A get together is never complete until someone pulls out a guitar and starts to make music. Beach bonfires, pool parties and other activities benefit from music and since it is difficult to pack a grand piano to your impromptu soirees, a guitar is the perfect instrument for people who enjoy spontaneous get togethers.
For a musical instrument that you can learn in hours, the guitar offers over-sized benefits. In addition to the soothing sounds of music, playing the guitar offers multiple benefits for the musician. Improved physical health, stress reduction and increased mental acuity are all benefits that accrue to guitar players.
The many benefits of playing the guitar can be broken down into categories. These include physical, mental, personal, social and professional benefits. This article is not intended for people learning to play guitar professionally, this article is aimed more at the amateur.
Physical Benefits
In addition to strengthening your hands and wrists, playing the guitar has some surprising physical benefits. Studies have shown that playing music can reduce stress and blood pressure while strengthening your heart.
Pain researchers have also pointed out the correlation between playing music and pain relief. For sufferers of chronic stress or pain, getting lost in playing music can act as a painkiller.
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Mental Benefits
Playing the guitar is a great tension relief tool. The level of concentration and absorption required in playing a guitar acts to relieve stress and lower tension. Studies have shown that playing a musical instrument helps to sharpen your mental acuity. In addition to feeling sharper now, it can stave off mental deterioration as you get older.
Let’s not forget that creativity can also be enhanced through guitar playing. In addition to learning chords and rhythms of songs, improvising music leads to creative thinking.
Romantic Benefits
Let's face it - women swoon when a guy serenades them with a song and chicks dig rockers so learning how to play a guitar is a surefire way of upping your game. While not everyone can be the next John Mayer - simply playing your guitar and singing a nice song to her can take your next romantic getaway from a 5 to a 10.
Personal Benefits
If hearing music releases dopamine in the brain (making you feel better) then playing music will do the same thing, but just feeling good isn’t the only benefit that you can get from playing the guitar. Learning tablature and how to read music improves your ability to concentrate while coordinating the different hand movements makes you better at multitasking.
Playing the guitar will also boost your confidence and give you a chance to set and fulfill new goals. Of course, being popular at parties is also a benefit.
Social Benefits
A guitar livens up any party. Being the person who is strumming it will help raise the attention you garner and if you have some competence with the instrument, you can insure that the party will be a success. You don’t have to be perfect or professional at it, but you do have to know how to play. Just showing up with a guitar isn’t enough.
Since the love of music is shared by many people across social stratum and standings, most people will talk about music. In a social setting, this means that you are rarely the wallflower or ignored. People will approach you to talk.
Professional Benefits
Professional musicians already know the above benefits and they, of course, benefit financially from their playing. But, even if you are not a professional musician, learning how to play the guitar or any instrument can offer benefits to your professional career.
Music theory is built on math. By learning chords and scales, you are improving your math abilities. Time management skills and multitasking abilities can also be improved with learning to play the guitar. By setting aside twenty minutes or a half an hour per day to practice your skills, you learn scheduling and by practicing, you learn responsibility.
