So many people out there exclaim their deep and burning, long-held desire to play the guitar. They tell me how they would love to begin the journey of playing and then they quickly follow up with why it hasn’t been possible for them then and why it isn’t possible for them right now.

I’m a firm believer that, no matter how busy you are, there’s always time to begin learning guitar. Still unsure of whether you want to take the leap? Here are six benefits of learning the six-string.

BENEFIT 1: IMPROVED MEMORY

• Several studies have been published indicating that playing the guitar has an effect on the grey matter of the brain and improves your memory as a result. To go alongside improved memory, it’s also been found that playing the guitar slows the decline of memory that happens with age.

BENEFIT 2: STRESS RELIEVER

• Ask any guitarist and they’ll tell you that the guitar is what they grab when life gets a little bit too hectic and stressful. Sitting down in your room and strumming your six-string for a while takes your mind off the day-to-day stressors of life and work.

BENEFIT 3: CONFIDENCE BOOSTER

• You might not feel particularly confident in the early days of learning guitar, but as you begin to notice improvements in your playing, however small, your confidence will grow.

• As more time passes and you begin to see sizeable improvements, family and friends will let you know and it’ll be an even bigger confidence boost, one that extends to all areas of your life.

BENEFIT 4: IMPROVED FOCUS

• It takes a great amount of focus to learn and improve at the guitar. If you routinely dedicate your time to learning scales, songs and new chords, you’ll eventually see improved focus in other areas of your life.

BENEFIT 5: GREATER CREATIVITY

• The guitar is a creative outlet like no other. A few years into my journey as a guitarist, I began to spend time writing songs and devoting time to creating new and interesting chord progressions with seventh chords, a favourite of mine.

• Looking for new ways to play things or giving your favourite song a different spin is an excellent creative workout and sharpens your creative side.

BENEFIT 6: MENTAL HEALTH BENEFITS

• We talked earlier about how playing guitar can be a way of escaping the stressors of day-to-day life and I want to double down on that.

• Playing guitar has been found to relieve anxiety and music therapy is used as a therapeutic tool globally. Playing your guitar relaxes you and allows you to focus on the singular goal of learning or performing a song, scale, chord, etc. When you play, you can totally focus on the task at hand and forget about everything you have going on for a while.