How Music Helps the Brain

I consider myself a stress-consumed person; however, over the years, playing guitar has helped me manage that stress. During the start of Covid, I looked for a new hobby to pass the time, as many other people did. I needed a way to cope with the loneliness and tediousness of it all. My brother had just recently quit learning guitar so I decided to give it a try. I quickly fell in love with it and playing guitar became my new outlet. I decided to look into the real reasons that playing guitar helped my mental health and here's what I found: 

Memory: Guitar is shown to augment memory significantly. According to chasingsound.com: “-improves the grey matter in the brain resulting in improved memory power.” There is less of a chance of memory decline as you age and memorizing notes and chords strengthens the hippocampus of the brain (the part that stores and receives memory)— It’s sort of like working out for your brain. When I throw myself into learning a new song, I tend to think about issues that are bothering me less because I am so focused on the music I am creating. 

Concentration: The ability to concentrate on things like learning songs or chords can improve attention span. I know that the amount of time I spend on my phone negatively affects my attention span, so the guitar helps me practice concentrating for longer periods of time. I will often take “technology breaks” and practice a song I am currently working on, or try to learn a new song altogether. 

Hand-Eye Coordination: Recreating patterns (chord shapes) from pictures or guitar tabs with your hands improves hand-eye coordination alongside memory. I've seen a major improvement in my hand-eye coordination from when I first started playing guitar. I can now transition between chords way faster, and my ability to complete everyday tasks like typing, writing, and doing the dishes has improved as well. 

I also believe that the idea of being able to “control” the guitar and music when playing allows us to feel in control of life and is an alternate way to cope with hardships. It is also shown that music can help regulate blood pressure which is beneficial for the heart.

Another factor music improves is creativity. The ability to create and recreate music allows us to branch out and “feel” the music. The feeling of playing music is honestly indescribable, and the creativity that comes from it is unmatched. 

Knowing what things help my mental health and how they work has allowed me to explore my feelings and emotions more deeply. If you're ever in a bad place and are not sure what to do, I suggest picking up an instrument (specifically a guitar) or listening to music to take your mind off of what’s bothering you.

By Peyton Louie

OpinionPeyton LouieComment