Studies show playing the piano can bring back fun into our lives, reduce stress, and help with anxiety. Could it be the release we need as we move forward?
We’re only beginning to understand the implications the pandemic has had on mental health.
Statistics show that 4 in 10 adults have reported anxiety or depressive disorder symptoms, up from 1 in 10 during the same time period pre-pandemic. For young adults ages 18-24, the reports of symptoms are even higher, at 56 percent.
The pandemic has also taken its toll on kids, with more than 25 percent of high school students reporting worsening emotional and cognitive health, at a time where pediatric mental health care coverage is declining too.
Where do kids retreat to when they need time to relax and unwind? For many, they turn to music. It’s an integral part of our culture, and an emotional communication method that grasps us throughout our lives. How many times have you heard a song and instantly been transported back in time?
Those feelings further increase when you connect with the song. Playing the piano allows you to connect in a way that listening can’t. You put fingers to the keys, and feel the emotion in your arms as you play.
Learning the piano is more than tapping out the song on the keyboard. Learning the piano helps you understand every aspect of music, providing both rhythm and structure to how you look at music.
It’s a gift that allows you to open up and look deep within yourself about how music impacts the world. It’s an outlet for creativity, an emotional expression that once learned, never leaves. It gives you a way to destress and calm down even after your busiest, most stressful days.
If you’ve ever learned to play the piano as a child, remember how much fun it was to be able to create music? To sit down and relax without the stress of the outside world?
Why not give that gift to your child now when they need it most?
Learning to play the piano might just be the best activity you can give them as we move forward in this world.
