Principal

10 Reasons to play a musical instrument

As I sit at my laptop to write my column for the Especean, I am still on a high from last night’s Performance Evening at Marie Bashir Public School Hall. Everyone present was treated to a variety of performances from our Training Band, Junior Band, Symphonic Band, Orchestra, Guitar Ensemble to name just a few. It was wonderful to see the new Jazz Ensemble in action and the crowd was blown away by the Drumline, led by Antonio Barbanera. Dr David Taylor is one of the reasons that the quality of our ensembles is constantly improving, and he made an interesting point in his parting words about how playing an instrument, no matter how frustrating and time consuming, helps in improving a person's cognitive function. From my anecdotal observations, I would agree, and the research backs this claim.

Learning to play a musical instrument has so many benefits – whether it’s building your confidence, enhancing your memory or widening your social circle. Here are the ten reasons you should consider taking up an instrument as soon as you can.

1.  Playing an instrument makes you smarter

Einstein once said: “Life without playing music is inconceivable to me. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music... I get most joy in life out of music”. And as it turns out, Einstein was onto something: many studies show a correlation between musical training and academic success, in both children and adults. Learning to play an instrument stimulates the brain, improving functions like memory and abstract reasoning skills, which are essential for maths and science.

2.  Your social life will improve

Playing an instrument isn’t only good for your brain, it’s also great for expanding your social circle (sorry, pianists and organists). Joining a musical group at any age encourages you to develop relationships with new kinds of people. It also builds skills in leadership and team building, as well as showing you the rewards of working with others.

3.  Playing an instrument relieves stress

Music keeps you calm. It has a unique effect on our emotions and has even been proven to lower heart rate and blood pressure. Psychologists believe that slow classical music is often the most beneficial. Listening to music can have a tremendously relaxing effect on our minds and bodies, especially slow, quiet classical music. This type of music can have a beneficial effect on our physiological functions, slowing the pulse and heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and decreasing the levels of stress hormones.

4.  Playing an instrument gives you a sense of achievement

Messed up your double-stopping in rehearsal, then totally nailed it at the performance? Playing and succeeding at a musical instrument gives you a huge sense of pride and achievement, especially when you manage to perfect a passage you’ve been struggling with for weeks.

5.  It builds your confidence

Playing an instrument helps you get comfortable with self-expression. As children begin to master their instrument, they will probably end up playing to a few audiences, starting with their music teacher or parents, and branching out to groups of other pupils and concert audiences. Playing in public can help children feel confident in presenting their work in a non-academic context.

6.  Practicing a musical instrument improves patience

OK, Franz Liszt wrote some insanely difficult music. But it’s an important lesson to learn that the more effort you put into something, the better the result will be. Music tutors advise to “give it a year” before you see big improvements in ability and confidence. Then you’ll look back and be glad of those hard first few months. Indeed, those first few months will forever be a badge of honour, saying you stuck it out and earned your stripes. There are no shortcuts to learning an instrument.

7.  It helps improve your memory

Researchers have found that learning to play a musical instrument can enhance verbal memory, spatial reasoning and literacy skills. Playing an instrument makes you use both sides of your brain, which strengthens memory power.

8.  It increases discipline and time management skills

Unless you’re an out-of-this-world child prodigy, learning to play an instrument isn’t a skill you can master overnight. Learning music takes time and effort, and helps children understand that if they want to be good at something, they’ll need to put in the hours and organise their time effectively.

9.  Playing music makes you more creative 

Practicing and perfecting a piece of music does wonders for the creative side of your brain. No matter how much a composer annotates their composition, they cannot fully express how a piece of music should be played. So, it is up to the player to put their own stamp on a piece, to inject some of their personality into the music. 

10.  Playing music is fun!

We can harp on about all the scientifically accurate benefits to learning a musical instrument – but what matters most is that it’s enjoyable for the player. While other hobbies like watching TV or flicking through social media are passive, playing music actively engages and stimulates the brain, making you feel happy and occupied.

After all, Google never lies...

Parents' and Friends' Trivia Night - 13 September

The College has an ongoing need for additional funds to refresh our classrooms and learning spaces. We will be relying heavily on our main fundraising event for the year, our Trivia Night. If you and your friends have yet to book tickets – please do so today. Especially our Year 5 and Year 6 parents who would also benefit from enhancing bonds with one another for the long journey ahead to Year 12. Tickets can be purchased via this link: Trivia Night.  

St Patrick's College, Strathfield Business Directory

The St Patrick’s College Strathfield (SPC) Business Directory invites all members of the College community to advertise their business enterprises online. The directory seeks to provide you with a comprehensive listing of businesses and services offered by members of the College community. This community initiative serves to connect families, staff, alumni, and supporters of our College throughout our community in a practical and mutually beneficial way.

For further information on being involved please contact directory@spc.nsw.edu.au or click here. The Directory will be updated annually and is $50 per entry per year. View the SPC Community Business Directory here. It is also visible to those who visit our website here.

Disclaimer

Inclusion in the SPC Business Directory does not imply endorsement, approval, recommendation, or representation by SPC of the suitability or quality of any business, products or services for any particular purpose or use.  

 

SPC accepts no responsibility for omissions, inaccuracies or misinterpretations of the information supplied by the participants in the SPC Business Directory or for the misuse of information. 

 

SPC reserves the right to reject or delete listings of businesses, products or services.

Father’s Day 2024: 1 September 2024

We celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday. We think of the strength of a father, his guiding hand, his wisdom, his help. 

God the Father gave up his only Son, Jesus Christ, so that we might be saved through him.

He provides an example of the very vocation of fatherhood.

Fathers are to sacrifice their lives for their families.

They do this by:

• Being the spiritual leader and guardian of their families.

• Praying for and with their families.

• Being a courageous witness to the Gospel.  

• Providing care and support for their families.

• Serving as an example of goodness and truth.

• Leading with courage and accountability.

• Laying down one’s life for another.

On Sunday, in a special way, let us be grateful for:

• Our fathers, by birth or adoption, who love us and support us through life.
• Our Church leaders take on the paternal role of guiding us through life.
• And God our Father, who will always teach justly and grant us boundless mercy.

In Memoriam

We keep in our prayers Jacob Digiglio (Year 12) on the loss of his maternal grandfather, Rodney Milligan, last week.

Dr Vittoria Lavorato

Principal

SPC boys can do anything! 

**except divide by zero