Music is an essential and impactful part of all our lives. It connects us to memories, uplifts us or helps us get through tough times, helps reduce stress, helps form friendships, and has many other positive benefits. Exposing children to music and encouraging them to play instruments at a young age can help them prosper in many areas. Here are a few ways encouraging your child to learn an instrument can benefit them.
Brain Boosting
Studies have shown that playing or listening to music stimulates the same part of the brain used for math and reading, thus enhancing reasoning skills and the ability to process language. Music stimulates both sides of the brain, helping to boost performance on both the analytical and creative sides. It can also strengthen memory, concentration, and attention functions. Who can still remember some songs that helped teach multiplication tables?
Social Skills
Learning, playing, and listening to music are excellent ways for kids to make new friends. Bonding with someone over a song you both like or an instrument you are both interested in can work as the perfect icebreaker to meet someone new and form friendships. It also allows children to join music classes, clubs, or communities with like-minded kids they can learn from and bond with.
Motor Skills
Playing music can enhance and refine a child’s motor skills and improve their coordination. Instruments like guitar, piano, percussion, and even the flute require coordination of both hands and/or feet on both sides of your body, which helps to strengthen their body control. It also allows them to simultaneously use their eyes, ears, and hands.
More Fun and Less Stress
Music is fun! The excitement a child can get from learning to play one of their favourite songs is an excellent feeling of accomplishment and can be a great confidence booster. Playing an instrument also ignites their creativity, curiosity, and imagination, providing them with an essential form of self-expression. It’s a skill and hobby they can benefit from for their entire lives. Music has also been proven to relieve stress, helping to calm the mind and increase concentration levels.
Aside from all these notable educational and emotional benefits, playing music is a skill a child will enjoy for their entire life. Everyone has their own personal soundtrack, and being able to add to it by creating your own music is a beautiful gift.
Encourage your child to learn an instrument and give them a gift that keeps on giving! Some great apps that help kids learn how to play music are: Tune Train, Musical Me, Music Tech Teacher, and Rocksmith.