Why it's never too late to learn a musical instrument

There is an art to learning to play an instrument; some would say it's passion, others may say dedication or discipline.

What has not been said is needing experience. This because it is never too late to begin playing a musical instrument, Whether you favour string instruments or brass, drums or piano, music lessons can be taken at any age.

There could be tons of reasons why you're starting lessons when you're starting; maybe when you were younger it wasn't the right time, you were too busy, or you couldn't find suitable music teacher. Either way, if you've wanted to learn to play guitar, you can do so today:

Easy beginnings - Guitar lessons begin fairly easy and within a few weeks, you should be able to play a couple of songs. The more practise means you can play more challenging pieces.

Fun - Learning to play an instrument can be extremely fun, but there is a lot of dedication that is needed. You will be expected to practise, but this will only lead to more fun when you begin to familiarise yourself with the instrument.

Experience - As we age, we gain a lot of life experiences which can lend themselves to our playing abilities and even songwriting. Through expression, you can play unique pieces that will impact others.

Socialising - Bringing up that you ar learning to play an instrument can be a great way to socialise. You can meet other learners, those with experience and take advice and tips from them.

Benefits wellbeing - Learning to play an instrument can actually uplift your spirits. We understand that different types of music can make us feel different emotions, so learning to play an instrument can only heighten those emotions and relieve stress and tension!

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Musical Instrument Facts

Brass horn

The oldest brass instruments can be dated back to 500 BC, and have been found preserved in bogs across Scandinavia. The instruments were called lurs, essentially a long, elegantly curved brass trumpet and had been recovered in batches of two.

Lurs have been used for the crest of Lurpak butter.

The word remains in the Swedish language as something that broadcasts sound, hÖrlurar meaning headphones, along with a mobile phone frequently called a lur.

Stone horn

The precise use of an ancient bronze lur remains a mystery, however, according to the Icelandic sagas the lurs’ later wooden relatives (lurar) had been used for the gathering of troops and scare away the enemy. The Saxons did not require an instrument, they simply used a sizable stone.

The Blowing Stone, at Kingston Lisle, is a large sarsen boulder with a number of holes in it. Blowing into the correct hole creates a loud, penetrating note. Alfred the Great had used said stone to gather his troops prior to the battle of Ashdown.

Universal organ

Rewind to 2004 when astronomers at the University of Virginia measured background radiation from 400,000 years preceding the Big Bang and described the ‘music’ the universe made while it was being created.

“For the first 400,000 years it sounds like a scream declining to a dull roar,” explained Professor Mark Whittle. “And over the first million years the music of the cosmos changed from a bright major chord to a sombre minor one.”

Singing sand

Sand dunes can actually play a ‘tune’, or rather a loud, resonate note that can last for 15 minutes and heard from approximately 6 miles away.

Studies that have been conducted in the Sahara presented that the booms are caused by avalanches on the dunes, often occurring after rain, when the lower layers of a dune are still moist (sometime clumpy) and the top layers are dry. The falling sand makes vibrations in the same manner as the membrane of a loudspeaker.

Cello

An abbreviation of the correct name ‘violoncello’ – literal translation of ‘little big viola.

Cello would have been written with an apostrophe preceding it in the past.

Hard cases

Chicago gangsters wouldn’t have been partial to carrying around machine guns in violin cases. Rather they opted for a ‘hard case’ that resembled a musical instrument carrier. It would have been compartmentalised in order for it to hold various parts of the gun easily.

Harpo

Salvador Dalí, in the Christmas of 1936, sent Harpo Marx a harp that had barbed-wire strings to which Harpo sent back a photo of himself bearing his bandaged fingers.

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Music lessons: fun and stress relief

Finding a hobby can promote resiliency and is a great way of filling and enjoying your free time.

Learning to play an instrument opens up a lot of opportunities; playing an instrument could ultimately lead to joining a church music group, songwriting and even starting your own band.

It's a chance to build a career as a musician and have a little fun with it also.

If you're a person that enjoys learning and has an interest in music, learning to play an instrument could be the thing to do - Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix were self-taught, their careers evolving from the passion to pursue that love of music they both possessed.

How to get started:

Begin with the basics and then you can develop from there and enjoy playing for fun. Purchasing a guitar, and maybe an amplifier and some sound effect pedals will allow you to create a limitless amount of sounds and call it music.

Play along to songs that appeal to you; it'll be a great way of unwinding as well as learning how a song is constructed - the development of your talent lies at honing in the skills you are taught yourself, and helping them flourish, by taking lessons, which is where Progress Music Academy can help!

Playing a musical instrument is a brilliant stress reliever and way of having fun, you'll be fascinated with the music you can make.
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Can music be used as therapy for autistic children?

Can music be used as therapy for autistic children?

It has been claimed that music has powers to heal the soul, but to what extent does ‘the power of music’ actually reach?

Music therapy has been tested on patients suffering from cancer, ADD and depression, concluding that it can actually be effective with helping people cope with their situation, mentally and physically.
There are some hospitals that do use music therapy as a way of assisting patients cope with their specific illnesses as research has confirmed that music does in fact calm the mind and help ease stress – it has even been found that a specific tone, not or pitch has a powerful effect on the body which helps improve emotional, physiological and psychological health.

Music therapy has also been applied to children suffering from autism.

As autism is a neuro-developmental disorder that affect children, its typical symptoms can include impaired communication and social interaction, repetitive behaviour, and limited interest.
The idea of music therapy helping autistic children should be done with the children kept in mind.

Music that encourages dancing and singing works very well with helping autistic children with communication and developing social skills. There could be a possibility of an autistic child choosing to communicate through singing.

The reason behind children having such a great response is because children with autism usually refrain from social engagement and music sessions give them a way of expressing themselves.

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