If anyone knows the benefits of strumming a guitar—or music in general—it is D.A. Arlaus.
"Musicians have long experienced the strange and wonderful effect the learning and playing of instruments has on one's mind and emotions," Arlaus says. "Good music instructors witness those effects all the time."
Arlaus runs a website—GuitarTechniqueTutor.com—and produces a weekly podcast, the Guitar Technique Tutor Podcast. "The goal of the podcast is to spread excellence, one guitarist at a time," Arlaus explains. She adds that positive effects from playing include improved eye-hand coordination.
"My adult students usually set out to learn to play because they've always wanted to or they love a particular genre and want to play it, or they have read that it could be beneficial in staving off arthritis as they get older and myriad other reasons," Arlaus continued. "They are always surprised that music, when taught correctly, is utterly logical and literally is another language. Regardless of the rapidity of their progress, they continuously report that they don't like to miss practicing—not just for the lack of advancement, but rather because they love how playing the guitar makes them feel."
Arlaus began privately teaching in the '70s, and she teaches weekly, one-hour long classes weekday days and evenings in the Bergen and Rockland County homes of her students. Lessons are individually customized for each student.
