Learning to play the flute is something that will benefit your life in so many ways. Today I want to tell you about some of the positive effects of learning to play the flute. There are so many!
Isn’t it amazing how our bodies work!
Studies done by an elite group of scientists have shown that “regularly playing a musical instrument increases the size and power of the brain and can be used to improve cognitive skills”. If you learn how to play an instrument, the parts of your brain that controls motor skills (like running, jumping, listening, and using your hands) actually become more active and will grow.
Flute can specifically help you improve your motor skills.
First, learning to play the flute improves your ability to listen. Playing the flute forces you to listen very carefully to multiple things at once. Your tone, the accompaniment, the melody, tuning, and sometimes how you sound compared to others.
Second, your hand technicality will improve. Learning the flute improves your hand coordination from the beginning, as you learn fingerings and simple tunes. As your playing ability grows, your fingers have to learn to move faster and faster. I have even included finger exercises in my program to help your fingers do what they need.
Third, your posture and arm strength are critical when learning to sound the best you can on the flute. Having incorrect posture can affect your tone quality and overall sound. So from the very beginning, I teach how to stand/ sit properly, how to hold your flute, and how to correctly hold your shoulders and elbows.
Lastly, the breathing exercises required to learn to play the flute well will help you develop correct breathing as you go about other daily activities and vise versa. So things like exercising, taking the stairs, and breathing while you sleep will become easier once you can implement the correct breathing technique as you play your flute.
Isn’t it amazing how our bodies work! The simple decision to begin learning to play the flute will help you in all aspects of your life.
If you have already begun learning how to play the flute, take some time to think back to before you started. Have you noticed any changes in your motor skills or abilities?
Leave a comment below and share what you have experienced since beginning to play the flute.
It caught my attention when you mentioned that learning to play the flute can help make activities like exercising, taking the stairs, and breathing while we sleep much easier since you’re required to do breathing exercises and learn correct breathing techniques. We recently watched a flute performance, and it seems like it piqued my daughter’s interest in playing the flute. I’ll have to consider getting her private flute lessons as soon as I find a reliable instructor to hire soon.
Yes Elina- Flute playing is so so good for your body and mind. It sure is a great way to toughen up those lungs!
I am so glad that your daughter is considering this wonderful instrument :). I would love it if you’d reach out to me, I can get you paired up with some fantastic lessons for her. Send me an email here: [email protected]
Talk to you soon!
Rebecca
My work schedule is a lot more flexible now than it used to be, so I wanted to try learning an instrument with my newfound free time. It’s good to know that learning the flute can improve your breathing since it requires you to implement the proper technique when you’re playing. I’ll have to look for video streaming of Irish Flute Tunes so I can learn the basics of playing the flute during my free time from work.
Hi Anna, I’m so glad you’re turning to playing flute for your health benefits (and fun). I have an Irish course also – I hope you get to join it sometime soon. I usually open it around March 1 every year. See you soon! Rebecca
what are youre sources
34 years of playing and teaching (studying myself and my own hundreds of students) full-time. Hope that’s good enough for you. 🙂