• Learning and playing music can have many benefits.instrument for concert image by Madera from Fotolia.com
  
  There are many good reasons to learn music other than providing a lifetime of enjoyment. Learning music exposes you to a wider variety of music and expands your horizons and interests. The more you learn about music, the more magic and pleasure you will find in music throughout life.
  
  

Fun and Relaxation

• Learning to play a musical instrument well is hard work. It can also be a lot of fun. It should be enjoyable, and whoever sings or plays an instrument should want to. Getting together with friends and family to play music is a pleasant experience. Playing with a group encourages a common interaction with each other. A person with musical training will hear and appreciate things in music that the untrained may not. Learning music opens a person to a wider variety of styles which they haven't heard. Playing an instrument after a long, hard day is a good way to relieve the buildup of stress and aggravation. Playing an instrument forces concentration on the music and helps clear the mind of daily irritations. Relaxing and relieving tensions leads to a variety of other health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure, anxiety and heart rate.
  
  

Achievement

• Learning music gives a sense of achievement. Learning to play requires discipline and concentration. Practice requires regularity to accomplish certain techniques. Practicing may not always seem fun, but playing a difficult section of music well is extremely gratifying. A person may forget the time spent practicing after playing through a difficult section well. When someone knows how to read music, he or she can play unfamiliar music. They might not be able to play it at the best level but will improve with practice. That gives a sense of achievement.
  
  

Intelligence

• Learning music may enhance learning in other areas. There are several studies indicating music improves language and communication skills, reading, math and cognitive skills. In the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, a 2005 report entitled "Effects of music training on the child's brain and cognitive development" found that 9- to 11-year-olds who play musical instruments have significantly more gray matter in the occipital lobes and sensorimotor cortex. As the brain develops, learning to play music may assist the development of brain neurons and circuitry. Playing music also requires skills useful in other intellectual endeavors. Some of these are logic, problem-solving, evaluating and forming ideas. Playing also improves eye- and hand-coordination skills. The memorization process used in music enhances mental clarity. Learning music encourages playing with others, which promotes social skills, teamwork, cooperation, and communication. Vocal music sharpens grammar and vocabulary skills. Music is a positive enhancement to the scholastic environment.