Playing musical instruments has many advantages and brings pleasure to both us and those around us. Music, as they say, is medicine for the soul, and those who are especially gifted and willing to play are the treasure of this world.
One of the most important reasons why this instrument is so popular is the ease with which it is mastered. The best way to learn guitar for adults is by finding many fantastic tutorials on the internet on how to play the guitar, and just by following steps from such videos, one can learn guitar basics quite fast. Not to mention fantastic guitar books that you can buy, such as The Guitar Handbook. Adults are especially good at this since they benefit more from distance learning than kids.
Are you thinking right now – How can adults learn guitar? Isn't it too late? The short and most honest answer is – no, it’s not too late! There are many benefits of learning guitar, from mental to emotional, and even physical.
So let’s see how older adults can learn to play the guitar and why.
Increase Mentality
Numerous studies have been conducted in the field of the influence of music on the brain. Scientists have long noticed differences in the functioning of the brains of musicians and those who are not. Therefore, they came to several conclusions, many of which are astonishing but also surprising.
It has been confirmed and known that if a child starts playing an instrument, he or she is more likely to learn to read earlier, that his or her (musical) IQ will noticeably increase, and that certain parts of the brain will develop. These children are often excellent students, and they generally do very well in mathematics and science, as well.
It is certainly understandable why children benefit from learning, but how does learning guitar as an adult improve your cognitive capabilities? Well, adults can benefit a lot from playing. Playing encourages the strengthening of memory and brain capacity, we are smarter and more up-to-date, and we remember easier and faster. So, guitar in hand!
It Teaches Discipline
Learning an instrument is like learning a foreign language - it can be very tiring and stressful. Such situations require patience and discipline from us, which we will build if we are persistent in the learning process. You have to be disciplined and persistent to learn and you have to set aside enough time to practice every day. Learning guitar for adults is twice as more difficult than it is for kids since adults have jobs that are often exhausting. Having to learn something after an 8-hour shift is quite a challenge. But when the goal is set, and you start learning to play guitar, you will feel as if you could achieve anything. Not to mention having to read some books or attend a few guitar courses in case you want to master your playing!
Playing relieves stress
As stated above, sometimes there are days full of stress when something is not going well at work, maybe you do not feel fulfilled or something bad has happened. On days like these, you need to relax and take a step away from the rest of the world for a while. Have you noticed when you hear light, gentle music that you feel more pleasant and relaxed? Music is magic, it heals and helps the mental state, and if only you played it alone… the stress will disappear in no time at all! For those who really do live with a lot of stress, this might be one of the best benefits of learning the guitar as an adult, if not the best.
A Sense of Fulfillment
In the beginning, due to numerous mistakes and lack of practice, learning the guitar can be an experience full of frustration. But after some time of regular exercise every day, you will perfect and master this wonderful skill. Then you will realize that all those “broken nerves” were really worth it.
It has been proven that you will never forget the first song you learned to play, so after a while, you will surely come back to it, and you will smile. You are much better now than you were in the beginning! Be proud of yourself when you learn to play guitar!
Even through those hard chords or stages of learning the guitar, remember that there is an end, and for you it will be once you have mastered the song!
It is fun!
If those benefits of learning the guitar as an adult haven’t been enough so far, choose an instrument simply because it’s fun! Especially when we master a song, we can play it to others and delight them with our skills.
There is no better feeling than playing some of your favorite Queen songs (certainly not as good as Brian May), shredding like Edward Van Halen, or simply jumping around like Angus Young (hopefully, without a schoolgirl uniform)! Not to mention just jamming with your friends, synchronizing, doing performances together at parties, or even starting a band! Nothing is impossible!
As time goes on and you get better, new doors will open for you. Finding someone else around you with a similar hobby, someone who plays another instrument, for example, is incredibly easy. So form a mini band and play for a small circle of friends. You may find yourself loving it and maybe wanting to pursue it on a more professional level. And earning money while having fun is the dream come true. We never know what awaits us!
Take Away
As you can see, the benefits of learning the guitar as an adult are many. We can definitely find much more of them, but these are our top pointers. Now it's time for you to spend time with a guitar in your hands while learning to play it.
Not all of us will be Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, or Yngwie Malmsteen, but you can be very successful in your microcosm. We don't play to compete, we play to make lives better for both us and the people around us. And if you have kids, or are planning to have them in the future, what better scenario can you imagine than you playing them their favorite songs, and them grabbing an instrument later on in their lives?
Let these above-mentioned benefits of learning the guitar as an adult be your motivation to start right away!