- Brain Development
Brain plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change throughout life. Changes associated with learning occur mostly at the connections between neurons. When studying musicians, they found that the cortex volume was highest in professional musicians, intermediate in amateur musicians, and lowest in non-musicians.
- Playing Music Makes You Happy
Studies have shown repeatedly that the brain releases dopamine in reaction to hearing music, and even more so when you are the one playing it. Music teaching is used to counteract depression, anxiety, and other psychological pains. Along with making you happier, Dopamine has been shown to increase motivation and decrease addiction. So play music, be happy.
- Transferable Skills
In a study of children, it revealed that those with three or more years of musical training preformed better in fine motor skills and auditory discrimination abilities then those who had none. They even tested better for vocabulary and reasoning skills, even though those are quite separate from music training. All of these skills prove useful in different facets of life, all are derived from learning a musical instrument.