Is Learning Guitar a Waste of Time? Here Is Why It’s Not

If you are thinking about learning guitar you are probably wondering if it is worth it. Should you do it or is learning guitar a waste of time?

Learning guitar is not a waste of time, and in fact, there are several benefits to doing it.

Is learning to play guitar worth it?

Learning any musical instrument can help you improve your musical ability, and a Harvard study conducted in 2003 has shown that musicians’ brains had a larger volume of grey matter than non-musicians.

This reflects one of the most positive benefits of learning guitar, which forces individuals to use different parts of the brain and develop new skills.

If you have always wanted to learn guitar, it is definitely worth it, and it also boosts your creativity. Additionally, you will understand music theory better, and be able to improve your concentration and focus.

10 Benefits of learning guitar

Here are some of the main benefits of learning guitar:

• Improves your creativity
• Improves your coordination
• It helps develop the muscles of your arms and hands
• Improves your patience
• It pushes you to the limit of your abilities
• It can help you be more confident
• It provides immense joy
• Improves your ability to focus
• Helps you become more patient and disciplined
• It can help you learn other instruments

Improves your creativity

If you want to develop your creativity, especially musical creativity there is nothing like learning guitar. It will broaden your musical spectrum by forcing you to learn new things and expose yourself to new music genres and songs.

Learning just about any musical instrument can really boost your creative side, and it is definitely not a waste of time.

Improves your coordination

To learn guitar you need to work on your coordination between both hands, your brain, and your eyesight. There are very few activities that demand so many things at the same time, and mastering it can help you become more coordinated.

It helps develop the muscles of your arms and hands

Believe it or not, learning guitar can also help your muscles on the arm and hands. If forces you to use some force, the constant practice will have a positive effect on your arm and hand strength.

Improves your hearing

Another advantage of learning guitar is that it forces you to develop your musical hearing ability. Not all of us are born with the same hearing ability for music, but if you start learning guitar you will be forced to develop it.

One of the ways of doing this is by learning guitar by ear. Picking up songs, licks and chords is a great way to develop your hearing.

It pushes you to the limit of your abilities

Learning guitar can be a very humbling experience because you are always learning and even well-known guitar players make mistakes. The instrument forces you to constantly push your knowledge boundaries and put you to the test.

It can help you be more confident

Learning new things can always help us be more confident and boost our self-esteem. Especially guitar, because you are able to showcase your new skills to friends, family, or even your partner.

It provides immense joy

There are very few things that provide as much joy as learning a new song or solo. Learning guitar is a high effort high reward process, that always makes you happy and radiant. The feeling of learning something new is extremely rewarding, and it can help you improve your happiness.

Improves your ability to focus

Learning guitar will also force you to focus. Not only on the playing itself which can be demanding, but also on your practice routine, and the discipline required to improve.

Helps you become more patient and disciplined

Because learning guitar takes so much time, and effort, it forces the guitar player to become a lot more patient and disciplined. These teachings can be used in other areas of life, and they will be extremely beneficial to you.

It can help you learn other instruments

Finally, learning guitar will give you a headstart in learning just about any instrument. Although you will be able to easily move on to instruments like ukulele, bass, and even banjo, it can also help you to learn just about any other musical instrument.

Because you will already have the musical foundation, and it becomes easy to use those skills.

What age is too late to learn guitar?

It is never too late to learn how to play any musical instrument. Although some guitar players start very young, that does not mean that you will not be able to play if you are 50 or 60, or even 70 years old.

Although it might take more practice to be a proficient guitar player at those ages, it does not mean that it cannot be done. All it takes is to have the right approach, and take advantage of the different learning materials available, like beginner guitar books, and videos.

You might even want to consider getting some guitar lessons, even if you can learn guitar without a teacher, it will be helpful to have someone guide you through the initial songs and chords.

How long does it take the average person to learn guitar?

It will take at least a month until you are able to play some of the most simple songs on guitar, however, this should not discourage you. Learning guitar should take at least about a year before you can start soloing and playing some intermediate-level songs. Can you really learn guitar in a year?

This does not mean that it will take exactly a year because it depends on your ability and skill, as well as the amount of time you want to dedicate to learning the instrument.

What is the success rate of learning guitar?

The guitar is difficult to learn, and it is one of the reasons why 90% of guitar students end up quitting.

What you need to really be on that 10% that keep learning and studying is to keep practicing, and dedicate yourself entirely to learning. Even within that 10%, there is a large part of those students that never get to play complex solos and intricate harmonies. So in order to be successful at guitar, you really need to dedicate a lot of time to practicing and have patience.

Every skill on the guitar takes some time to learn, and as you progress it will become easier to learn new techniques and songs.

Conclusion

While it may seem like a lot of effort, playing and learning guitar is not a waste of time. Even if you do not plan to be a professional musician, it is still worth considering learning how to play. Learning guitar is not a waste of time, because there are several benefits to it, and it is one of the most rewarding hobbies you can have.