All throughout middle school and high school, I was involved in my school’s band program. From picking up my instrument on the first day of sixth grade to marching on the field every Friday night in high school, I can definitely say that being a part of the band taught me some of the most important life lessons I’ve learned thus far. Perhaps the most valuable of these lessons was the value of hard work. Learning an instrument and putting what you learned into practice takes loads and loads of hard work and dedication. So today, I want to talk about how learning an instrument is one of the best ways to develop a strong work ethic.
There are many different elements that go into learning an instrument, depending on your instrument of choice of course. In my case, I played the tuba during my time in band. The tuba is a wind instrument (any instrument that requires the player to blow air into it). However, there is so much more that goes into playing a wind instrument beyond just blowing air into it. You have to factor in breath control, air regulation, tone and pitch, intonation and playing with a full sound. These are all just fundamentals. On higher levels of play, you also must learn to blend with a full ensemble. Not to mention being able to read sheet music.
So, suffice it to say, learning an instrument is no easy feat. But, the lessons in hard work that you learn from doing so are invaluable. Because of all the practice hours that were required to be successful in band, I developed a work ethic that will (hopefully) follow me into my professional career. Learning an instrument teaches a strong work ethic primarily because of the many different approaches that are required to succeed. All of the elements that I mentioned previously require different strategies and methods of practice. For example, you won’t use the same practice techniques that worked for air regulation as you will for learning sheet music.
The process of learning and mastering an instrument is one of the most important life lessons I’ve experienced thus far. While I was nowhere near the level of mastery in regards to my instrument, I still left with a much stronger work ethic. This works especially well if we encourage our children to take a stronger interest in music practice and education at very early ages, as they will carry that work ethic for the rest of their lives.
