It is a well-known fact that music has positive effects on people’s health. It can help to change our mood when we are angry or sad, and can also reduce stress and make ourselves feel better.
One of the unwritten rules in life is to learn at least one musical instrument in your lifetime. Many people choose a guitar for its availability and it can be mastered quickly, while some resort to a more sophisticated instrument like the clarinet. Like the rest of the woodwind instruments, playing music with a clarinet provides surprising health benefits and helps develop different mental and physical skills that most people are not aware of. By knowing these, you may consider getting one.
- Mastery of breathing
Breathing is commonly understood as an automatic process that our body does for us to live. But the ability to inhale and exhale while playing brass and woodwind instruments provides more than what we can imagine, helping to curb the harmful effects of the stress hormone, cortisol, in the body. Every cell in the body needs oxygen to convert food and liquid into energy. On the other hand, exhaling is just as important as inhaling, to breathe out toxins like carbon dioxide and allow fresh oxygen to come back in. Also, it engages our lungs to utilise their capacity through a great respiratory workout.
- Helps strengthen core muscles and develop posture
Regularly playing a wood instrument not only gives a workout for your lungs and diaphragm, but it will also entail the use of abdominal and core muscles necessary to train your body to handle fatigue, increase the level of endurance, and become less prone to injuries. It can also improve body posture and spare you from lower back pain and muscle lesions.
- Enhance hand and eye coordination skills
Playing wind instruments does not only require air, but it also needs hand and eye coordination to play the musical pieces correctly, along with the positioning of the tongue on the mouthpiece and the air that is sufficient to produce a sound. In particular, hand-eye coordination is a complex cognitive ability that unites our visual and motor skills that we use to apply correct responses for a specific situation.
- Refinement of goal setting skills
Although it is natural for people to set goals, how this is done, maintained, and progresses is another area to explore. Like in targeting goals in life, learning to play an instrument is learning the art of practice. Along the way, you master playing every piece one after another and set another level of difficulty to achieve.
- Handle pressure and develop confidence
Focus and calmness are the keys to play any musical instrument effectively, especially clarinet instruments. Since your breath powers a clarinet, it is essential to stay relaxed even under pressure. Most soloists succeed in their performances using this strategy. And just like in real life, any stressful situation can be handled with a relaxed mind.
Music is one thing in this world that will never turn you down. The sound of it not only serves our ears but also feeds our hearts and souls.