The Rewards of Making Music

Anybody who has played carols on the piano at a Christmas party, or played drums on stage in a rock band, or strummed a guitar beside a campfire, or blown an amazing Jazz solo on a saxophone, knows that music is fun. It’s fun to play, it’s fun to listen to and it’s fun to learn. The challenge of music is fun. The energy of it, the playfulness of it and it’s ability to surprise us, amaze us and delight us make music an unending source of pleasure for people of all ages.

But fun is only the beginning of the rewards of music. As we grow music in a sense grows with us and so becomes a more and more meaningful source of joy and enrichment to us throughout our lives. Music is extremely beautiful and when we create something that is truly a thing of beauty we achieve profound self expression. There is an exquisite mystery to music that seems to speak to the mysteries of the human spirit.

Research has shown that learning and playing music has numerous beneficial effects on growing brains. It enhances cognitive development, reading and verbal development, memory, creativity and motor skills and at the same time reduces stress, improves attitudes towards school and enhances social development. Visit http://www.musica.uci.edu/mrn/V1I2F94.html#cognitive to learn more about the benefits of learning music

Music as a life-long hobby

People who learn to play music when they are young often continue to play for the rest of their lives. Recreational musicians can find tremendous fulfillment playing for themselves or for family and friends. For those who are interested in performing there are musical groups of many different kinds who may perform regularly or only occasionally. Rock groups, Jazz combos, classical ensembles and choirs exist for all different playing abilities and tastes. The social interaction that can arise from participation in such groups can benefit young and old alike while bringing with it the fun, challenge and stimulation of a shared creative endeavour.

Careers in music

There is an immense variety of career possibilities in the world of music. There are opportunities for semi-professional and professional players in more serious performance ensembles or as accompanists or soloists. Some of our students go on to study music in university where they may prepare for careers in music such as professional performers, composers, musicologists or teachers. Those with the necessary talent, desire and self-motivation may aspire to the concert stage. As well as performing there are career opportunities in recording, promotion, music editing and more, For an excellent and thorough listing of employment opportunities in music visit http://www.menc.org/industry/job/careers/careers.html