Photo credit: Alexandre Dulaunoy
Fall is in the air here in Maryland. Leaves are falling from trees and the weather has gotten quite chilly. Our students are hard at work getting ready for our winter recital coming up in just a few weeks. While the majority of Winterhalter Music students are children, we do have a number of adults who also take lessons.
Maybe you never had the chance to learn an instrument as a child. Maybe you took lessons at some point when you were younger, but quit for one reason or another. In any case, I believe it’s never too late to learn how to play an instrument or to come back to playing an instrument you used to play. I am a huge advocate for music education– not just for kids, but for all ages.
Music and particularly taking lessons as an adult is wonderful for many reasons. Just a few of those reasons include:
- It’s so good for your brain
Honestly, playing an instrument is quite possibly one of the best things you can do to promote stellar brain health. So many studies have shown that people who play an instrument are much less likely to develop Alzheimers or dementia. Learning and playing music creates new synapses in your brain, which is key to keeping it in tip top shape.
- You get to bond with your kids
If both you and your children take lessons, you can bond through your shared love of music. You can go to concerts together, cheer each other on when one of you learns a difficult piece or masters a difficult concept, and motivate each other to practice. If you genuinely have fun taking lessons, chances are your kids will too. If you give them a positive example of regular practicing, they will want to practice regularly too.
- It’s a wonderful creative outlet
So many people thrive on creativity. I notice in my own life that if I’m lacking creativity, I don’t feel as jazzed up as I’d like to. With the demands of teaching and running Winterhalter Music, it’s easy to go awhile without sitting down to play my piano. Lately, I’ve made it a practice to play piano (or oboe) daily. I’ve been loving it! My creative juices flow and I can express myself through music. If a feel happy, I play an upbeat piece. If I feel down, I play a more emotional piece. If I feel light hearted, I’ll pull out one of my favorite pop songs.
As an adult, once you’ve learned the basics of note reading, rhythm, and technique its up to you where you’d like to take your lessons from there. You can talk to your teacher about what you want to learn. Maybe you’ve always wanted to play Billy Joel’s “Piano Man”. Maybe you’ve got a thing for movie music. Perhaps you’d like to grasp music theory and try playing lead sheets. The options are endless and as an adult you have a lot more say in your lessons than most children do.
I want to end with a great story. Several years ago, the boyfriend of my roommate decided he wanted to learn to play the piano. He had never played piano or any instrument growing up. He went out and bought a keyboard and a piano book and started teaching himself. When he got to the point that he felt he couldn’t teach himself any more, he got in touch with me to set up lessons with a Winterhalter Music teacher. He absolutely fell in love with playing the piano– practicing an hour a day many days. This past June I attended his wedding to my former roommate and good friend. She and her husband (the boyfriend I mention above) decided in lieu of a first dance, they would perform a “first song” together. He accompanied my roommate, who sang with him. It was his first public performance and he was very nervous. It went beautifully and all the wedding guests were so impressed. I was so proud to see someone who went from no musical experience to loving music enough to serenade his guests at his wedding. It was very special and made me feel so happy to see another person who had turned into a music lover.
Are you an adult who picked up or returned to music lessons? Leave a comment below and tell me additional benefits to taking music lessons as an adult. If you are an adult who would like to take music lessons, don’t hesitate to contact us for more information about lessons with a fantastic Winterhalter Music teacher. “Like us” on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter. Stay tuned for next week when I’ll talk more about the challenges adults face when returning to lessons or taking up an instrument for the first time.
Thanks for reading today’s post and enjoy your day!
Sincerely,
Cassie
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I like that you mention that learning and playing a musical instrument is a good way to fight against Alzheimer’s or dementia. One reason that I think adults may not pick up learning an instrument is that they feel they are too old and that it would be harder to learn as adults. I think it’s a great way to keep your mind sharp and focused while finding a new way to creatively express yourself.
You got my attention when you said that attending music lessons with your kids can help you to bond with them by sharing your love for music. My children told me that they are interested in joining music lessons. I wanted to be able to still have quality time with them. Since my love for music has never die, I will make sure to attend music lessons with them soon.
I like how the article explains that playing a musical instrument is able to help your brain health as it helps to create new synapses in your brain. I have been wanting to find ways to increase my brain health recently. Maybe I will look into taking music lessons.