Music has the power to inspire, educate, and entertain people, and little humans are no exception. Right from childhood, kids love bopping to music and playing various musical instruments to entertain themselves. Apart from their personal entertainment, if you are wondering how playing musical instruments can benefit kids, we have listed some of the reasons below.
1. Encourages creativity
Music is a form of expression. Playing an instrument like violin, piano, drums, or any other musical instrument helps kids express themselves creatively. As they hit those keys or bang those sticks, it allows them to experiment with various tunes, notes, melodies, and rhythms, encouraging them to use their imagination and think outside the box.
2. Teaches patience
Playing an instrument or becoming a maestro doesn’t happen overnight. It requires constant effort, years of practice, and, more importantly, patience to learn and relearn the musical instrument and its notes. It also teaches little ones that the more effort they put into something, the better results they will get over time.
3. Improves concentration
Playing drums, piano, flute, or other musical instruments requires discipline and concentration. A child who plays a musical instrument gradually develops the ability to concentrate longer. This skill even proves helpful in other areas of their life, like extracurricular activities and academics.
4. Improves social skills
When a kid learns to play musical instruments, it allows them to interact with peers with similar interests. This can prove beneficial for introverts who tend to struggle with socializing with other children. These social skills will come in handy when playing in school bands, orchestras, etc.
5. Increases memory
Studies have shown that playing musical instruments can stimulate the brain and increase your little one’s memorizing power. When they regularly play an instrument, the parts of their brain that control motor skills grow and become more active.
Talking about one such study that supports the point, Lutz Jäncke, a psychologist at the University of Zurich, said, “The parts of the brain that control hearing, memory, and the part that controls the hands among others, all become more active” (via The Telegraph).
6. Increases time management skills
Children who play musical instruments must organize their daily tasks around their music lessons, like homework and other extracurricular activities, making them quite efficient in time management. In the same interview, Jäncke also said, “For children especially, we found that learning to play the piano for instance teaches them to be more self-disciplined, more attentive, and better at planning.”
So, next time your child is playing a musical instrument or experimenting with different tunes, don’t stop them. Instead, let them play the musical instrument and see if it brings any changes in them. Don’t hesitate to enroll your child in some classes to help them improve their musical skills. You never know, your child might be the next musical star!
