Mara Bettencourt

Music gives us possibilities for self-expression rivaled by few forms of art and communication. It is a miraculous gift for ourselves, our children, friends, and audience. Music can heal, it can connect people, and it can provide entertainment or spiritual fulfillment for a lifetime. Not surprisingly, music changes lives. We would like to share with you just some of the many beneficial "side effects" of music study:

12 Important Skills Your Child Learns By Studying Music

• Self-Confidence - Being able to go from learning notes and rhythms to producing meaningful music instills in your child a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence, while building self-esteem.
• Coordination - Hand, eye, body posture and thought all working together are the ingredients of playing an instrument. These coordination skills transfer to many other aspects of life.
• Teamwork - Every child wants to be part of a group. Group performances and recitals provide just such unique opportunities.
• Comprehension - Learning to perceive and derive meaning from musical sounds sharpens your child's ability to comprehend abstractions.
• Problem-Solving - Learning the basics of musical language and interpreting a work through performance teaches your child the ability to understand a problem and reach an appropriate solution.
• Discipline - Learning all of the basics of music and applying them correctly takes perception and discipline.
• Art Appreciation - The words beauty, serenity and excitement come to life with each musical experience. These feelings help every child appreciate all forms of the arts.
• Logical Reasoning - When your child learns to analyze a musical work from all perspectives or to improvise within a certain musical style, both inductive and deductive reasoning grows stronger.
• Communication - Music offers the ability to cultivate our feelings and thoughts through nonverbal means and to respond to these nonverbal thoughts in others.
• Conceptualization - Your child learns to classify by learning to identify different types and styles of music and to recognize how cultures use music for personal expression.
• Making Value Judgments - Learning to comprehend, consider and evaluate in music can help your child make informed decisions and uphold value judgments in other aspects of life.
• Using Symbols - Learning to read, write and interpret musical notation strengthens the use of other symbol systems such as mathematics and language.