Parents are always looking for ways to help their children maximise their potential and get a step up in life. With so many extra-curricular activities to choose from, how do you know which one will provide the most long-term benefits? Science has proven that piano lessons can optimise your child’s ability in many areas of learning.
WIRED FOR LISTENING
From birth, children are presented with a wide range of sounds. From this general noise, they need to learn to listen and decode – i.e. acquire language. Studies have shown that music classes, especially piano lessons for kids, help develop the language-center in the brain, enhancing their natural ability to hear patterns and make order out of the chaos of sounds around them. Language and music go hand-in-hand, strengthening the left side of the brain. Piano lessons enhance communication skills, which in turn improve social skills.
Music can be used to help cement new information in a child’s brain. Think of a catchy TV jingle and how easily you can recall a phone number set to music. The same holds true for children. Incorporating music into learning can help improve memory and concentration. Music classes will help open their minds to this sort of learning.
USING MORE OF THE BRAIN
The brain is a muscle, and like other muscles the more it is used, the stronger it becomes. Piano lessons help exercise this muscle. Learning piano music uses several parts of the brain at once. Playing an instrument means the eyes, ears, and hands are all working together to produce and interpret the sounds. Piano lessons encourage kids to use both fine and gross motor skills.
Over time, music lessons can actually make changes to their brains visible with imaging studies. The networks that are formed in the brain when learning music have a lasting effect on brain function into adulthood.
IMPROVED SPATIAL SKILLS
The ability to mentally picture a pattern and how objects fit into it is called spatial-temporal reasoning. Problem-solving skills, organizational skills, puzzles, and patterns are all a part of this important part of learning. These skills all come together in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics – also known as STEM fields. Musical ability is widely seen as a feat in spatial-temporal reasoning, and music classes can help children develop their talents in this area.
Piano lessons enhance both math and science skills in other ways. Learning to read music includes learning beats and rhythms, fractions, and division. Playing an instrument introduces the concepts of vibration and friction. Music classes for kids can be an early introduction the importance of math and science education.
CONFIDENCE
One of the biggest hurdles to your child’s ability is your child himself. Piano lessons can give kids a sense of accomplishment and confidence, as they learn how to master an instrument and perform in front of others. As your child learns the discipline it takes to succeed in music, they will learn how to apply themselves in other areas as well. While music classes for kids will not make them “smarter”, the activity will increase the spatial usage of the brain. It will also teach them valuable life lessons, in addition to the benefits to brain development.
Piano lessons will help your child optimise their learning abilities, providing benefits well into adulthood.
Call me for me information and to book piano lessons for children in Eastbourne now.
Elena Cornes 01323 768755