For many people, music is an integral part of their lives, allows them to relax, work or simply use it to take a break in the day. According to a study by Adrian Hille and Jürgen Schupp of the German Socioeconomic Panel, studying music benefits both cognitive abilities and physical abilities. Here are the main benefits of playing an instrument:
1. Improve Memory
Learning a melody and playing it greatly stimulates memory, especially when the instruments require combinations that are not necessarily intuitive, in the case of the flute or guitar chords; Experts say that those who have practiced since childhood have a lower risk of suffering from neurodegenerative diseases. Also, science has proven that playing a musical instrument can increase the IQ by up to 7 points.
2. Acquire Discipline
All those who surround themselves with music know perfectly what it means to play an instrument, they know that in addition to passion and vocation, constant practice is required. Every musical instrument demands discipline and a lot of perseverance; In other words, playing an instrument requires time, effort and much perseverance. Who plays an instrument, becomes a methodical person who takes care of the details, plans the tasks well and has a lot of attention span.
3. Reduce Stress
Many investigations have established that music is the best therapy to relax emotions, playing an instrument helps reduce the “stress hormone” in a much healthier and more dynamic way. Music has the ability to quickly change our mood and eliminates negative thoughts; In addition, listening to music is a relatively cheap, fast-acting solution that is almost always available.
4. Acquire Coordination
When playing an instrument you must do several actions simultaneously, use your hands at a specific pace, handle your breath, you must practically convert a score into motor behavior; a situation that can be quite difficult for many but surely with practice, it becomes a more enjoyable activity. The brain is one of the most benefited by playing an instrument, since, when using both hands, the two hemispheres develop equally.
5. Strengthen language skills
The relationship with music plays a very important role in the development of children’s language skills. Both musical instruments and song lyrics can help you:
* Expand your vocabulary.
* Make proper use of the language.
6. Promote healthy social skills
If people start to learn to play a musical instrument in childhood, they get more facilities to interact in their social environment. Since the child’s self-esteem and self-confidence are strengthened, he feels less fear of being in contact with both adults and other children.
7. Promote creativity
Musical instruments are an excellent resource to stimulate creativity and curiosity in young children. When they improvise on their flute, xylophone or guitar, they strengthen that brain area that allows them to innovate and create in any other area.
8. Teach patience
Music learning patterns help to strengthen the ability of patience in children. As some know well, little ones do not usually appreciate this value easily. Therefore, when they do the exercise of playing an instrument, they learn that it takes time for it to sound perfect. However, it is important to guide and support them so that they do not give up when they have any difficulties. Sometimes, when they don’t have someone to tell them that they will be able, they prefer to give up the idea of learning to play the instrument.
9. Develop gross and fine motor skills
To rip the strings of a good ukulele or maintain coordination when playing the piano or drums a good exercise of gross and fine motor skills is needed. In fact, whatever the instrument requires these powers.
Therefore, by playing a musical instrument in childhood, children consolidate some of their motor skills and discover how to coordinate their limbs to create music. In addition, they learn to control their muscles and movements, as many instruments require it.
10. Provides continuous learning
The relationship between music and instruments teaches children to value continuous learning. Many are passionate about this art and make the decision to explore it in many aspects. Therefore, after mastering one instrument, it is normal for them to want to learn to use another.
Also, when encountering endless possibilities in the musical environment, others decide that they want to learn to sing or compose their own works of art. So, all together implies learning more about your surroundings.
In short, learning to play a musical instrument in childhood is a great support for the process of integral formation. Therefore, as other arts are encouraged, it would be good to give them musical toys or instruments from an early age.
