TAMPA, Fla. — If you're looking to relieve some stress, you might want to pick up a musical instrument. If you're not musically inclined, enjoying the sounds can be calming, too.

Music has the power to do many things.

"I love the way that it can let me express myself and let me say anything I want," says Nicholas Peters.

What You Need To Know

  • Young people looking to relieve some stress are turning to musical instruments at a Tampa jazz summer camp

  • Nicholas Peters, 18, is expressing himself at the Patel Conservatory's Summer Jazz Intensive, a music camp at the Straz Center

  • Summer Jazz Intensive

Eighteen-year-old Nicholas Peters is expressing himself at the Patel Conservatory, where he's learning from Matthew Weihmuller at Summer Jazz Intensive, a music camp at the Straz Center.

"Music changes lives and it’s really therapeutic," said Weihmuller.

Music changed Weihmuller's life.

"I am visually impaired, I pretty much am totally blind, I can’t see except some light and dark," said Weihmuller.

As a teen, music became Weihmuller's outlet. He now plays several instruments.

He's passing on his passion, his social outlet to younger generations. An outlet some of his students and their parents describe as life-changing.

"When you can come in here and do this and play music and have an emotional relationship and have someone young like that say 'Hey, you helped me out,' it really makes me feel good, and feel better, and makes me want to do whatever it takes,"  said Weihmuller.

For many, it helps relieve stress. 

"If I just change somebody’s, one person’s aspect and I make their day that much better and take away maybe their stresses and issues and maybe make them forget about some of the hardships they're dealing with outside of here, then I’ve done my job,"  said Weihmuller.

"Any issue I had, I could sit down at the piano and resolve it, and I could put it in the past, and I could move on, and I could become a better person, and also at the same time, I get to make music," said Peters.

Making music — that music, with the power to make a difference for those playing it, and those who enjoy listening to it.

The teens have been playing all week. They will perform a showcase July 1 at 7 p.m. in the Mosani lobby at The Straz Center.

Music therapy is also available. The Mayo Clinic says it can help decrease anxiety and blood pressure, and help improve mood and quality of life.