5 Lessons You Can Learn from Making Music

Many of us participate in making music when we are in school or growing up. But opportunities to make music often dry up after our academic days are through. People who do not give up, who join their voices with a chorus or pick up a guitar and learn to play are some of the happiest people alive. Music is a unique art form, one that can give satisfaction even when it isn't great. But when it is great, it is one of the highest of all art forms, capable of transporting the human spirit and inspiring us in our daily lives. Making music in some way is therefore one of the most worthwhile pursuits. It connects us both through familiarity with well-known melodies and exploration of mysterious notes.

Making music is a lifelong learning process
One of the most fascinating life lessons in making music is that you are never done learning. Even world famous and great musicians continue learning their craft all through their lives. Interestingly, some great musical artists gravitate toward simplicity as they age. Their experience teaches them that to try too hard or be too eager is fruitless floundering. The masterful notes of a well-trained musician teach us much about the engaging power of humility and restraint. That is not to say that the ebullience of youth and music should be suppressed. Where would music be without the precocious daring of a young Mozart or the untamed lyrical brilliance of a John Lennon? Yet even these geniuses had their early influences and their ultimate mentors. Or they became mentors to others. In any case, making music calls us to adapt and learn, a life lesson that can last a lifetime.

Making music, while not always easy, is usually fun
Anyone who has ever picked up an instrument to play knows that making mistakes is part of learning. But once you have mastered rudimentary skills and can begin to play a tune or keep rhythm, making music is fun. There is no greater feeling than playing along with a group and feeling the groove, finally arriving at that point where the song comes to an end with a blast of a chord or a fading series of notes. The feeling of control and collaboration is humanly primeval, a call out against eternity that says "I'm alive and here! I matter because I play!"

Making music is therapy and good for your attitude
If you come home from a hard day at work and need a retreat to gather yourself, think through the day and possibly escape your cares, few activities can help you create that space better than playing music. Whatever mood you feel, there is music to match it. Angry or frustrated, happy or content, simply choose a song and let it flow. Using music to access your emotions is therapy of the highest order, for music is a dialogue with the universe. Many of the notes and rhythms you hear in music made by human beings is imitative of sounds you hear in nature. Some musicians like Paul Winter even incorporate actual recordings of wolves, whales and other creatures in their music. Music can help you discover your organic self.

Making music makes listening to music even better
One of the first things you will notice when you start making music yourself is a greater appreciation for the music you hear. Suddenly those guitar solos from rock classics in the 1970s take on greater significance when you've played guitar yourself. Even music produced on instruments you've never played takes on new significance as you begin to appreciate the skill and virtuosity of musicians the world over. When you make music yourself it is as if you have learned a whole new language and can hear it being spoken wherever you go.

It's not that hard, and it isn't that expensive
Learning how to make music is not that hard. A reasonable sounding guitar is not that expensive ($150 or so) and chords are really quite simple to learn following chord patterns or tabs. You will find that many popular songs are founded on 4-6 chords. Then you can play and sing along. Who cares if you're great or not? You can pretend you're John Lennon or John Denver. Take your pick! Making music is worth the investment because it gives back so much pleasure and a sense of accomplishment.

If you have even an inkling of talent or grew up playing music, you can still do it! Give yourself the gift of music and it will pay back emotional dividends the rest of your life.