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  • Writer's pictureAria Stone

Does Playing Saxophone Make You Healthier: Favourite 7 Health Benefits of Playing Saxophone.

Updated: Mar 15, 2020

Usually we decide to learn an instrument because we want to have fun and enjoy playing music, but there are added advantages to taking saxophone lessons. Here are some extra healthy reasons to pick up the sax, fill your lungs with air and have a blow!


1. Relieve Stress


Did you know that spending several hours a week playing a musical instrument can be like a meditation and give you time out from the constant demands of everyday life? Whether you have been playing for a while or just starting out, you can have fun making music with slow focused practice or perhaps doing some improvisation to backing tracks of your favourite music. Joining an ensemble can also be fun with a great sense of comradeship. Having FUN and taking a break from other commitments to learn music is a great health benefit and can relieve stress.



2. Strengthen Breathing


With daily long note practice and correct breathing technique, you can build and strengthen breath control over time. This is also great for the pulmonary system and strengthens the lungs. It may even help mild to moderate asthma sufferers.


Although there has been some research into how playing a wind instrument affects those with asthma, there is no definitive proof that it will help cure the affliction. Still, one of the greatest contemporary saxophone players, Kenny G, suffered with asthma. He shared “One time I went into emergency with breathing issues. The doctor gave me a test to test my resistance and was amazed that I could push the air as well as I could. I told him I was a saxophonist and he told me, ‘Keep playing.'”


Learning the saxophone or another wind instrument should not hurt your asthma and may actually help ward off attacks. This is one great incentive to learn to play. Who knows, you or one of your children could end up being the one of the next top sax players like Kenny G!


In order to breathe deeply, it is important to relax on the in-breath and use core strength on the out-breath. This technique is taught as part of your saxophone training. It is healthy for all individuals to strengthen the breath and learn to relax at a deeper level. So whatever your health status, it is worth considering learning saxophone as a way to help strengthen your breathing.


3. Develop Posture Awareness


Using your core muscles to support breathing can also help develop awareness of posture. Good posture is important to produce strong sounding notes and full tone with your instrument. For example, if your head is bent down too much, you can cut off the airflow in your throat and squeeze your sound. It is important to have strong yet relaxed stance when playing the saxophone for stamina and extended practice routines.


This development of a good posture can translate into everyday life and students can find themselves more aware of their body position throughout the day. Strengthening the core muscles through saxophone practice is definitely a health benefit and, with awareness, comes the ability to self correct posture at any time throughout the day.


4. Sharpen the Mind


No matter what age you are when you start learning an instrument, it can be of great benefit to developing the mind. There have been many studies into this aspect of learning an instrument, including protection against dementia. Building new cognitive pathways in the brain and strengthening those neural pathways with myelin is such a good by-product of playing an instrument. When a child learns music it is like studying a second language and can help sharpen the mind and keep an ageing brain in balance. Check out Daniel Coyle's book The Talent Code on this subject.


There is so much value in learning to play music at any stage of life. Teachers help people of all ages get started and have fun playing the saxophone with a slow and steady pathway of building strength and skills. This has to be good for the brain!



5. Improve Dexterity and Eye-Hand Coordination


Did you know that in order to play the saxophone well, you need to have good coordination between the fingers, breath and your tongue? If you are reading music as well, the eyes will be included in the mix. This can be a little daunting at first for those starting out but with slow repetitive practice, patience and guidance, improving your motor skills can eventually become effortless.


Eye-hand coordination is important for growing children and also for older adults as they age and start losing agility and balance. This is another beneficial reason to learn to play a musical instrument like the saxophone.


6. Expand Goal Setting Skills


Learning and instrument comes with an added bonus of honing the art of practice. Taking small steps within a vision of the bigger picture is about setting and achieving simple daily and weekly goals. You climb a mountain one step at a time, and applying that methodology to your saxophone practice is the magic key to your progress and success.


Something that seems unobtainable or too difficult, if broken down into bit-sized, achievable steps becomes exciting and fun. Beginning with how to make a nice tone with one note is the first step. Then how to execute the change between one note to another is the next, and so on. There are a myriad of small skills that are achievable within a week's practice that can make all the difference to your sound and musical ability down the track.


This skill of time management and goal setting is an invaluable lesson that can be applied to most activities in life outside the music studio and is therefore another excellent health benefit for young and old.


7. Develop Confidence


Have you ever noticed that when you do something over a period of months and years that you get better at it and feel more confident and relaxed as time goes on? ...like with walking and talking! Well, it is the same when learning to play the saxophone. Gaining skills on your instrument can give you a sense of achievement, self-belief and calmness. A steady ongoing path of a regular practice routine can ground students and transfer confidence into their daily lives. It helps provide balance in a fast-paced world and is a great additional reason to learn to play a favourite instrument, like the awesome saxophone.



In conclusion, music is a wonderful way to have fun and develop friendships. The saxophone is an instrument that provides some healthy benefits for young and old, to relieve stress, strengthen lung capacity, develop posture awareness, improve eye-hand coordination, create new cognitive pathways in the brain and grow confidence. I hope you have enjoyed reading about my favourite healthy benefits of playing saxophone.


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