Playing music is good for you

I’ve been around music for most of my life, and I’ve always believed there was something about actually playing music that was good for you.

Not listening to it. Not putting on your favorite playlist while you’re driving or turning up the radio when a song you love comes on.

I mean actually picking up an instrument and playing.

There’s something that happens when you grab a guitar, sit behind a drum kit, play a piano or get together with a few other musicians. For an hour or two, the rest of the world has a tendency to disappear.

The bills are still there. Your phone is still full of messages. Whatever was bothering you that afternoon probably hasn’t magically gone away.

But while you’re playing?

You’re somewhere else.

And it turns out there’s some pretty good science behind something musicians have probably known for a very long time: playing music can be really good for us.

Your brain has a lot going on

Think about what your brain is actually doing when you play a song.

You’re remembering chords or notes. You’re keeping time. Your hands may be doing completely different things. You’re listening to yourself while listening to everyone else. You’re anticipating the next change, remembering lyrics and occasionally wondering how the drummer managed to speed the song up again.

That’s a pretty serious workout for your brain.

Research involving more than 1,000 adults found that people who played musical instruments tended to perform better in areas including memory and executive function — the mental skills we use for concentration, planning and problem-solving. The association was especially noticeable among people who continued playing later in life.

Does that mean playing “Smoke on the Water” every night guarantees you’ll remember where you left your car keys when you’re 85?

Unfortunately, no.

But it certainly gives us another good reason to keep playing.

Sometimes you just need to play

For me, though, one of the most interesting benefits of playing music has nothing to do with remembering things.

It’s about forgetting things for a while.

Playing music forces you to be present. When you’re playing with other musicians, your brain doesn’t have much opportunity to wander. You’re listening to the bass player. You’re watching for the change. You’re trying to remember whether the chorus happens twice or three times.

For a little while, everything else gets pushed aside.

I remember hearing a quote from Paul McCartney once that has always stuck with me. He was talking about songwriting and how he would take whatever was bothering him and go off somewhere by himself with his guitar.

He described it perfectly: “It’s almost as if you’re telling your guitar your troubles.”

I think anyone who has spent enough time playing an instrument understands exactly what he means.

Sometimes you don’t need to solve anything. You don’t necessarily need to talk about it. You just need to disappear for a while, play some music and somehow come back feeling a little better than when you started.

Researchers have studied that side of music too. Active music-making has been associated with improvements in mood, emotional well-being and social connection. Group music-making may be particularly valuable because it combines creativity with something we probably don’t get enough of anymore: actually spending time with other people.

There’s something about playing with other people

Anyone who has played in a band knows the feeling when everything suddenly locks together.

Nobody has to say anything. The drummer and bass player find the groove. Everybody hits the change at exactly the right moment. Maybe someone takes a solo and the rest of the band instinctively knows where they’re going.

For a few minutes, five people can almost feel like one person.

That human connection may be another reason playing music can be so valuable, particularly as we get older. The World Health Organization has reviewed thousands of studies examining participation in the arts and found substantial evidence connecting creative activities with physical, psychological and social well-being.

But you probably don’t need 3,000 studies to tell you that getting together with some friends and playing music feels pretty good.

You don’t have to be great

This may be my favorite part of the whole subject.

You don’t have to be particularly good at music to get something out of playing it.

Nobody says you have to join a band. Nobody says you have to perform. And nobody says anybody else ever has to hear you.

Maybe you played guitar when you were 20 and haven’t touched one in 30 years.

Pick it up.

Maybe there’s a piano sitting in your house that’s slowly becoming a very expensive piece of furniture.

Sit down and play it.

Maybe you’ve always wanted to learn drums, bass, ukulele or saxophone.

Start.

You don’t have to become a great musician. Playing music challenges your brain. It gives you something to work toward. It gets you away from your phone for a while. It can introduce you to people you never would have met otherwise.

And sometimes, after a lousy day, playing a few songs is exactly what you needed.

So if you already play, don’t stop.

And if you used to play, maybe it’s time to start again.

You don’t have to become a great musician. You might just become a happier one.