In the beginning stages of playing guitar, it can seem like guitar is arduous and stressful to play. Overtime, with practice, it gets easier and more enjoyable. So, is playing guitar a good hobby?
Playing guitar is a good hobby because it improves dexterity whilst benefiting cognitive function. Playing guitar has a high sense of fulfillment as guitarists can learn and play songs that they admire. This can bring joy and excitement, making it a truly rewarding hobby.
Continue reading to learn more about what makes guitar a good hobby and why you should pick it up.
Is Learning Guitar a Waste of Time?
Learning guitar is not a waste of time because it is a new skill that challenges your mind and musical capabilities in a way that few other hobbies do as effectively. This allows you to become a more well-rounded individual with varying skills.
Learning new skills should never truly be considered a waste of time. This is especially the case if you have even a smidge of interest in the subject matter. Guitar is a great way to connect with your musical side and tap into creativity that you may not have realized you had.
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In the beginning stages of learning guitar, it can feel like it would be a waste of time. This is because you are spending many hours learning the basics. Basics like scales, simple chords, and easy melodies.
This time spent learning basics can be off-putting, especially when your friends or guitar idols can run circles around you on guitar. This beginning period of learning guitar is not a waste of time and is a crucial part of your guitar journey.
Is Playing Guitar a Good Hobby?
Playing guitar is a good hobby because of three main reasons. The 3 reasons why playing guitar is a good hobby are a higher sense of satisfaction, benefits your brain, and is a great way to meet new and interesting people.
Let’s dive into each of these now.
3 Reasons Why Playing Guitar is a Good Hobby:
1. Higher Sense of Satisfaction
Playing guitar as a hobby can give you a high level of satisfaction. This is especially the case if you have been admiring others guitar playing from afar for many years. As a guitarist progresses and starts playing more challenging songs, a higher sense of satisfaction is achieved. Both in your playing and with yourself for sticking to it.
Mastering songs that you have admired your entire life is one of the best feelings there is. The gratitude you feel for yourself and your guitar is second to none when you finish playing along to a song from start to finish. For me, this was Pride and Joy by Stevie Ray Vaughan. This was my favorite guitar song and to be able to play it whenever I wanted was amazing. Learning these types of songs are what push and encourage you to keep playing.
As you progress and start playing more of your favorite songs, you will develop a new appreciation for music. You will start analyzing songs you hear on the radio. Analyzing the key they are in, chord changes, melody, rhythm, and ultimately if you can play it yourself.
2. Benefits Your Brain
Playing guitar has been shown to have significant positive benefits for the brain. When playing guitar, multiple parts of the brain are lighting up at once as it processes the sound and motor functions. Taking apart the sound to understand elements like rhythm and melody.
All this work by the brain is done in a split second. This example is mostly just when listening to music. Actually playing guitar triggers even more aspects of the brain in addition to the functions above.
Playing guitar is the brains equivalent to a full-body workout. In a study performed by neuroscientists, they saw multiple areas of the brain light up, simultaneously processing different information in interrelated fast sequences. Playing guitar engages practically every area of the brain at once. This is especially the case in the auditory, visual, and motor cortices.
Playing guitar has been found to increase the volume and activity in the brain’s corpus callosum. So what is the benefit to this brain jargon? This allows musicians to solve problems more effectively and creatively in social and academic settings. Furthermore, guitarists often have higher levels of executive function. Executive function is a category of interlinked tasks that includes planning, attention to detail, and strategizing.
Finally, guitarists have been proven to exhibit enhanced memory functions because of the positive brain benefits mentioned above. This means creating, storing, and retrieving memories more quickly and efficiently. This means that guitarists and musicians have highly connected brains.
3. Meet New People
The third reason why playing guitar is a good hobby is because of the amount of new people you will meet. Jamming with new people and new friends is a great way to build lasting connections. Furthermore, it is a great way to improve your playing.
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As a guitarist gets better, more people will likely be met. This is especially the case if you decide to join a band. Bandmates will become best friends and you will meet many new people when performing at different venues.
Furthermore, the quality of new people you meet cannot be understated. Musicians are very like-minded with the main goal of creating and performing great music. Because of this, you will meet people that align to your interests.
Is it Worth it to Learn Guitar? Summary
To summarize, it is worth it to learn guitar because the instrument provides an enriching and fun experience that is enjoyed by thousands of guitarists. The process of learning guitar has strong cognitive benefits and has been proven to improve mental health.
Listening to music is great, being able to create it is amazing. That is why it is extremely worth it to learn guitar.
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