Music Is Good For The Heart, Soul, And Brain
Whether it’s the setting to your intimate study session on the University of Toronto campus, the background to an epic downtown party, or the soundtrack to your breakup, music is an important part of your life. To all of our lives. It has the power to make our souls and hearts feel different emotions as it takes us through journeys of time, ideas, and sound. But listening to music or playing a musical instrument doesn’t just influence our emotions. It can come with several health benefits, including lessening the effects of physical pain and boosting your memory.
How can something as intangible as a few notes of music lessen pain? It sounds far-fetched that music can have any place in the surgical ward, but according to the study conducting by Queen Mary University of London it has just as much reason to be there as IV-infused pain relief. The study involved over 70 trails with over 7 000 surgical patients. Some were given nothing to listen to as they were confined to bed for rest. Others were allowed to listen to music while they rested. Their findings showed that those patients that got to listen to music before and after their surgeries were less anxious than their counterparts. They also needed less pain relief.
The remarkable properties of music don’t stop there. When you play music, your brain undergoes changes that lights fires in new pathways. With this increased activity in different areas of your brain, your cognitive abilities improve, especially that of executive functions (EF) that help you regulate behaviour, problem solve, and adapt to changing environments. Studies have shown that learning an instrument can help with memory. Even just listening to music can improve memory in Alzheimer’s and dementia patience.
With these benefits (and so many more) to learning how to play an instrument, it’s little wonder that so many of your fellow Torontonians have chosen to learn how to play an instrument as their New Year’s resolutions. Old, young, or somewhere in between — everyone stands to profit from this new skill — including yourself.
As an adult who’s never played an instrument in your life before, the prospect of picking up an instrument now can be daunting. But it doesn’t have to be! Toronto is home to so many different musical communities, musicians, and music stores that can help you with your new hobby. Check out MeetUps to find free and local gatherings of musicians in your neighbourhood. It’s a great platform for finding like-minded (and similarly skilled) musicians. To get yourself situated with a quality made instrument to get you through practice, check out an esteemed name in the city’s music scene. The locations of Long & McQuade Toronto stores are all over the city, and there’s one probably in your neighbourhood. Along with their proximity, you’ll know that all of their instruments come with the guarantee of their name as Toronto’s best music store. They even have affordable and convenient music lessons to help you get started.
Once you have a reliable instrument, some lessons, and a community behind you, learning to play music won’t be so hard. Before you know it, you’ll start to see the benefits of picking up an instrument. With so many advantages, there’s no reason to put it off. Get started today and see how music can improve your overall mental and physical health.