Do you recall singing, or playing musical instruments as a child? Whether it’s your parents or your school, there’s a good chance that you were exposed to music as a child – and for a good reason. Playing music has been linked to higher cognitive function in children, accelerated brain development, language acquisition, and also provides them stimulation in addition to the academic material that they learn in classrooms. 

So, just what are the extent of benefits that playing music instruments can provide to children’s development? We’ll be taking a closer look in this article. 

Develop motoric skills and coordination

Learning music involves the careful coordination of small muscle groups in the fingers, hands and arms, and maybe even more depending on the type of musical instrument. This harmony of movements train the motoric skills along with their ears to develop a better sense of coordination with the two. 

Speeds up brain development

According to a five-year study conducted by the University of Southern California, musical learning has been proven to speed up the formation of neural pathways in the brain. Children who engage with musical learning in the early age perform better in tasks requiring focus and concentration. The mere act of listening to music itself stimulates the brain. Therefore, playing a musical instrument or singing can stimulate this growth even better allowing the brain to become more efficient at perceiving auditory signals. 

Improve language skills

Research has consistently shown that children who are actively learning music show improvements in their language and speech abilities. They also tend to have an easier time reading and retain more information from their readings. This is likely because learning music engages the left side of their brains, the part that is related to linguistics and reasoning. This is why sometimes children remember or memorize something better when they turn a piece of information into a song. 

Builds self-confidence and self-esteem

There is an inherent challenge to learning music, whether that’s from reading the musical notes, keeping perfect tempo, matching your vocals to pitch, to coordinating your fingers to play the chord progression. All these challenges may seem difficult at first, but once they’ve conquered the basics they’ll naturally feel a gratifying sense of accomplishment that will build their confidence and self-esteem. 

As you can tell, playing a musical instrument can bring real tangible benefits to children’s overall development. In fact, the benefits arguably extend beyond the classroom, and will provide the foundation for them to continue to expand their musical skills should they choose to walk down that path.