Playing an instrument can come with more benefits other than fame and money. It provides many people a way to immerse themselves in thought and concentration, and often brings a very trance-like state of consciousness. Many students here at Blue Valley West possess the ability to play an instrument (whether it’s a piano, trumpet, or quite plainly, their own mouth). Most of them are involved in one of the many programs offered such as orchestra, marching band, jazz band, and many more. What some people don’t know about is the few students who choose to keep their talent at home and use it as a hobby.

Freshman Ben Kim, an at-home piano player, shared his thoughts as to why he plays the piano. “I play piano because it was imposed on me as a child and it just became a hobby after that. It’s really enjoyable to play.”

Kim plays at home four times a week for about an hour for each session, which shows it does not take much time from a person to play in their leisure time. “Piano in itself has a lot of benefits. Like, if you just need some music or some romantic setting, wink, wink, it’s just a really good tool to have. Other instruments are good too. It can get you things too. I get community service hours by playing electric guitar for my praise band. There’s always plusses in playing an instrument.”

Prid Chintala, also a freshman who has passion for playing piano, practices six times a week and attends  local and state competitions. “I play piano because music is something I’ve always been passionate about and it kind of is like a haven for when I just want to chill. Music is not something I plan on doing for a living but definitely will continue in the future. I just want my music to positively influence the people around me.”

Research has shown that playing an instrument comes with other benefits too. It improves fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and memory capacity. A certain study involved giving keyboard lessons and singing lessons to children ages three to four and a half. A control group was not given lessons at all. The results showed that the group of kids that had received keyboard lessons had increased their spatial-temporal skills 34 percent more than the others. These skills also lasted long-term, giving them an advantage over their preschool classmates.

Playing an instrument comes with many benefits. It allows one to completely lose themselves in their own music. Not to mention the long-lasting advantages it has on memory and cognitive skills. So if you’re struggling to memorize your vocabulary for school, or just have a burning passion for music, consider trying to play an instrument to boost your memory.