical thinking, involving counting and organizing tones into scales and chords. Taking music lessons can also be an extremely technical physical skill, where you can work on all aspects of understanding your instrument and making exactly the sound you want, in order to develop a “vocabulary” of what you can do with your instrument. It also involves carefully listening to yourself and those around you, and being able to make your instrument fit in properly. All of this comes together as a way for you to express yourself artistically through the music.
Despite how technical making music can be, it also gives you an unparalleled way to communicate feelings and emotions nonverbally. Whenever you play, your brain gets a full workout, both technically and artistically. Few other activities involve the brain so comprehensively, so taking music lessons is a great way to keep your brain active. Interestingly, it has been proven through a variety of studies that playing the piano and taking piano lessons improves brain coordination and can help patients with Alzheimer’s improve their condition. Our piano lessons at the Alhambra School of Music are geared towards your success, and as a school that has been a staple within our community since 1993, we pride ourselves on having taught thousands of adult students (including senior community members) throughout the years.
5. Increased Coordination
The act of making music involves precise timing and coordination. Making music is a physical skill involving using many parts of the body together. For example, to play the piano, both hands work together but often play independent parts. For drums, your hands and feet are both involved. For guitar and wind instruments, both hands need to work together to make the correct sounds. Whatever instrument you study, however, the repetition involved in practicing will help you develop stronger, more controlled muscles, as well as more precise coordination overall.
6. Improved Discipline
Playing music and taking music lessons develop discipline – there is no doubt about it. There are many skills that are easy to learn but can take time to truly master, and playing music is definitely one of those. Learning to play music requires regular, consistent work in order for you to progress. Not only that, the more consistently you keep up with practicing, the more consistently you will progress. By studying music and taking lessons at the Alhambra School of Music, you can develop a sense of discipline, which you can apply to help you accomplish anything that takes a long, steady effort. If you have children, showing that you can put in consistent, disciplined work to accomplish a new goal is an excellent way to be a role model, as well.
As an adult, you have a definite advantage over children in that you are more likely to already have the self-discipline to stick with something, as well as the ability to find informational resources. However, the discipline to study music can definitely be one of the most difficult things to develop on your own. Many people buy guitars or pianos with the best of intentions, but either don’t know where to begin, or they have trouble finding what to work on and consequently have a hard time working on things consistently. Studying and taking lessons with an experienced, caring, and dedicated music teacher at the Alhambra School of Music is one of the best ways to stay motivated, to keep working on new material, and to help you learn new skills as efficiently as possible.
7. Fun at Any Age
One more reason to take music lessons at the Alhambra School of Music is that making music is simply fun. Although playing music definitely has great benefits to keeping your brain active, developing new skills, improving coordination and discipline, and lowering stress, being able to play music is just another great way to have fun. The more you play, the more fun you have as your skills progress, things feel easier, and you gain the ability to put more of yourself in the music.
However, you can have fun with music no matter what your skill level. One great thing about playing music is that whether you’re a total beginner or have been playing all your life, you’re both good enough to have fun playing, and you still have a world of music to learn about.
The journey is more important than the destination!
About the Author
Mr. Adam Zygmunt is an accomplished and talented multi-instrumentalist specializing in brass and woodwind instruments. He has worked at the Alhambra School of Music since 2015. In his free time, Adam enjoys hiking, spending time with family, and performing with his band.
Interested in this topic? Explore our Recommended Further Readings!
Why is music good for the brain? - Harvard Health
