5 Reasons to Start Taking Music Lessons During a Pandemic

Wow. That's quite the title right there. This is definitely a topic I never thought I would be writing about. It feels like only yesterday everything was "normal", and yet getting back to a sense of real normalcy seems so far away. What can we do during these strange and uncertain times? Spend time with family, catch up on our favorite tv show, clean, organize. Facetime family that we can't see right now, pick up a new hobby, finally finish that project we've been putting off for months, really get in tune with our thoughts and feelings- practice self-care (this one is really important, and one which I'd like to explore in another post soon.) At this point, we've all tried all or most of these things (and some more.) We're doing our best to make ends meet and take care of ourselves and those we love (which sometimes means staying away from them so they don't get sick, which can be difficult too.) But where does music fit into all of this? Why should someone start taking music lessons? And why not wait until things "go back to normal" to start taking them? These are all great questions, and I'd like to explore them below as I list five reasons why it may be a good idea to go ahead and start taking those music lessons.

1) Pick Up a New Hobby

Its no surprise that in such an uncertain time, so many are looking to explore new hobbies and find ways to fill their time. Now I'm not saying, everyone has to take on new hobbies during a pandemic. Some prefer to spend more time on the hobbies they already have and that can be great too. But if you have been wanting to take music lessons for a while and haven't had the time- now might be an opportune moment to explore them. If you have time right now to start lessons, then one other plus is you can go ahead and get yourself in a routine of practicing and taking weekly lessons. Exploring your routine right now when you have some time will make it easier to keep up your hobby when you have less time. Taking on new hobbies can also bring a lot of joy and in a world that feels upside down right now it can help give you a sense of normalcy.

2) Keep Working on Your Craft

Now, what if you have experience in music but you want to dig deeper and get more formal training? This can also be a good reason to take lessons. The great thing is you don't have to wait until the world goes back to "normal" to get better at your craft. We live in a digital age. I never thought I would be teaching lessons virtually because of a pandemic, but I'd heard of instructors teaching virtually before and I've found that it does work. Thanks to digital platforms and a little bit of creativity, you can keep taking music lessons virtually and thus keep improving your craft.

3) Self-Love: Music Can Be Therapeutic

Music is therapy. We've all heard this phrase before and I think many (if not all) of us would agree. Whether you're happy, sad, angry, confused, conflicted-- there is a song for every emotion and for every person. Music is a good way to release emotions in a healthy way. With music, you can turn negative energy into something productive and positive. And in a time when life can be so confusing, disappointing, and exhausting-- we need to take extra good care of ourselves. Taking music lessons can be therapeutic because you're learning about something that you love. Finding the right teacher is also part of this. Every person is a unique individual and needs to find the teacher that is the best fit for them. My music teachers have been some of the most important people in my life. So if you know that you love music and want to take lessons, finding the right teacher and jumping into lessons can be a great way of practicing self-love because you're making the choice to do something that makes you happy. Because music can be so therapeutic, it can also help you cope in a healthy way during these strange times. Who knows, it might even bring you some healing too.

4) It Gives You Something to Look Forward to and to Work Towards

Maybe you've been on the fence about taking music lessons for a while. Maybe at this point in the game, you're curious and you need something to look forward to. This is very legitimate. With so many events being cancelled and recreational activities having to dramatically change their structure- you may want to simply have something to look forward to. I made a point this past summer to study a couple languages more and take dialect lessons. I did it because I wanted to work on those skill sets for acting and music-related training and have them ready for future projects/performances. But what I found is that I really looked forward to my lessons and virtual meetings and that it felt good to know that I was working towards my particular goals. This wasn't a surprise for me, because I was excited to take advantage of new opportunities and learn, but in a world that is so uncertain right now, it felt good to be able to look forward to those lessons and meetings. We don't know what the future holds, and right now it is especially difficult to know what the world will look like a few months or even several months from now. Having a hobby or a goal and taking weekly lessons to work towards that can be comforting because it is something that you're working on a week at a time and even a day at at time (in your practice). 

5) It Reminds You that You're Not in this Alone

This last reason I'd like to present to you really draws on a sense of community. By taking music lessons (even if they're virtual) it can provide you with a sense of normalcy (even in the midst of chaos) because it can subconsciously remind you that you're not alone. We're all in this together, and we're going to be okay. What happens when you Zoom a friend or Facetime a family member? After you finish catching up, do you start to reminisce for life before the pandemic? Do you yearn for life after? Do you look forward to being able to go to work, school, the grocery store, or visit a distant relative without having to wonder if you might get sick or if you might get them sick? Whether we realize it or not, by talking to friends and family virtually we're in a sense reminding ourselves that we're not alone and that we're going to get through this. It is my personal hope that no matter what my students are experiencing or going through, that their lessons can be a time to enjoy the process of learning how to make music, and to know that they're not alone-- that there is someone on the other end of that virtual phone call who cares about their well-being and is rooting for them.

Our community while it may be distanced, is not broken. We're all in this together (cue High School Musical soundtrack) and we're going to be okay.