10 Reasons for Music Lessons

by Kristin Thielemann (02.08.2023)

Do you know the saying "Music makes you smart"? To be honest: I can't hear it anymore! This phrase misappropriates music, using it as a vitamin for "performance boosting." This neither does justice to the music itself nor to our children, who should have the chance to discover active music-making for themselves and find out what music can offer them.

In this article, I have compiled reasons why engaging with music can be crucial for a young person, beyond the overused phrase "Music makes you smart."

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1. Happiness

"One should be able to play the piano!" Why? Attention, trigger warning! To impress the ladies later as a little heartbreaker!? No, because what fascinates us about good pianists is how deeply they can immerse themselves in the music, how focused they are when we see them in their own world, and how happy their playing makes us. How happy must the pianist be?! Very!

2. Confidence in Your Abilities

Resilience, the ability of a person to overcome crises and maintain self-esteem, can be learned almost incidentally through music-making.

This experience can be transferred to other areas of life and learning by a young person!

3. Positive Side Effects

Making music has many positive side effects, such as improving language skills, concentration, social behavior, emotions and empathy, mathematical understanding, creativity, and problem-solving skills. In my guidebook “Every Child is Musical” I go into more detail. This book should be in every family household!

4. I Can Do Something Special

By learning to play an instrument, children acquire a craft that is also an art. Such a highly complex activity is best started in childhood, as the experience "I can do something special" has a tremendously positive impact on a child's personal development! And it is an important experience for later professional life when children learn that they can perform a piece of music perfectly and present it to an audience (even if it's just their parents and music teacher at first).

5. Overcoming Crises with Music

Crisis at school? Trouble with parents? Stress with friends? Playing an instrument allows you to dive into your own emotional world. There, people can process things and find themselves again, express their anger through music, deal with sadness, and become happy again.

6. Concentration Ability

Children and teenagers who regularly engage with music can develop more nuanced hearing. Studies have shown that adults who played a musical instrument for an extended period during their childhood have better hearing ability and can filter out background noise to focus on important sounds.

7. Friendship

Having a circle of friends outside the classroom becomes important when children and teenagers are bullied or feel uncomfortable in their class community for other reasons. By making music in a group, young people can build another circle of friends with whom they share an important commonality: the ability to play a musical instrument.

Friendships formed in bands, ensembles, or orchestras are often particularly intense because these children and teenagers have gone through a significant development together by learning the pieces of music and perhaps have already successfully performed concerts. This creates a basis for intense and happy friendships that can last a lifetime with a bit of luck.

8. Something for Everyone

There is so much to discover in music that everyone can find something they enjoy: whether it's an interest in a particular musical style, a passion for music history, a variety of instruments, digital or analog, the joy of improvising and composing—the world of music is so richly and diversely presented today that it is easy to give young people various and exciting impulses.

9. Challenges

The desire for sounds and tones, the skill and mastery of an instrument spur individuals to excel. Often, feedback is not even needed for musicians to realize if something is right or wrong. Much of the learning journey in music can be pursued without the dreaded red pen often seen in schools. Without this negative feedback, children often surpass themselves in music. Tackling a new note, a difficult passage, or a new piece brings immense joy when the challenge is finally overcome during practice. Making music is fun!

However, a competent teacher who knows how to guide this learning journey is extremely important. They can help through periods of low motivation and provide precise tips for technical and musical difficulties.

10. Creativity and Imagination

In making music, the personality of children and teenagers is expressed. Here, they can apply their imagination and creativity and bring to life the sounds they feel within. Only what is nurtured can develop further!

In our world, where people with diverse cultural backgrounds, languages, and educational biographies live together and tackle crises, where AI competes with many established professions, creativity, imagination, and inventiveness are essential to address the challenges of our time. Encouraging these skills in childhood can do a lot of good for the next generation. Given the rise of artificial intelligence in our lives, education policymakers will need to find answers about what content should be included in school curricula and whether much of what we previously considered important still holds the same relevance for the next generation.

Engaging in music, where people of different languages can come together creatively at any level—from beginner to professional—is an enormous treasure.

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