Learning a Musical Instrument

Have you ever considered learning a musical instrument? Maybe you’re currently on the fence about it, or maybe you’ve even decided against it. In this article, I’m going to tell you all about the benefits of learning a musical instrument, and I’ll go over some of the most popular or most difficult  instruments in more detail. By the end of this article, I hope that you’ll at least consider learning an instrument!

According to Merit School of Music, research shows that, “When scientists compared brain activity of individuals solving math problems or reading to those that were listening to music, the results were vastly different. In the latter group, it was a fireworks show of neurotransmitters.” This basically means that the music helped people think! Also according to Merit School of Music, “The impact of learning to sing or play an instrument on a child or teen’s development is more than twice that of sports, theater, or dance.” 

In addition, Stamford Schools states that learning an instrument can increase memory capacity, boosts team skills, teaches perseverance, enriches mathematical, reading, and comprehension skills, sharpens concentration, and relieves stress and promotes happiness! As someone who’s played piano for over 8 years, I can definitely say that I enjoy the feeling of accomplishing a hard song!

Let’s go over some of the most popular, and hardest instruments to learn. First is the trumpet. Being one of the less difficult instruments to learn, the trumpet is very popular and great for beginning musicians! The trumpet only has three valves, which makes it easier to memorize which ones to press down to get the note you want. The trumpet’s notes are read in treble clef. A great benefit of learning the trumpet is that your breathing capacity increases, which is super helpful if you play sports, because you can breathe better. Additionally, since the trumpet is so well-known, there is so much information and an incredible community out there to help you learn!

Next is the guitar. The guitar is a very popular string instrument. Typically, the guitar has 6 strings, with corresponding tuning pegs, to ensure that your guitar is in tune. The guitar also reads in treble clef. Notes on the guitar are changed either by moving strings, or changing frets. The frets are small ridges along the neck of the guitar that divide the string at a set location. Usually after playing guitar for a while, you will develop calluses on the tips of your fingers from holding down the strings, which leaves welts at first before you develop the calluses. A common first song for people to learn on the guitar after learning how to read music is Yellow Submarine by The Beatles.

Finally, I’m going to go into detail about the piano. I’m a little biased towards the piano because it’s my favorite instrument, but all instruments are amazing and beneficial to your health! The piano is one of the most popular instruments, yet one of the most challenging to learn and master. In addition, the benefits of learning this instrument extend further and get more specific to it than for other instruments. The piano has 88 keys, all of which are specific to one note, whereas you can play a middle C in multiple different locations on the guitar. For example, middle A can only be played on one key on the piano. Even though an A can be played on multiple different octaves on the piano, middle A is specific to a single key. Another benefit of learning the piano is that once you learn the piano, you can learn any other instrument faster and easier! This is because when you are playing the piano, you are reading two clefs at the same time (bass clef and treble clef). The piano is one of the only instruments which uses both clefs, among other piano-like instruments. Learning both clefs means that when you learn another instrument after the piano, you can already read whichever clef that instrument uses! Lastly, a huge benefit of learning the piano is that your coordination is strongly challenged and built, because you are simultaneously using both hands and pressing down different fingers with each, as well as using your feet to work the pedals. When you learn to play the piano as a child, you will find yourself with higher esteem, mathematical, creative, and reading skills than kids who didn't learn as you get older!

All music is read on a clef. Whether it’s treble clef, consisting of F-A-C-E on the spaces and E-G-B-D-F on the lines, or bass clef, consisting of A-C-E-G on the spaces, and G-B-D-F-A on the lines. Each clef is five lines, and four spaces. Musicians read the notes placed on either lines or spaces (or sometimes above or below the lines), and learn to translate those onto their instruments. A great way to remember which notes go where for treble clef is the sentence “face on the space”. This reminds you that, going from bottom to top, the spaces are F,A,C,E. For the lines on treble clef bottom to top, you can think “Empty (E) Garbage (G) Before (B) Dad (D) Flips (F)”. As for bass clef, the spaces are “All (A) Cows (C) Eat (E) Grass (G)” and the lines are “Grizzly (G) Bears (B) Don’t (D) Fly (F) Airplanes (A).” Sayings like this can make remembering notes fun and easier. 

Lastly, being in band at your school will not only give you many of the benefits, but it will also provide so many wonderful opportunities to travel and perform with your band! Plus, being in band class means being part of a close community of people who understand each other and get to work together to create beautiful music! That may be the best part of being in band: it brings you closer to so many people that you may not normally socialize with, and provides you with a place at school that will start to feel like home.

So, learning a musical instrument is a great way to increase your mental capacity and emotional health! It’s even better when you learn as a young child. Reading (and maybe even writing!), creating, and performing music brings you into a community of people who work together to produce the melodies that make the world a better place. So, next time you find yourself with a piano in front of you, will you sit down and remember the notes of the clefs? Will you press the keys of a trumpet, or pluck the strings of a guitar, and find it really satisfying or inspiring? Who knows, maybe you’ll be the next music prodigy. It’s never too late to begin your musical journey.