Playing Music is like time-traveling across the world. You get to experience diverse cultures through history from anywhere at any time. This is how I felt when I discovered my passion for music. I was amazed that wherever you are from, your cultural background or native speech, people all have the astounding ability to understand each other through music.

Whether you’re new to music or want to get better at it, learning an instrument can be daunting. This is why I came up with some of the most astonishing reasons why you should learn music.

A. Where words fail, music speaks 

Imagine knowing a language that transcends words. A language that allows you not only to channel your emotions but to render them into something unique and creative. The beautiful thing about music lies in the endless possibilities to express ourselves. Music helps people communicate, to say what needs to be said.

What a gift it is to have a voice to express yourself in ways that words cannot even begin to describe. Give yourself that gift and you will cherish it forever.

B. A universal language

During my touring years, I had the opportunity to play music with people from all around the world. I was, and still am, amazed how much music connects us all. To communicate ideas with people with whom you don’t share a common tongue is an unbelievable experience. A Harvard University study recently concluded that music is universal. Researchers still hardly understand why music so deeply interconnects humans.

Music is, to put it mildly, a language that transcends words. 

C. Never Too Late to start

People often say they’re “too old” to start learning music. But are they? Sure, most professional musicians started when they were young. But the goal here is not necessary to quit your day job and start touring with your guitar! You might say, yes, that’s great, but I have no time to spare. Take a look at this statistic: the average person spends around 145 minutes on social media every day. This is over a month at the end of the year! I am not saying to stop using social media entirely. Social media can be a great tool to learn music!

Spend some of your precious time to do something for yourself and learn something new.

D. A fit brain

How much can your brain benefit from learning music? More than any other daily activity! Playing music requires almost every part of your brain to work together. It principally involves your visual, auditory, and motor cortices. These brain exercises will not only benefit your music practice but will empower you with those skills in other activities. In a TED-Ed animation, Anita Collins illustrates how the brain benefits from playing music.

“Playing music is the brain’s equivalent of a full-body workout. Musicians also have higher levels of executive function — a category of interlinked tasks that includes planning, strategizing, and attention to detail, and requires simultaneous analysis of both cognitive and emotional aspects.”

We sometimes forget that we can train our brains as we do with our bodies. We should spend less time at the gym, and more time playing music!

E. A passion for life

Whether you want to become a professional orchestra player or strum a few chords around the campfire, music is something that sticks with you forever. When I first started to play the violin, I wasn’t sure if I truly liked it. I need to be patient and work hard to discover what it was all about. But as you progress, the rewarding feeling of playing music becomes addictive. It develops your willpower, patience, and creativity.

Learning music is like a relationship. It will have its ups and downs, and if you don’t give up, it will bring you joy for the rest of your life.