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Welcome to April, which marks the International Guitar Month. The annual celebration of this wonderful string instrument is a good opportunity to review some reasons to learn to play the guitar.
As John Denver, who always performed with his acoustic guitar, sang:
“This old guitar taught me to sing a love song It showed me how to laugh and how to cry.”
Yes, the guitar’s multi-layered sound can evoke all kinds of emotions, but there are many more benefits you can get from it. So let’s look at…
Five Reasons to Learn the Guitar:
Because it comes in different sizes (¼, ½, ¾, and full), people of all ages — from kids to seniors — can learn to play it. It is a truly ageless instrument.
Studies show that learning to play the chords and read sheet music opens new neural pathways, improving both cognitive and muscle memory.
According to Guitar World, “Guitarists have ability to slur, slide, hammer, pick up and down, finger, tap, bend, whammy, vibrate, play with your palm, play with your teeth, use a slide and play with so many types of dynamics and articulations that they can’t be replicated successfully.” No other instrument can beat such dexterity!
It’s a very versatile instrument on which many musical genres can be played: blues, jazz, country, rock, flamenco, and numerous others.
It comes in all kinds of shapes and varieties: classical, steel, acoustic, and electric. You learn to play one, and then can switch to another.
Out of the Hands of Babes…
We mentioned that even young children can learn and enjoy the guitar. Just look at these two examples of how kids in different countries play this instrument: in North Korea, it’s the pop sound and right here in the United States, rock music.
Enjoy celebrating the International Guitar Day and remember that this great instrument is…right at your fingertips!
