Smart Guitarists in Philadelphia
How your guitar playing brain is different than everyone else’s
It’s no surprise that a musician’s brain is different from someone who is not musically inclined. We all have a sense of music. We hear a song and it takes us back to a memory or it makes us just want to sing. But for those who are musicians, who play an instrument and understand music, their brain works in a very different pattern from those who just enjoy listening to it.
When you pick up the guitar for the first time, chances are you have no clue what you are doing or what you are about to do. Having a good teacher to help you understand is the same as anything you do in life. We need good teachers to help us along with anything we want to understand in life and the guitar is no exception. A good guitar teacher will begin to teach you key components you need to understand in order to be a good player. A great teacher will teach you so well that it becomes embedded in your brain and your subconscious will remember it and know what to do without even thinking about it. The brain is an amazing thing.
Research has shown that guitarists’ neural networks within their brains could synchronize not only while playing but also slightly even before. According to this research, when a guitarist plays, they temporarily deactivate the brain region that routinely shuts down when achieving big-picture goals, which signals a shift from conscious to unconscious thought.
What does this mean exactly? Well, when a non-experienced musician attempts to play an instrument, the conscious part of their brain stays focused. This means that experienced guitarists are able to switch to a more creative and less-practical mode of thinking more easily. This research concludes that guitarists are spiritual, intuitive people. And this intuitive thinking affects how guitarists learn. When you take guitar lessons, you learn sheet music, music theory, and technique before you start actually living and breathing the mechanics of the guitar. Once you learn all of this and it is engrained in your brain, you instinctively play without thinking about it. And you play well once this discovery is made.
Playing the guitar transcends simple brain chemistry. There is a part of your brain that retains what you learn and it becomes part of your chemical make up. They say when you learn to ride a bicycle, you never forget. You can go years without riding again and when you get back on that bike, you haven’t forgotten a thing. When you learn to play guitar, you are unlocking areas of your brain that are kind of like riding a bike. Playing the guitar isn’t a skill. It’s a way of life and a way of being and once you take guitar lessons in Philadelphia, there is no turning back.