Benefits of Playing the Guitar the Facts

Really? There are emotional benefits of playing the guitar? You bet there are. And I intend on explaining it in great detail.

Many people decide to play the guitar, but more often than not the reasons for this vary.  Some want a hobby while others want to write songs.  Some want to impress their friends while others want to earn a living as a musician.  From my perspective, ANY reason to play are benefits of playing the guitar.

What musicians say about the benefits of playing the guitar

Benefits of playing the guitar

Every musician will tell you that the music they play is an extension or expression of who they are, and where they are in their own personal experiences in life.  This is so true.  You can listen to a musician play and know exactly how they are feeling or the mood they are in without them uttering one single word.  Why is that?

That’s the beauty of music.  We all have personal experiences and feelings, but most of the time we tend to keep them to ourselves and not discuss them with others.  Even when we do discuss them we never really offer full disclosures to others.  We always hold something back. In music, however, this approaches the near impossible.   If you are happy it will show in your playing. If you are depressed you won’t be able to hide that in your music.  It’s both baffling and extraordinary at the same time but these are the benefits of playing the guitar. As human beings, we all have our own unique ways of expression, but the process tends to become more universal when we add music to the formula.

So how does the benefits of playing the guitar actually benefit me as a guitar player?

Very simply put, your music provides a release that you otherwise wouldn’t have.  Everyone knows repressed feelings can create a lot of stress which, in turn, can cause a multitude of other problems.  But spending time with your music provides a release for that stress that can create instant relief.  I can’t tell you how many times I sat down to play guitar, filled with stress, and 30 minutes later I felt like a million bucks.  There is no pill in the world that can compete with that kind of relief! Even if you are not a musician you have probably experienced this time and time again. Do you ever recall being in a certain mood that was changed immediately after listening to a favorite song or artist? For a musician the benefits of playing the guitar are wonderful.

This is demonstrated most prevalently by the people around you.  I have had friends and family members (as well as band members), listen to me play and ask, “what’s the matter?” or “what are you so happy about?”  It’s a truly amazing phenomenon that will do nothing less than improve your state of mind when it needs it the most.  It was best said when Poet William Congreve (in a 1697 play) wrote the line,  “Music has Charms to sooth a savage Breast” (which is often misquoted as “music soothes the savage beast”).  But it is true, so very true! So go pick up a guitar and strum away those blues!

And just for fun, the next time you are out listening to your favorite musicians play, pay attention to the mood of the music and you will possess exclusive insight on the musician and the benefits of playing the guitar.