3 Ways Music Benefits Children
You don’t have to be a scientist performing detailed research to see how music benefits children. You just have to be a parent who has a child involved in a music program! Many parents with musically-inclined children notice differences in their children as they grow with their music.
Following is a short list of just three ways all children can benefit from music. They don’t have to be natural music pros to receive these benefits. They don’t even have to take music lessons at a very serious level to receive them. They just need to exposed to music and the art of making music from a young age.
#1: Fine Motor Skills & Coordination
Making music requires a lot of coordination of different body parts, depending on the type of instrument being used. Think of a child learning to play a simple recorder. They must learn to hold the instrument with one hand and their mouth while moving their fingers in specific patterns over the holes on the instrument.
Different types of body coordination and fine motor skills would be used to play a bass or a violin. When children are exposed to different types of instruments at a young age they are challenged in this way and develop greater fine motor skills and coordination abilities.
Children can get some of these benefits from playing sports as well, but it is different with musical instruments. Most sports do not require children to use their fingers in the same way they are used to make music. They learn to pay attention to small details, such as placing each finger completely over tiny holes in a recorder.
Many children who struggle with coordination or fine motor skills are involved in music so they can improve these skills.
#2: Creative Thinking
Creating music also stimulates creative thinking in children. As they learn to work with others to create interesting or beautiful tunes their brains come alive with their own ideas. This is why many children who love music will spend some of their free time playing around with instruments. They will come up with their own songs and tunes from their own creative minds.
Creativity is sparked to a high degree in early music education programs. These programs allow small children to bang around on drums and play with a variety of other instruments before technique is properly understood. They are able to play and have fun while exploring their own creative minds.
#3: Self Expression
This is perhaps the best benefit of music on growing children. It gives them a way to express themselves and to explore who they are as people. As children identify instruments that they really love and types of music that speak to their souls in a personal way, they start to explore who they are in the world.
Eventually they will grow into older children who can express themselves through their chosen musical instruments.
Think of how adults use music to express the deepest emotions of the soul. Children are able to express themselves through music much the same way when they are given the right tools. The tools are simply exposure to music in fun, creative environments that encourage self expression.
Even infants can start building these benefits if they are given the right type of musical exposure!