Sports or Music lessons
Deciding between sports or music lessons can be a difficult decision for students who are busy with school. It’s important to try out different interests to see what’s a good fit. Sports are a great way to stay healthy and learn teamwork while music is a more creative outlet. While they seem like very different activities, they have many common benefits that often enhance the experience of the other.
Music after a workout
Practicing music does have some important physical requirements along with the creative and intellectual aspects. A good workout, before or after a practice session on an instrument, will cultivate a calm space to practice with a relaxed mind and body. You will be able to practice for longer periods of time and retain more of what you learned. Furthermore, creating positive experiences while practicing with encourage you to go back to it day after day.
Making music as a team
Music is a very collaborative art form and requires other people to realize the full benefits of making music. A basketball team requires 5 players to work together as a team to accomplish something far greater than what they could achieve on their own. Making music functions in the same way and has even bigger possibilities. As a musician you can perform by yourself or in a small ensemble of players. There are even opportunities to work with dozens of other performers in an orchestra. The opportunities for collaboration and teamwork during these situations are endless.
Music is a language
Learning music is like learning an entire new language. This language offers a new way to communicate using your voice or instrument along with precise timing to convey the emotions you want. Sports also have a language all to themselves as well. You can’t play a football having never seen the sport before. You need to study the play book and the rules, so you know what to execute with your team and what rules to follow. Music also has a set of guidelines that help with performance, composition, and collaboration. Without these rules the musical language would fall apart, just as football would devolve into people running around hitting each other.
A balanced life
When it comes down to it, deciding between sports or music lessons isn’t the most ideal way to think about it. Even some of the most high-profile athletes have dabbled in making music, for example, Shaquille O’Neal released an album that when platinum in 1994. Its not about doing one or the other its more about having a balanced life. Sports offer a great physical work out and an opportunity to learn to work as a team. Music offers a creative outlet in a new language and a skill that can be taken with you wherever you go. They share many common qualities with each other when it comes to collaboration but differ in ways that make it important to make both a priority.
by Austin Netherton – Guitarist and Composer
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