7 Benefits of Learning the Ukulele – Top Rate Reviews

Read on to learn more about 7 great benefits of learning to play the ukulele:

1. Increases brain function and capacity

Studies have shown that learning an instrument is a great way to improve brain function and keep your mind sharp. When learning any new instrument, your brain is forced to work in so many ways in order to develop the skill, and the result is improvements that can be seen in other areas of life as well.

For example, learning the ukulele can improve your reading comprehension. If this is the first instrument that you are learning, it will involve learning how to read sheet music, and how to read fast enough to be able to keep up with the beat.

Children in musical programs often display greater reading comprehension abilities than those who are not in a similar program or do not play an instrument.

Their schoolwork will greatly improve, just by learning an instrument. Learning the ukulele can also help to improve math skills. Playing any instrument requires the ability to simultaneously count notes and rhythm so that you can play the music correctly.

Although these benefits will have a great effect on children who are still at school, there is never a wrong time to learn an instrument. Even adults can improve their reading and mathematical skills, to help benefit other areas of their life, no matter what they are doing.

2. Increases discipline and concentration

Learning any instrument takes time and dedication. Even the most gifted of ukulele players still have to practice hard to get to such a high level. If you have the discipline to learn how to play the ukulele, you can then focus all of that energy on learning other things.

Discipline involves persevering despite setbacks and despite slow progress. Not everyone will immediately be able to play, but for those who stick with their practicing, a discipline is a wonderful tool.

Discipline is such a valuable life skill to have, as it can be utilized in so many ways, on a daily basis. Once you know you are capable of sticking to a task to achieve a long-term goal, you can utilize this skill to focus on achieving anything.

Learning how to play the ukulele requires intense levels of concentration if you are beginning from scratch. There is so much to be constantly thinking about – the rhythm of the music, what notes need to be played when, the placement of your hands and fingers to hit the right note.

Being able to concentrate on all of these things for extended periods of time is crucial to improving skills, and once you have acquired the skill, you can put it to use in all tasks that you set out to achieve.

Whether this is concentrating more at school or at work, the improved concentration will greatly enhance your productivity levels throughout life.

3. Improves Coordination

Learning to play the ukulele, especially if you don’t have any other experience with playing instruments can greatly increase coordination abilities. Playing the ukulele requires immense hand-eye coordination, to ensure that your fingers are placed correctly to create the right notes.

The ukulele is a lot smaller than a guitar, and players need to be precise in their actions, to be able to make music. The process of coordination requires players to first learn how to play all of the right chords, and then read sheet music, and send information from their brain down to their hands in order to make great music.

Improved hand-eye coordination is incredibly beneficial to those who play sports. Almost every form of sport requires being able to move your body or parts of your body according to signals from your eyes/brain.

Whether this involves catching, throwing, kicking or hitting balls, or even where to run to avoid hitting someone, hand-eye coordination is necessary. Learning to play the ukulele can also help to speed up reaction times, as your hands keep up with the sheet music that you are reading.

Developing better coordination will not happen overnight, but if you consistently play, you are guaranteed to see improvements – not just in your hands that you use to play the ukulele, but in all ways that your body understands and responds to visual stimulus.

4. Playing the ukulele can help to lower stress levels

Although it might not seem like it at first, learning how to play the ukulele can lower stress levels. This might seem counter-intuitive, as learning to play an instrument from scratch and striving to be good can be very stress-inducing, especially if you feel as though you are not progressing fast enough.

But if you stick with it because you truly enjoy playing the ukulele, soon enough you will see positive physical benefits. Studies have shown that learning a musical instrument helps to take your mind off of anxious thoughts, and redirects them to a calmer place, where you can focus solely on playing the ukulele.

Even if you are just practicing for half an hour a day, that becomes half an hour that you don’t have to worry about anything else.

Learning to play an instrument can help to improve the physical symptoms of stress, by improving sleep habits, lowering your heart rate and blood pressure, even helping to reduce headaches and sore stomachs.

Even when you have become proficient in playing the instrument, you can still de-stress by picking it up and playing for a few minutes, without feeling as though you need to worry about everything else. Lower stress levels help you to enjoy all aspects of your life more, both mentally and physically.

5. Ukulele is a great instrument for children and beginners

Due to their size, ukuleles make a great first instrument for children who want to develop their musical talents young. Smaller players can comfortably hold the ukulele, which then allows them to focus completely on playing.

Often it can be difficult for smaller children to play larger instruments, as their arms aren’t strong enough to be able to hold them, or their arms are too short to maneuver correctly, leading to overstretching that makes playing difficult. Playing the ukulele gets rid of all of these problems.

A ukulele can also be considered a great stepping stone for those who want to play other string instruments, but want to learn on something that is slightly easier. Ukuleles are known to be easier to learn to play music on for beginners, making them great to learn on, so that you are better equipped to play on tougher instruments later.

Ukuleles are also relatively cheap. If you think that you would like to start learning an instrument but don’t want to make a huge financial investment without being sure of your passion, go for a ukulele.

That way you can still learn how to play, and you can upgrade to a more expensive ukulele or different instrument when you are certain that you are committed to learning to play, and can be sure that a more expensive instrument will get played.

6. Provide Sense of Accomplishment

There is no greater feeling than being able to say that you have achieved something. Learning to play the ukulele is not an easy goal, but when you finally do achieve it, all of the time spent practicing will feel so worth it. The positive boost you get from finally being able to say you can do something

Once you have felt the rush associated with accomplishing a difficult task, it can only make you more excited to go out and try and accomplish more. Knowing that you are capable of completing hard tasks can lead to greater confidence to try new things because know you know that if you put your mind to it, you can do it.

Your sense of achievement doesn’t have to come from outside validation in the form of awards or recognition from your peers, but it can come from you, knowing that you worked hard to get to where you are.

7. Help to Improve Social Skills

Learning any musical instrument is difficult, especially when you try and do it alone. Most people opt for some form of lessons, so they can receive guidance from other individuals who know what they are doing, and how to help.

This helps you to develop communication skills, and meet people who are also passionate about learning the ukulele.

A great way to improve your ukulele skills is to play with others. Even if other ukulele players are also learning, like you, it gives you the opportunity to practice, receive positive feedback from others, and help them with their playing in return.

Practicing can also mean playing your ukulele as others play a different instrument, and learning how to make music together. You don’t have to be a pro to start making music with others, it’s all part of the learning process.

Learning an instrument offers you access to a whole new community of people who share the same interest as you – playing the ukulele and creating music.

Take advantage of this and surround yourself with others who you can get along with, and those who will help to push you on your journey to mastering the ukulele.

Conclusion – Benefits your self-improvement

So there you go- those are just seven reasons why you should start to learn how to play the ukulele. Not only does learning the ukulele let you develop a passion, but it also provides you with a number of critical skills that are important for so many day-to-day activities. And the great part about learning the ukulele is that it doesn’t matter how old or young you are, you will always need these skills.

There are so many more benefits associated with learning how to play the ukulele, and the pros far outweigh any potential cons that come with learning an instrument.

Now that you know how much learning an instrument can improve your life, just go for it! Start learning how to play the ukulele, so that the rest of your life gets better as well. Pick a ukulele now from our best ukulele review article.