6 Reasons Why You’re Awesome for Giving Your Kids Music Lessons

Piano Power: 6 Reasons Why You’re Awesome for Giving Your Kids Music Lessons

Don’t think twice about giving your kids the gift of music. Learning music is like a giant party for your kid’s brain, and nearly every part — from the frontal lobes to the brain stem — is invited! 

Countless studies show kids who take music lessons reap benefits that cross into several developmental areas. And even better, private music lessons with an empathetic teacher provide the focused attention that can sustain your student through periods of disinterest

Here are six important ways that music lessons enrich your child’s life.

1. They support academic growth.

Music is filled with math lessons. Learning about beat, rhythm, and scales teaches children about dividing, fractions, and patterns. Additionally, children who study music tend to have larger vocabularies and more advanced reading skills than peers who do not. 

One recent study found that music lessons may be more effective than supplemental reading lessons for increasing language development. Another showed increased academic achievement in students who took music lessons for two-plus years, even in unrelated subjects. 

Rather than hire another academic tutor, why not try a music teacher?    

2. They support physical growth.

Learning to play drums actively moves the hands, arms, and feet, while piano, violin, and guitar require the right and left hands to move independently. This stimulates coordination, large and fine motor skills, and ambidexterity. 

The mere act of holding an instrument, or sitting properly at a piano, can train students to become comfortable in an otherwise uncomfortable situation — a great life skill all around.

Piano Power music lessons

3. They teach social skills.

Group music lessons invariably teach students to cooperate, contribute, and work as part of a whole. Beyond that, scientists note that endorphin hormones are released when humans do things in sync, such as playing music. Those endorphins help to strengthen social bonds.

But even one-on-one lessons offer a chance for students to develop close, personal relationships — and to collaborate — with a teacher. If that teacher has high emotional intelligence, the positive effects can last a lifetime. 

Recitals offer private-lesson students the opportunity to perform for an audience, and to be motivated and inspired by their peers.

4. They promote patience, discipline, and delayed gratification.

There’s no quick way to learn an instrument. By putting hours, weeks, months, and even years into lessons and practice, students learn that, while goals aren’t achieved overnight, the gratification gained from accomplishing a difficult, long-term mission is incomparable. 

5. They build self-esteem and confidence.

In lessons, students learn to accept constructive criticism, and to be thoughtful about their own work and progress. Under the wing of a good teacher, a student’s ability to channel suggestions into positive growth will improve their self-esteem.

Music Lessons from Piano Power

6. They open up a multicultural world.

Music is an international language; every corner of the globe offers its unique genre and style. Music lessons can be a doorway to different cultures, sounds, and traditions, ultimately encouraging a child to understand and appreciate diversity.

There are countless excellent reasons to enroll your student in music lessons, more than we can list here. If you’d like to learn more about private versus group lessons, look no further. And if you’re looking for the right teacher, this is a must-read!

Piano Power

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