Benefits of Music

Benefits of Music

  • Music stimulates the mind, improves the mood and brings people together. Children are ready to make music before one would normally think.

  • Children who study an instrument learn about discipline, dedication and the rewards of hard work.

  • Playing a musical instrument strengthens eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills.

  • A study at the University of California at Irvine demonstrated that children who participated in music instruction showed dramatic enhancements in abstract reasoning skills. Researchers have found neural firing patterns suggesting that music may hold the key to higher brain function.

  • Research at McGill University in Montreal, Canada showed that elementary age pupils who took music lessons scored higher on tests of general and spatial cognitive development, the abilities that form the basis for performance in math and engineering.

  • Pupils who make music have been shown to get along better with classmates and have fewer discipline problems.

  • Just listening to music can fill a home with joy and add an extra dimension to children’s lives. People who make their own music enjoy these benefits many times over.

What parents can do

  • Make music a part of your home.

  • Expose your children to different types of music. Go to musical events, listen to the radio, enjoy musical performances on television, play CD's. There are lots of ways to explore the world of music.

  • Make music as a family. Maybe you're an accomplished musician with a gift to pass on to your kids, or maybe you can pass a rainy day making your own instruments out of coffee cans, broomsticks or water glasses. It's fun either way.

  • Encourage and support your children when they become interested in playing an instrument.

  • If you are a musician in your own right, be a model for your children. If you're not, you can learn together!


Science in Music