Piano lessons are not only about giving children the opportunity to learn about music, but recent research has proven that learning how to play piano has an intense impact on a child’s brain and provides them with a number of benefits which would last their lifetime.
Music education can increase the chances of success in a child’s later life. Here are a few reasons why it would make sense for you to sign your child up for piano lessons:
Creative benefits
Studies have shown that there is a correlation between our brains and our tendency for creativity in quite a few different aspects of life. Where a normal, non-musical person’s thought process will favor a few parts of the brain, a musician’s brain will be able to access a wide variety of regions.
This can help with things like problem-solving and can also be reinforced in children through piano lessons. What does this mean for a child? It means he or she will develop a thought process which is more adaptive and is open to learning and storing information at a faster rate than non-musically inclined children.
Stress relief
Children can easily get stressed out as much as normal adults. Music has proven to help relieve emotional strain and tension in the past and it is a natural stress buster.
Any feeling of anxiety, stress, and worry will result in physical responses by the body including a fight or flight reaction where heart rate, as well as blood pressure, will go beyond normally prescribed levels, breathing will quicken and muscles will tighten. Playing piano can help shut down the stress response of a body and this, in turn, will provide a feeling of relaxation to the body. Taking time from stressful situations to play musical instruments can help with refocusing thoughts and can make it easier for children to cope up with their hectic life schedule.
The sparkling news here is that children may start feeling the benefits of playing piano as soon as they attend a piano lesson and start playing it. The amazing thing here is that the activity is known to reduce stress irrespective of the ability and skill of the child in playing the piano. However, music lessons do provide an even greater benefit since studies have proven that practicing to play an instrument for as little as an hour every week for a minimum of 6 weeks is extremely effective when it comes to lowering someone’s stress response.
This can help you keep your emotions under control and not go to the dark side of the force. That was the point of those unimpressive Star Wars movies with Anakin Skywalker. Yoda and the Jedi Council did not want him or were weary of him becoming a Jedi since they sensed he had a problem with controlling his temper. A much better reference is in 24 – Season 6 – when Phillip Bauer (Jack Bauer’s father) told Josh Bauer (Jack Bauer’s nephew) that he “had to learn how to control his emotions” when they were on the abandoned oil rig.
Though Phillip had no credibility to give someone else advice on how to behave since he was responsible for all sorts of deaths of innocent people, violence, and wasted tax dollars in dealing with the damage that he caused. But we will stop digressing now.
Emotional benefits
As per a study conducted by the Vermont College of Medicine, children who received music training and education gain a major advantage as far as emotional development is concerned. The piano is a miraculous outlet for children to express themselves and let their emotions run free and any music from jazz to classical can lift their low spirits.
Understanding music and being able to successfully use an instrument irrespective of whether they are performing alone or with others can help increase self-esteem and build confidence too.
Another study by Michigan State University has shown that music training can benefit kids emotionally. Their findings, matching with that of Vermont College, have shown children who get regular piano lessons have lower anxiety and depression levels.
The hours spent by a child practicing coordination and motor control required for playing the piano enhances their neural connections and this can last a lifetime. The physical changes provide improved brain development which will last well into the adult phase of their life. They improve body’s natural defense against memory loss and cognitive decline. Piano lessons can positively affect our verbal working memory, communication, and hearing as well.
Learning the piano can benefit children in school by instilling organizational and disciplinary skills. Children who learn music are known to show improved abilities as far as puzzle solving, logic, reading comprehension, and math are concerned as per the research studies by Montreal’s McGill University and the University of California.
Musical instruments can also help improve the attention span and even sharpen a child’s concentration skills. Some experts even suggest that music training can be a very powerful tool when it comes to helping children with ADHD and other cognitive disorders.
With music lessons offering so many unique benefits, it isn’t surprising to see that so many parents are insisting on their kids to learn how to play the piano. There would be so many more, well, in America at least, if the economy was better but that is another story. More Americans would have the extra money to get their children into piano lessons.
Featured Image: Image Credit
.@Michael1979 needs to learn the piano before Sunday. Please help.https://t.co/FcpMgkY29J pic.twitter.com/8YcehpcpLj
— The Poke (@ThePoke) February 3, 2016
So sweet! Dad woos baby to sleep with sweet piano lullaby: https://t.co/Ry2cfHLcl4 pic.twitter.com/mzxNP38ox5
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 3, 2016
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