5 Ways Making Music Benefits Brain Development
While current circumstances have made learning more difficult, that doesn’t mean it has to stop. An education report on Futurithmic highlights how online learning has taken center stage, and is even a recommended activity if you want to keep your kids educated and engaged at home. There are plenty of topics that you can encourage them to learn, but we have a suggestion: making music.
After all, not only is music a wonderful creative outlet, but it’s also good for brain development. So, here are five of music making’s mental benefits.
Improves memory
Do you get that sensation when a melody gets stuck in your head after hearing it repeatedly? Well, when you make music, the songwriter is stuck hearing the same notes, too. A study from The Chinese University of Hong Kong discovered that children with musical training remembered more things than other kids. The researchers eventually linked it to how memorizing music pieces, notes, and such trains one’s non-musical memory as well.
Get faster reaction times
There’s a lot more involved in making and performing music than just knowing “what sounds right” – there’s also reading notes. When your kids are at the level where they can recognize a few of them, the process of seeing a note and pressing the right key can develop faster reaction times.
Helps with numbers
Classical music enthusiast Akshaiyaa VS finds that music making and math are intricately connected. “Creating appealing beats involves the generation of notes with the right mathematical combination,” she explains. For example, every piece will have a time signature, which decides how many beats should there be per bar. Every note is assigned a number (1/2, 1, etc.) and every bar needs a full four. Whenever people write music, there’s always a bit of math involved.
Teaches self-awareness
Making your own music is to become your own critic. Your ears decide what sounds good, what parts need to be replaced, or if there’s a wrong note in your melody. To teach kids to make music is to be able to develop this kind of self-awareness in them early on. Eventually, they’ll carry this kind of attitude to other activities as they grow older.
Develops self-discipline
If one wants to learn music, they need to make goals, stick to a routine, and practice until they reach them. Learning to make music, in particular, is especially challenging to master. As mentioned in the points above, you’ll need to learn how to read notes, write scores, and even train your ears to recognize your own mistakes. These aren’t things that can be learned overnight.
Learn how to make music anywhere and at any time
Today’s unprecedented times have put much of our lives on hold. And what aspects of our lives that do go on have to be adapted to this new, remote setup. Digital nomad James Gonzales discusses the importance of taking advantage of the technology available, especially now with very limited physical resources. “Explore apps and technology that can help you streamline and improve your workflow,” he says, referring to professionals who struggle to work remotely.
Learning music is much the same.
Your kids, too, will need to utilize all the software and apps available to make the most out of their learning. Musical Instruments for Kids is a beginner’s app that introduces 48 different instruments to children by having them accomplish fun challenges. It teaches them to recognize instruments by listening to their names or sounds in Din Din, recognize them by appearance in Do Re Mi, and much more. Eventually, this could even be what sparks their interest in making music. If they’re ready to get serious, look into more specialized apps or even hiring an online tutor.
Music is a vast field with plenty of online resources available for anyone interested. If you’re looking for an exciting hobby to get your kids, or even you, yourself, into—music is a great choice.
Written by Ricole Jurnee