Music Lessons
Parents concerned that school budget cuts might mean cutting music class in public schools are paying up for private lessons. The popularity of music tutors has rarely been higher with parents, but motivating kids to make music can be a little tougher. “ I don’t really make it a priority,” says 12-year old Rachel. “It just fits in. I don’t put it above anything or below anything.”
New studies have reinforced the idea that music can mean more for a child than just another hobby on a hot day. Recent research shows that music strengthens a child’s muscular development, coordination, timing concentration and memory. “It affects the cognitive and affective domain of learning both. When you learn a musical scale, you have to learn order, you have to learn sequence and all of these are part of higher level skills in the creative process,” says Cristie Ray, a music teacher.
Still, in order to get those benefits, kids have to want to play. Some parents haven’t heard the other statistic. Eighty percent of kids forced to take music lessons eventually abandon their instrument.
Experts suggest allowing children to experiment with music, if they tune out one instrument try another.
What Parents Should Know
When most people think of music they think of entertainment. It’s all around — from MTV, to the radio, to grocery stores, to music in elevators. It is a common denominator among people that makes them happy (or sad), relaxed (or excited). New research shows that it may also make people smarter. Psychologists Frances Rauscher and Gordon Shaw conducted a research study on pre-school children that showed improved spatial-temporal skills, that is, the ability to understand mentally the concept of space as it relates to objects. For example, recognizing that the sound you hear from a book dropped in front of you will sound louder than a book dropped 20 feet from you. In their study Rauscher and Shaw found preschool children who took singing or keyboard lessons performed higher on Object Assembly Task evaluations that measure spatial reasoning. It has been determined that these skills help in understanding concepts of proportion, which are essential to learning math and science. So the next time you’re at a recital and watching a 3-year old bang away, just think, you may be looking at the next musical Einstein.
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“It just fits in. I don’t put it above anything or below anything.” --Rachel Age, 12 |
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1) Don’t make the study of music a difficult experience. Children are more likely to want to learn if they are enjoying it. 2) Getting young children to practice will probably be easier because they are still in the stage of learning by repetition. 3) Allow some time for a child to experiment with music, but don’t allow them to stray totally from lessons on technique. (Source: ParenthoodWeb) |
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The new research on how music influences learning may have an impact on the way schools view music budgets. For many years, cutbacks downsized music education in public schools across the country. But, in a 1998 Survey of School Music Budgets (The Instrumentalist – 8/98), the money for instrumental music programs was up by 12%. The importance of music programs can also be seen in a report by the U.S. Department of Education. A comprehensive review of arts programs was conducted for the first time in 1997. The results found that 72% of schools surveyed have a music program, and of the schools that have programs approximately 70% of the students participated. (Source: U.S. Dept. of Education) |
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Resources
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1) “Stroking the Ivories Can Improve Your Child’s Analytical Abilities” - by Michelle Langa; ParenthoodWeb 2) The National
Association for Music Education |
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more information on parenting issues contact us: Connecting with Kids |