The violin: is playing the violin therapeutic or is it another urban myth?

Playing any musical instrument is a wonderful gift that you can give the player hour after hour of pleasure whether he is practicing or playing with friends or in front of an audience; but is this all, or is there some kind of hidden therapeutic healing process that will help the musician? In this article I want to examine in an honest and unbiased way whether the theory that the violin is more than just a musical instrument that can be enjoyed, but nothing more, makes any sense.

Let’s first examine the negative aspects of playing the violin. If we’re seriously saying that just gaming can alleviate a troublesome physical symptom, then this is a definite no. In fact, due to the unusual way in which we hold the instrument, it is quite the opposite. Many violinists suffer from back problems, shoulder problems, and general aches and pains due to their craft. We are all taught the classical way of holding the instrument, but this is not a natural way to play and must be induced by hours of practice.

If we switch to mental healing powers, we may achieve something. One of the main causes of illness in our society is stress. Stress may not cause an actual physical illness, but it will certainly make it worse. The violin has the effect of somehow eliminating this stress and can take the player elsewhere. I have experienced this many times over the years and my violin has become the key that opens a door and takes me out of daily stressful situations, and after an hour or so of playing I feel like my stress levels are non-existent. . It is extremely difficult to explain it to someone who is not a musician, but I suppose that the concentration levels when playing the violin do not leave room for other things and therefore it has a therapeutic effect on the player.

For a non-violinist, you should imagine playing the violin as a musical brain massage, just like going to a health farm will cleanse your body of toxins, so the violin will cleanse your brain of everyday problems. Unfortunately, they come back soon when you stop playing, but for a while your stress levels will drop, and that can’t be a bad thing.

So in conclusion, the violin has therapeutic powers to relieve stress and this is not an urban myth. I’d say this is the case for all other instruments as well, and a good argument for taking your kids to some kind of music lessons, they’ll thank you when they are adults.