Why everyone should learn an instrument

A persuasive essay for English.

In my experience, I’d say learning even the basics of my first instrument - the bass guitar - was as beneficial to me as learning the alphabet. First off, I will present some simple reasons why leaning an instrument is so rewarding.

Ø It’s a challenge, and it builds patience.
Of course, the level of the challenge changes depending on the instrument you’re taking on. But in any case, your instrument will pose some immediate challenges. For instance, on a guitar or bass, you have to develop calluses on your fingers - pressing those strings down hurts. But persistence pays off quickly - you can wake up in the morning with the ability to play something you couldn’t the night before. With these rock instruments in particular, you can learn to jam with other musicians very quickly, and jamming is some of the most fun you can have.

Ø You can have fun with it at any skill level.
Part of the reason for this is that more advanced musicians will gladly jam with a beginner - in my case, when I was just a young bassist, I had the opportunity to play with virtuoso guitarist Keston Barker, a fellow Windsor Housian, and this helped me to develop. You’re always on your feet when you’re playing with someone with more experience. Now when I’m playing with a beginning player, I find it not only lets me relax a lot while playing, but it helps me learn how to play simple things.

Ø Improvement is a constant possibility.
I went to a saxophone workshop in north Van a while back, and one of the instructors, who’d been playing for (about) 30+ years said, “If I ever run out of things to practice, I’m gonna quit playing.” They talked about a pianist friend of theirs, who’d died at around age 75, and they said that up until his last month, he would still come home from gigs at 2 a.m. and then practice until 4 a.m. Whether you’re just learning your instrument casually, or you’re a 70-year-old pianist named McCoy Tyner who played with John Coltrane, you’re never gonna reach a dead end.

Ø You listen to music in a totally different way.
Of course, if you’ve never touched an instrument in your life, it’s easy to take music for granted - not to say that non-musicians can’t like music, but I myself couldn’t appreciate a great guitarist like Nick Drake before taking up the instrument.
You start to listen to everything, and picture what the music would feel like if you were playing it. You start to ask, “How is that done?” And when you start learning theory, if you choose that path, you can recognize certain chord progressions, rhythms, or scales by ear - even in sounds that aren’t music, like human speech, or traffic sounds. Also, the theory can lead you to listen to music you wouldn’t have considered before - for instance, you could just be playing Nirvana all day, then suddenly become an Eric Dolphy fan. For instance.


Now, here are some arguments that I’d like to settle.

Ø An instrument? That’s a huge commitment! I don’t have time for that!
Not true. You don’t have to devote your whole life to it - like I said before, you can enjoy yourself with only four chords. And anyways, it’s a much better way of avoiding your homework than watching the boob tube.

Ø I like music, but I can’t play it. I’m not musical.
Of course you’re not musical if you don’t try an instrument. If you try it, you are musical. No one is born with the ability to play. If you are inclined to play, you can play.

Ø But I can’t even keep a beat!
What do you think drummers and metronomes are for?

Ø I can’t read music.
You don’t need to be able to read music to play it, especially if you’re just starting out. Whatever you need to learn off the top, a friend can show you.

I’d like to conclude that music can not only improve your life in all the ways I’ve mentioned and more, but that it puts good vibes in the air and improves the quality of life of people around you. I have had two people in my co-op, people I hardly even know, come up to me and say almost exactly the same thing: “I love hearing the saxophone - I feel like I’m living in Europe!” People want to hear music. Give it to ‘em.