The Benefits of Piano Lessons for Children
About Glenn Sutton
As a professional guitar teacher with 25 years of experience (see guitarlessonspoway.com).
What are some of the benefits of piano lessons for children?
It’s not uncommon for parents to want to get their children interested in playing the piano – stories of Mozart’s early accomplishments can certainly be very inspiring and motivating for parents to push their children into playing the piano from an early age.
However, learning the piano is often a costly investment – probably the costliest of all instruments out there – when you factor in not just the lessons but also the cost of the instrument itself. Because of this, any sensible parent wants to make sure that they’re investing their money into something worthwhile – so let’s have a look at a few reasons that make the piano such a great choice of an instrument for your kids to learn!
Coordination: playing the piano, takes a great deal of hand-eye coordination to play it properly, especially at the higher levels when it’s crucial to not only get your fingers moving right, but also control each hand independently. This can greatly benefit a person in their everyday life in a number of ways.
Math: music, in its simplest form, is math – uninitiated people have the wrong idea that making good music involves coming up with a catchy tune and transferring it to notes, but it’s actually more close to putting together a complex puzzle, one that has many ways to get done but still follows a distinct set of rules. It’s not uncommon for pianists to be excellent mathematicians as well.
Language and thinking: learning music is a lot like learning a foreign language – you read some obscure set of signs which you must transform into something meaningful in your head. At first, you’re going to be doing it note by note, but as you progress, you’ll find yourself reading through those notes smoothly without pausing. Research indicates that learning music is closely connected with advanced development in the parts of the brain responsible for language skills.
Self-esteem: feeling confident is crucial in the development of a child, and many children are facing problems with this on a daily basis – learning something as playing the piano can greatly boost a child’s sense of pride and show them that they have a place in this world, doing something likeable and productive.
Skills that last: you can pretty much never forget how to play the piano, no matter how long you pause it for – sure, you might need to brush up on your skills after a more prolonged pause, but when you know how to play the instrument well enough, you’ll always be able to. It’s a lot like riding a bicycle, actually.
Improved concentration: with today’s environment predisposing children to developing shorter attention spans (cartoons and the Internet being the main culprits), it’s good to have your kids doing something with the opposite effect. If you get them used to sitting down and practicing every day, this will have a tremendous impact on their concentration and discipline, things that will set them apart from the majority of their peers later on.
All in all, there’s nothing to doubt here – your child will be extremely grateful later down the road if you invest in piano lessons for them now, so don’t waste any time – start while they can still learn most efficiently!