Children playing a musical instrument really benefit ?

At Heuer Pianos, for the last 65 years we have had the privilege of witnessing the benefits of children playing a musical instrument.Welcoming testimonies from parents and music teachers, makes our profession worthwhile. Here are some motivations as to why it makes so much sense to offer your child the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument from a young age.

​1) Playing the piano improves concentration skills

​Children generally spend 20-30 minutes practising each day. This practice not only enhances their ability to concentrate, but it transfers to other areas of their education and academic development. Even adults experience improved concentration, as playing the piano helps us to concentrate and focus. Researchers have found that learning to play a musical instrument can enhance verbal memory, spatial reasoning and literacy skills. Playing an instrument makes you use both sides of your brain, which strengthens memory power. 

2) Learning to play a musical instrument  builds self-esteem

​Being able to master something that was once difficult and being able to overcome this is a big boost to self-esteem, in both children and adults. Having the ability to play the piano to family and friends and receive praise also helps to raise confidence in children. High self-esteem is strongly linked to higher levels of happiness and achievement. Children with higher levels of self-esteem are also more likely to take on tasks that are perceived more challenging and so are more likely to expand their skills and abilities as they grow.

3) Piano playing can improve creative and problem solving skills

Learning to play a musical instrument has been shown to help improve creativity as well as problem solving skills. These are really helpful abilities to have and they transfer well to other areas of life, including general coping skills. Children who have learned to play piano and so have developed those parts of their brain may be better at finding creative solutions to problems that arise in their lives.

4) Learning piano playing can help with general performance at school

Learning to play piano may also help with school performance. Studies have shown that learning a musical instrument exercises the same part of the brain as that used for certain math problems. This means that musical training may also boost classroom performance in math and other spatial awareness and logical reasoning tasks, such as those involved in engineering. The improvement in concentration and focus discussed in an earlier point can also help with school performance in other subjects.

5) Piano lessons can improve communication and maturity

​Sitting and working  with a piano teacher  helps to improve communication skills. Interacting with and solving/improving  performance issues of music pieces to be studied and reproduced, improves the ability to communicate, solve problems and inevitably succeed in the challenges set out at the start. Having the confidence and ability to interact with adults in a mature way could really help the child to get ahead.

6) Music lessons increase exposure to other cultures

​Learning to play the piano or any other musical instrument,  can expose children to a whole range of classical music and composers that they would never have heard of otherwise. Their exposure to music history and  different cultures, will enhance the horizons  at the same time.  This can help to grow a more rounded and educated child with a broader view of the world.

7) Learning benefits

​It is a known fact that children learn new languages faster and more naturally than adults can. It would make sense that this would also apply to reading music. To be able to translate from the notation on the sheet music to the black and white keys of the piano, is possibly the most beneficial aspect of young musicians being successful in subjects like mathematics and science.

8) Piano playing improves coordination

​Playing the piano requires the coordination of 10 fingers on two hands and the feet for the pedals, all while reading music and potentially even singing. There can be no doubt that such utilization of so many parts of the brain at once is incredibly beneficial to brain development and the improvement of coordination. This benefit may transfer into other skills that require good coordination.

9) Learning to play piano teaches the benefits of hard work and persistence

​Learning to play a musical instrument is always difficult in the beginning.  It requires hard work and perseverance. Once the learner has reached a level of competence where he or she enjoys the music they produce, everything changes to levels of pleasure and satisfaction.

10) Piano playing provides relaxation and self-expression

​Finally, and perhaps most importantly, learning to play the piano can provide a child with an excellent outlet for self-expression and a wonderful method of relaxation. Once competent as a piano player, the child can lose themselves in their playing and the music, leaving the stresses of school and life behind. Surely this alone is a compelling reason to start piano lessons for a child.