We’ve all heard the stories of famous musical prodigies, from the great Mozart writing his first symphony at the early age of 8 to Sensational Stevie Wonder signing with Motown at just 11. Even if your child isn’t performing with the big stars right now, they are undoubtedly exposed to talented children around the neighbourhood. Whether it’s the church choir or a school band concert, it’s always good to immerse your little one in music lessons for their own good.
Starting formal music lessons early on (when they're likely to get frustrated and bored) can turn your little one off from music. If your child is ready before the age of 5, you'll know it by their immense liking for their Grandma's piano or Dad's guitar.
With that being said, here are some reasons why you should encourage your little drum-bashing rock star to play music every day-
1. Improves their Coordination
Playing an instrument requires our brain to work at advanced speeds, converting the visual information it gets into physical movement. Because of this very practice, children who play instruments have enhanced hand-eye coordination over those who do not play instruments.
2. Improves their Maths Skills
Music and maths are extremely intertwined. By understanding beats, rhythm and different scales, children are learning how to divide, create fractions and recognise patterns.
3. Improves their Comprehension and Reading Skills
Learning to play music requires constant reading and understanding of how the notes mentioned on the page correlate with the movements on the instrument. Through special symbols and markings they also need to identify the volume and pitch of the note they should play - if it should be short and crisp or simply smooth and connected to the next note. This ability to read and understand the meaning of the notes mentioned can also be seen in literature classes.
4. Enhances their Self-Expression
Children learning to play an instrument are able to find themselves and express their feelings better through the music they create, and in the future, the skill can prove to be extremely essential.
5. Improves their Listening Skills
Playing an instrument requires children to listen carefully to a variety of different things. They not only need to listen to instructions that come from their teacher or therapist, they need to listen for a rhythm, pitch and speed. This ability to focus and pay attention to is a valuable life skill.
6. Improves their Social Skills
Music lessons can be done either individually or in group settings. When engaged in a group setting, children and teens are made to work together to collaborate on a specific sound or song. Interacting with other children will give them an opportunity to socialise and work together towards a common goal.
So while these are some of the points we think you can start with, there’s so much more you can try out. At the end of the day, learning an instrument can be extremely rewarding and be a beautiful outlet for your little one in the long run! So next time, drop us an update if you’re little one has picked up any new instrument. Let’s get sharing!