As a performer and a teacher of guitar, people ask me how long I have been playing guitar, what age I started and many other similar questions expressing a genuine interest in the guitar.
There are many great reasons to play the guitar and we’ll take a look at some of the best ones.Let’s discuss a few.
Contents
Express Yourself
Have you ever felt like crying, laughing or even screaming? It’s normal and it means we are alive. It’s basic human nature to desire to express oneself. Of course we don’t go around screaming all the time but we sure might feel like it sometimes.
Playing the guitar can be a real creative outlet for people of all ages. Once a person has reached a certain skill level on the guitar, creative expression through the guitar can become akin to talking or singing.
Many people wish to express themselves by performing and for anyone that has performed they will know that there can be a real feeling of satisfaction derived from it. Not that all performers are selfish but when doing anything there is a reason why you would continue to do it.
For performers it is the interaction with the crowd who also express themselves.
But, in order to fully express yourself as you wish through the guitar, you have to learn how to play it first.
Related: 10 Best Acoustic Guitars for Beginners
Guitarists have been expressing themselves for ages. From folk to classical to rock there is a plethora of music that taps into our thoughts and emotions and puts into song what we’re feeling on the inside.
Just look at this infographic from TakeLessons to see some of the top songs from every genre. These guitarists expressed themselves in the best possible way.
Learning and You
Whether you are young or old the benefits of learning to play the guitar or other instruments are indisputable.
Young people in school can really benefit as research indicates several advantages over those who do not learn music.
- Hard work pays off
- Actual physical changes to the brain through the growth of synaptic pathways
- Organizational skills by learning to breakdown tough songs into learnable pieces
- Perseverance
- The discipline learned through seeing the benefits of what hard work can achieve
- Older people keep the brain active through guitar playing and learning new aspects of the instrument and music
The list goes on.
Feels Right
Playing the guitar is tactile and real.
Just sit with your guitar for a while and play it. You can physically feel the vibrations through a nicely made instrument.
For many people it can become like part of your body. This is truly what all guitarists aspire to achieve.
It’s a Job
It’s not just any job, you’ve got to be the luckiest person in the world if you make your living playing the guitar, but some people do.
There is everybody from city sidewalk buskers to studio musicians and rock stars. Many of these people need to play guitar to make a living.
How sweet is that?
Teaching the guitar can be very satisfying. Not everybody will be your best student, but it’s providing the opportunity for them and, who knows, maybe the next guitar great will show up at your door for their first lesson.
Enjoyment
The main reason I think anybody should play the guitar is because it’s fun.
It’s challenging to learn something new on the guitar but the beauty of it is the satisfaction of learning that difficult part or song and also, there is always something else new to learn on the guitar, whether it be a new song, lesson, technique or even a whole new genre of music you have always wanted to play.
Another huge part of having fun with the guitar is playing for and with others. I’m not talking about performances per se, but about regular get-togethers with family and friends on special occasion or better yet, for no reason at all.
Sitting around the campfire, playing and singing happy birthday to someone are but only a few such occasions.
Related: 6 Best Acoustic Travel Guitar for “On-the-Go” Players
Get together with friends and others to jam. This not only provides a little time with friends but you continue to learn from other like-minded people and your playing can improve.
The internet provides a massive amount of opportunity to video yourself playing and to share your performance or your new composition with others.
Video yourself playing as part of learning and monitor your progress in order to improve.
Summary
Blow the dust off that guitar if for some reason you have set it aside for a while. You might find a reason or two of your own for playing it.
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My wife was telling me that our son really wants to learn how to play guitar. Since I know almost nothing about it, we were curious about how it would benefits him. I had no idea that it actually physically changes the brain and helps with growth!