BENEFITS OF LEARNING MUSIC

“I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy, but more importantly music, for in the patterns of music and all the arts are the keys to learning” – Plato, 410 B.C

Mental Health Benefits

Brain development - Learning a musical instrument plays a huge role in children’s brain development. Participation in music at an early age improves children’s learning ability and memory by stimulating different patterns of brain development. Articles in the Journal of Neuroscience show evidence that playing a musical instrument has a direct biological effect on the development of the nervous system. A study from the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University reveals that students who play a musical instrument had improved neural processing compared to those who just attended a music appreciation class. This study shows that to fully reap the cognitive benefits of a music class, kids have to be actively engaged in the music and participate in the class. Playing an instrument requires the brain to process a lot of different information all at the same time which is a great workout for the brain.

Increased memory capacity and focus - playing a musical instrument requires a lot of memorization and demands attention. This includes learning, understanding, and memorizing theory, repertoire, and a lot of repetitive movements and motions of hands, fingers, etc.

Promotes math skills - Music has a lot of parallels with math allowing kids to think critically while developing their problem-solving skills. They have to count beats and be able to divide and subdivide beats. Music teaches ratios, fractions, and proportions. Rhythm in music is all about patterns. These patterns have to be understood, slowly counted, and repeated numerously until they become subconscious.

Physical Benefits

Enhances Coordination - When reading notes and playing them on a musical instrument the brain has to process an enormous amount of information and convert it into a physical motion. It requires complex movements from various parts of the body while demanding high accuracy and precision. It promotes the development of strong hand-eye coordination, finger dexterity, muscle memory, and hand-and-finger independence. Often the two hands and fingers do very different things or at different times. This helps develop strong fine motor skills and coordination.

Social and Emotional Benefits

Reduces stress, anxiety, and depression - Playing music and interacting with other musicians helps reduce stress, anxiety, and even depression. If students are dealing with difficult emotions, or feel overwhelmed, playing music is a great outlet to express themselves, relieve emotions, and decompress. It is proven that playing music helps raise the healthy oxytocin while reducing the stress-related cortisol.

Boosts self-esteem - Getting on a stage and performing in front of an audience may feel scary and exciting at the same time. A good performance boosts their confidence and self-esteem.

Stimulates creativity - Practicing music is a creative pursuit. You can teach students where to place their fingers, and how to read notes and play them on the instrument. However, how the music is going to be interpreted will be very individual.

Encourages self-expression - playing music fosters self-expression. “Music is what feelings sound like”. It is an easy way for children to express emotions that they may feel uncomfortable or unable to talk about.

Aids development of healthy social skills - learning a musical instrument in a class setting requires that students interact, play together, collaborate, and respect each other in the process. It is teamwork that helps build strong and lasting friendships.

Teaches responsibility - Music instruments can break easily and are not cheap to replace. Taking care of a musical instrument teaches kids to be responsible for their instruments. Playing an instrument requires following a steady practice schedule.

Teaches patience and discipline - Learning a musical instrument is a difficult process that takes a very long time to master. It can be challenging at times. That teaches children to be patient and very disciplined during their lessons and practice sessions, which is the key to success not only in music but also in life.