Did you play a musical instrument as a youngster?
Even if you don’t play any longer, you probably have fond memories of the experience. Playing an instrument — and that includes singing, because your voice is an instrument! — is an amazing creative outlet.
That’s not all it is. We’re only just beginning to understand the many benefits of playing music, but we already know enough to say that musical education should be a cornerstone of primary and secondary school curriculum.
And so it is at Delphian School. Follow along as we review the key benefits of music education as we understand them (the “why” behind our music program) and what students can expect when they enroll (the “how”).
Accelerated Brain Development in Younger Children
Studies show that music education promotes brain development in younger children. The benefits show up as early as infancy and toddlerhood. Babies exposed to a variety of musical instruments and styles tend to be more inquisitive and better regulated in their behavior.
The brain-boosting benefits of music education don’t end once kids begin speaking in complete sentences — or reading. The Save the Music Foundation notes that “reading music can improve general reading comprehension skills overall,” setting kids up for success outside the concert hall.
Enhanced Language Acquisition
There’s something to the idea that music is a “universal language.” That’s usually meant to highlight that music is really a branch of mathematics, a fundamental “shared reality” in the way that vernacular languages like English and Spanish aren’t.
But as the Save the Music Foundation reminds us, music can be “language” in an even more literal sense. After all, most people who play music well also read music well. And that capability, which often develops at a very young age, spills over into vernacular language acquisition too. To take advantage of this close connection, Delphian School offers music education to all our students, including the very youngest at the Lower School.
Improved Self-Confidence & Self-Awareness
Music is a skill like any other. It can be learned, honed, mastered, and forgotten. That cycle — well, at least until you get to the “forgotten” part, which only happens if you allow yourself to get out of practice — instills confidence in people who play.
The effect is more noticeable in children, who are better able to acquire new skills and tend to get more gratification from the learning process. Kids who commit to learning to sing or play an instrument gain lifelong “soft” skills in self-confidence and self-awareness.
Improved “Soft Skill” Development
Those aren’t the only soft skills music education helps develop. Kids who sing and play music hone a variety of lifelong capabilities at the individual and group level:
Self-discipline: No matter how talented you are, if you want to play well, you have to practice. This habit translates to any skill or discipline that demands consistent practice (which is most skills or disciplines, if you think about it).
Problem-solving: Musicians encounter problems all the time, from tricky pieces of music to unfamiliar playing techniques on a new instrument. These problems don’t always have obvious solutions. But learning how to solve them is like crossing a threshold: once you’ve done it once, you can do it again in similar situations.
Working well within groups: Delphian School’s choir groups are a great example of what can go right when musicians work well within a group. And in general, any successful group performance requires effective teamwork.
Expanded Cultural & Social Horizons
Coming back to the fact that music is a “universal language,” music education is often younger learners’ first contact with cultures beyond their own. It’s also a window into different places and times; classical musicians like Mozart and Beethoven lived in very different worlds, after all.
By opening kids’ eyes to the world beyond their own lived experience, music education instills qualities that will serve them well into adulthood: curiosity, perspective, tolerance. That’s definitely worthy of celebration.