10 Life Skills You Gain from Learning Music

This week I found this blog post about all the things you gain by learning music. This post was written by Megan, piano teacher and author of Pianissimo: A Very Piano Blog. Visit her website for more piano related blogs for teachers, parents, students, and all things piano.​

1. Seeing the Big Picture 
Wait, how is seeing the big picture a skill? Well, there is a saying is that is especially true for learning music. The day you plant the seed is not the day you eat the fruit.
Learning to play an instrument doesn’t happen overnight. Many musicians dedicate years to mastering their instrument. Finding satisfaction in the process of learning helps musicians to keep their eye on the prize while still enjoying the present moment, including all of the challenges that come along with learning music. This may mean delayed gratification, but as you’ll learn through music, it’s well worth the wait. 
Seeing the big picture is a life skill you’ll find is beneficial in many other situations. Whether it’s applying for jobs, getting your degree, shopping for a new home, or tackling parenthood for the first time, a lot of good things require a process. Learning to enjoy that process can make life far more enjoyable!

2. Time Management
It is impossible to cram when you’re learning music. You can’t figure it out right before your lesson or just before a performance. Music takes a lot of time to settle into your brain and your hands or voice. Understanding the timeline needed to learn music is a great way to practice time management skills. As you’re learning new music, you have to consider how long it might take to learn it, when you plan to carve out the time to practice, and how to best use your practice time. 
You’ll probably need to use this same thought process to plan out other large-scale projects or responsibilities that you take on.  

3. Perseverance
Learning an instrument can be frustrating, both physically and mentally. Whether you’re a guitarist playing through sore fingertips or a vocalist who just can’t get to that high note, it can be easy to want to give up. It takes a special skill to stick with something even though you know it will be difficult or it may not always be fun.
Life presents us with so many other tasks that aren’t necessarily enjoyable or pleasant but often, we just have to get them done. The perseverance you learn through learning music will help you look at the big picture, and see why pushing through can be incredibly rewarding.

4. Problem Solving
Music doesn’t always have a clear-cut answer. You may be having difficulty interpreting the score, executing a difficult technical passage, or finding motivation. You will learn that there are plenty of opportunities to find creative and unique solutions to the issues you’re facing. You may need to ask a teacher or expert, watch a tutorial, do some research or consult with a friend.
The problem-solving situations you encounter with your music will help you when you face obstacles in your life. You’ll regularly be practicing how to think creatively and use your resources.

5. Creativity
Music is a wonderful way to express yourself creatively. The way you approach and interpret your music is unique to you. It helps mold you into an individual and creative thinker. This creativity is something that will shine out in other areas of your life as well. 

6. Thinking On The Spot
Music requires you to make many split-second decisions over and over. It forces you to think quickly on your toes. Over time, you can become very quick at reacting to small mistakes, surprises in the music, and unexpected outcomes. 
As we all know too well, life has a way of throwing us curveballs from time to time. Being able to process quickly and come up with a solution, even if it’s only temporary, can help you to compartmentalize and deal with situations head-on.

7. Patience
(Practicing) music over and over again to perfect the smallest details is a wonderful way to cultivate patience. It’s tempting to want to gloss over all of the little things in music and play what seems easy. But when you spend time mastering the details, you see the best results.
Practicing this kind of patience is a great lesson to bring into your everyday life. It’s worth it to do things the right way, even if it means it’s not as easy.

8. Communication and Collaboration
Music is a fantastic way to communicate with others. Not only do you have to learn to communicate about your music, but you also learn to communicate through music. In addition, you’ll probably encounter many musicians on your musical journey in which you’ll want to collaborate with. You might be in an ensemble or choir, or you might be an aspiring songwriter. Communicating with your music teacher, collaborating with fellow musicians, and sending a musical message to your listeners all require different strategies. These strategies will be helpful in your relationships at school, jobs, and other social situations.

9. Taking on Responsibility
Believe it or not, there is more than just practice responsibilities for musicians...being a musician can be busy. And though we’d wish it if we could, life doesn’t seem to pause for any of it.
Being a musician teaches you how to take on many responsibilities, wear several hats, and perform under pressure. Learning how to deal with your responsibilities in the music world will carry over into many other aspects of your life as well.

10. Coping and Stress Management
Many musicians discover that practicing music becomes a helpful outlet when dealing with stress and other difficult situations. Playing music can be very therapeutic. Having the option to cope through music is a valuable tool that can help balance out many of life’s challenges.

We hope you can now see why all those hours of practice can be worth so much more than just having the perfect performance. Music impacts you in so many ways, and these are just a few of them! 

Thank you to Megan for sharing this expertise with us! This post was written by Megan, piano teacher and author of Pianissimo: A Very Piano Blog. Visit her website for more piano related blogs for teachers, parents, students, and all things piano.