“The musician is constantly adjusting decisions on tempo, tone,
style, rhythm, phrasing, and feeling–training the brain to
become incredibly good at organizing and conducting numerous
activities at once. Dedicated practice of this orchestration can
have a great payoff for lifelong attentional skills,
intelligence, and an ability for self-knowledge and expression.”
- Ratey John J., MD. A User’s Guide to the Brain. New York:
Pantheon Books, 2001.
So many parents wish they’d gotten their child into music
sooner. But it is better to start late than not at all. Many
children grow up and are disappointed they never started
learning a musical instrument. But the time to start is now!
Music can benefit young and old alike. Studies have linked
significantly improved math skills with those children who have
learned to play an instrument. An ability like that can lead to
more self confidence and a strong sense of accomplishment. It
can give a child, or adult, something extra. The training can
help develop skills not only in music, but also in life. Those
who have learned to play can even help others through their
music. There is a definite relationship between music and
healing. Music can also bring joy into a room!
“Studying music encourages self-discipline and diligence, traits
that carry over into intellectual pursuits and that lead to
effective study and work habits. An association of music and
math has, in fact, long been noted. Creating and performing
music promotes self-expression and provides self-gratification
while giving pleasure to others. In medicine, increasing
published reports demonstrate that music has a healing effect on
patients. For all these reasons, it deserves strong support in
our educational system, along with the other arts, the sciences,
and athletics.” - Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Leading Heart
Surgeon, Baylor College of Music.
Often children need to be strongly encouraged to continue
playing. I mean, a half an hour a day to practice can take a lot
of discipline. However, if you keep encouraging them, they
should stick at it and they WILL thank you in the long run. The
trick is to show your son or daughter the options for musical
instruments to make sure they pick the one they like. If all
your child listens to is rock for example, they might
automatically want to play the drums or the electric guitar. But
there is so much more to music than pop culture. Get some
classical CD’s, from guitar to piano to flute. Look into jazz
music and maybe the saxophone. There is everything from world
music to big band to opera out there and if you can expose your
child, and yourself for that matter, to the different types of
music, you can really expand your cultural horizons. Listening
to the music first can really help to inspire and it can give
you the motivation to keep practicing. Just remember, they did
not get that good overnight!
If your child has their heart set on an instrument, let them
play it. If you make your child play what you want your child to
play, they could lose interest fast and it would be hard to get
them to keep practicing. Hey. It’s never too late to start. You
should try playing it if you like it. It will take dedication,
but the benefits of music are incredible.
It will be great if you and your child can explore music
together. You can encourage each other and watch as your self
confidence grows. Remember. There is no instant gratification
here. Your real confidence comes after practicing for at least
two years. Preferably you should aim to practice for half an
hour a day, 6 or 7 times a week. Of course, that’s just a
guideline. The more you practice, the better you will become.
Try to set a goal that works for you and make sure you stick to
it. If you miss a day, don’t say, “That’s it, I can’t do it
anymore.” Remember the long term. Missing a day will not kill
you. Missing day after day after day will. If you miss one day,
that should be all the MORE reason to play the next. I know, it
sounds like common sense, but it’s hard. Make sure you encourage
your child to stick at it and praise them constantly in their
progress. In the end, the hard work pays off!
In an analysis of U.S. Department of Education data on more than
25,000 secondary school students (NELS:88, National Education
Longitudinal Survey), researchers found that students who report
consistent high levels of involvement in instrumental music over
the middle and high school years show “significantly higher
levels of mathematics proficiency by grade 12.” This observation
holds regardless of students’ socio-economic status, and
differences in those who are involved with instrumental music
vs. those who are not is more significant over time. -
Catterall, James S., Richard Chapleau, and John Iwanaga.
“Involvement in the Arts and Human Development: General
Involvement and Intensive Involvement in Music and Theater
Arts.” Los Angeles, CA: The Imagination Project at UCLA Graduate
School of Education and Information Studies, 1999.
A research team exploring the link between music and
intelligence reported that music training is far superior to
computer instruction in dramatically enhancing children’s
abstract reasoning skills, the skills necessary for learning
math and science. — Shaw, Rauscher, Levine, Wright, Dennis and
Newcomb, “Music training causes long-term enhancement of
preschool children’s spatial-temporal reasoning,” Neurological
Research, Vol. 19, February 1997
Those are two great quotes to really think about. Your child
can improve their math skills and reasoning skills simply by
learning to play an instrument. They can also bring
encouragement through their music and have an extra boost of
self confidence in knowing they had the discipline to learn the
instrument. All those benefits are on top of just actually
knowing how to play an instrument! And if you want to give it a
try, learning an instrument can improve your skills as well!
