What Are the Benefits of Music Lessons for Children?

 Your children may have plenty of extracurricular activities, both in and out of school, so do they really need another by learning a musical instrument? The answer is a definite yes. They may never get good enough to play professionally, but there are numerous benefits to children simply from taking music lessons.

1. Muscle Development and Motor Skills

 This one's fairly obvious. Playing an instrument takes a certain amount of strength (though that varies, depending on the instrument), but all instruments require a high level of coordination between various movements and patterns. This will provide a huge benefit to their strength and motor skills.

2. Patience and Self-Discipline

 Learning to play a musical instrument is anything but a quick fix. Your child may have to spend several lessons just learning how to hold the instrument, and then they'll need concentration and perseverance to learn the skills they'll need. A child who's learnt an instrument will be well practiced in patience and self-discipline.

3. Improving IQ

 Research has shown that children's brain activity increases considerably after a music lesson, and some key areas of the brain may even increase in size. In general, a child is likely to have a higher IQ after learning to play a musical instrument than before.

4. Academic Improvement

 Perhaps connected with this, it's been shown that children who've learnt a musical instrument on average outperform academically those who haven't. Results are higher on SAT scores, reading levels and maths performance, as well as improved powers of recall.

5. Language Skills

 Besides general academic improvement, music lessons appear to strengthen children's performance in languages. This seems to be connected with the fine-tuning of the ear to subtle differences in sound, which will benefit them in picking out the sounds of a foreign language.

 6. Maths Skills

 In a similar way, learning music has direct benefits when it comes to learning maths. The benefit here comes from studying patterns like intervals, scales and rhythms, which will help your child be better attuned to the various patterns of maths.

7. Social Skills

 While the early stage of a musical education may be restricted to one-to-one lessons, your child will eventually want to play in a group, band or orchestra. This will involve learning cooperation and encourage them to contribute to a common goal through tolerance and patience.

8. Understanding Cultures

 Music is played all over the world, and your child may well be playing instruments or musical forms that don't derive from their own culture. Since music is inextricably bound up with culture, your child can learn about other aspects of that culture, especially if they're learning from or playing with people from that background.

9. Self-Esteem

 Mastering a musical instrument can do wonders for your child's self-esteem, whether from being aware of their own improvement, receiving praise from their teacher or performing in public. The experience of public performance can be easily transferred to other contexts where it's necessary to appear in front of people, such as public speaking.

10. Having Fun

Any subject can be taught in an entertaining way, but having fun is right at the heart of music. When you think of all the other benefits your child can gain from learning an instrument, while it's making them happy at the same time — there's no better definition of a win-win situation. Register with TutorExtra to find a wide array of music tutors who can teach your child almost any instrument you can think of.