Music is something that goes beyond language, and touches each and every one of us. No matter who you are, listening and playing music can be a powerful thing. It can be a great social joy for adults and teaches kids important life lessons. Here are the top benefits of learning to play an instrument:

1. Improve Brain Activity: Scientists have been able to prove that playing an instrument can improve your memory, enhance your verbal skills, boost your literary skills, and improve your spatial reasoning skills. Music taps into all sides of your brain, helping new areas communicate and talk to each other. It creates new pathways of ganglia to fire, which will promote new ideas, creativity, and give you stronger connections to things.

2. Stress Relief: Not only is it excellent for your brain, it also can relax you. Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “music has charms to soothe the savage beast”. It shows that people throughout history have recognized that music has a way with even the meanest spirit. It can temper anger, relax your mind, and comfort your soul. When you play, you give yourself therapy that you can’t get anywhere else.

3. Join New Social Circles: As you learn your new instrument, you’ll be introduced to a new group of musicians to connect with. You’ll want to play with others, find concerts to go to, have jams sessions, or be involved in orchestras and symphonies. Your musical world will grow by leaps and bounds and give you new friends to share your love of music with.

4. Builds Confidence: Your newfound hobby will also give you performance time. You’ll conquer fears, play in front of others at your home, in concert halls, or in bands. Either way, you’ll grow confidence in your abilities, which will encourage you to keep honing your skills to learn more.

5. Develops Discipline: Practice makes perfect, and there will be lots of practice. You can’t expect to pick up your new instrument and become an expert overnight. It’s going to take weeks, months, and years of practice to learn and perfect. It teaches you about patience, and how to overcome challenges. As you move past one victory, you’ll be faced with a new challenge to push you to grow even more. When it comes to learning an instrument, the fun in learning never ends.

6. Promotes Creativity: Once you learn your new instrument, you’ll have some tools and techniques under your belt so that you can begin creating. You’ll understand how music is put together, which means that you can start to make your own songs. Add in twists to your favorite pieces to play and push the boundaries to make music your own.

7. It’s Fun! Last, but not least, playing an instrument is fun! You’ll want to come home and practice your hobby as much as you can. Don’t take it too seriously. Carve out time for it, laugh at your mistakes, and have fun along the way to learning new skills.

It doesn’t matter what instrument, or how old you are, it only matters that you love it. The more fun you have with it, the more you’ll want to learn, and the more you’ll grow. Buy books, watch videos online, and hire teachers to give lessons. Find the perfect instrument to start practicing today.