“Hot cross buns” is the song you hear on repeat as your child plunks on the keys of the keyboard, over and over. Could learning to play this simple tune really be that important?
Believe it or not, music lessons offer your child many benefits that go way beyond being able to pick out a tune on the piano. As your child grows and develops in their ability to play a musical instrument or sing, they’re achieving a lot.
Here are some of the science-backed benefits you can offer your children by signing them up for music lessons:
1. Improved Brain Function
There are a range of improved brain functions to be gained from music lessons including better stress management and emotional control. The research shows that this may be related to a more rapid cortical thickness maturation in the brain that’s associated with playing a musical instrument.
2. Limit Effects of Aging
Aging can negatively affect our ability to recognize sounds. Age related hearing difficulties can be staved off if you’re a musician! Research shows that even older musicians performed better on tests than younger people without musical training. So, those music lessons may pay off long into your child’s future.
3. Larger Connection Between Hemispheres of Brain
The corpus callosum is a thick bundle of nerve fibers which connects the two hemispheres of the brain. Brain scans show that this structure is larger in musicians than in non-musicians. Studies have shown that music lessons can change your brain’s structure, enlarging various areas of gray matter as well as the corpus callosum.
4. Protects Against Dementia
Childhood music lessons may protect the same children from getting dementia later on in life! This may be related to the changes in brain structure associated with music lessons, especially in childhood.
5. Strengthens Executive Function
No matter what your age, music lessons can help improve executive function. What does that mean? Executive function are skills related to processing and retaining information, making decisions and impulse control as well as problem-solving. As you can see, these skills are important for just about all areas of life.
6. Improves Memory and Reading Skills
Both music and reading use common neural and cognitive mechanisms. So, that means that music lessons automatically improve memory and reading skills! That’s great for helping any child improve this essential academic skill, especially if your child resists reading practice.
7. Mental Alertness
Studies have also shown that musicians are generally more mentally alert than non-musicians. So, wake that brain up with some music lessons!
In addition to these brain benefits, music has also been linked to improved mood and can reduce stress and depression. For children with anxiety or who are feeling the strain of school, music lessons could be the perfect way to keep everything in balance.
Finally, music lessons also bring a greater appreciation of the arts and music to your child. With a greater understanding of instruments and how music works, your child may come to appreciate more genres of music.
There are many instrument choices and opportunities for music lessons out there. Why not sign your child up for music lessons with one of the excellent musical instrument teachers in UrbanCircle? The benefits to your child will start today and won’t ever end. In UrbanCircle you can book the best teachers for your child's piano lessons, guitar lessons, violin lessons, drum lessons, oud lessons in Dubai.