The Importance of Music Education in Child Development

The old adage that “music calms the soul” has gained so much acceptance that everyone resorts to music for pretty much everything. From entertainment to relaxing our minds and inducing sleep, music plays an important role in our culture. But the importance of music goes way beyond “calming our souls” Did you know that early music education can have an impact on a child’s development? Early interaction with music has been proven to affect the quality of a child’s life.

In fact, a recent study at the University of Southern California found that music experiences in childhood can boost brain development, particularly in the areas of reading skills and language acquisition. These findings have been substantiated by the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation (NAMM) in their brochure that highlights advancement in maths skills as one of the importance of music education.

Music and child development: The importance of music

The importance of music goes way beyond academic achievements. It encompasses all the facets of child development and lays the foundation upon which future music career is built.  Music sparks all areas of child development: language, social and emotional, intellectual, motor and at the same time imparts the skills for school readiness. While early music education helps a child’s body and mind work together, dancing to the music helps to build motor skills and the overall coordination of the body.

Music and language development

Children are born ready to decode words and sounds, and music education helps to enhance the development of these natural abilities. Recent studies have found that music training physically helps the left part of the brain responsible for processing language. Linking familiar songs to new information can help imprint that info on young minds.

It is this musical experience that strengthens the capacity of a child to be verbally competent.  Music education and language development are intertwined. Raising up your children in music-rich environments can be advantageous to your children’s language development.

Music lessons enhance IQ

The idea that music makes you smarter has immensely grabbed the attention of scholars and the media.  A 2004 University of Toronto study, by E. Glenn Schellenberg found an increase in IQs of six-year-old children who were given piano and weekly voice lessons for nine months.  In the study, Glenn did not offer piano lessons to the second group of six-year-olds. Surprisingly, the average score of the children who were offered piano lessons was 3 points higher than that of the second group. The study indicates that there is a causal relationship between music training and spatial reasoning in young children, further stressing the importance of music to children.

Music lessons enhance social-emotional development in children

Early experiences in music help children bond intellectually and emotionally with others through rhythmic movement and creative expressions in songs.  A recent study by Vanderbilt University found that children with a strong foundation of emotional literacy tend to be more social, feels happier, and performs well academically than others. Through music, enduring attitudes regarding the happiness and expressions in songs are developed.

Summary

Early music education is the mother of all virtues in children. It serves all the social, intellectual, emotional, and creative needs of children. It provides a bedrock upon which a child’s behavior and cognitive abilities are nurtured. That being said, it’s of paramount importance to have a music curriculum for your children. Such curriculum should include components to explore sound through singing, playing instruments, listening, and moving.  Feel the need to begin your music journey, enroll in one of our music schools for the best music training experience.