Last Updated on February 25, 2024
Music has been called the language of the soul. It is a language that is universal to all mankind, in that every major culture throughout history has had some unique form of musical expression.
While history does not recall the human progenitors of music, it is likely that some nomadic tribe, long lost to history, invented the first music in the form of rhythmic chants and percussion instruments some time long before the dawn of recorded history.
This is a far cry from the classical compositions of last 500 years as well as the various styles of folk music, and the ever modern, musically ambiguous genre that is “pop” music.
One thing that is for certain is that music has evolved immensely, and into many different styles and genres since its humble beginnings in prehistory. In the modern era it is still very much an intrinsic part of our society.
Today, music has the ability to bring like minded people together from all walks of life. For some who practice, write, and perform music, it is also a integral part of their daily life.
Why?
Because music isn’t simply fun.
It is also beneficial to us in a variety of ways. If you have considered picking up an instrument, read on to learn more about the benefits of music education.
Musical Education can Affect Work and School Performance
In recent years there have been a number of scholarly articles and research papers that studied the correlation between test scores of students who were enrolled in music school programs, as compared to those who participated in non musical extracurricular activities.
Notable among these, a Doctoral dissertation given by T.A. Cobb at The University of Mississippi in 1997, entitled ‘A comparison of the academic achievement of students who have a musical background versus students who do not have a musical background’, in which it was posited based on research conducted by Cobb, that students who were given weekly piano lessons scored higher on general cognitive and spatial testing than their peers in the control group after years one and two of the study, with scores averaging out in the third year.
General cognitive skills are necessary for learning and include attention, memory, logic and reasoning. Spatial skills are those utilized to mentally visualize and manipulate pattern and are necessary for success in other academic subjects such as mathematics.
Even as an adult, further developing these skills through music can have a positive impact on our daily life.
By developing better cognitive and spatial skills, we can accomplish more, be more proactive in solving the inevitable problems in our personal lives. In turn, these positive aspects will no doubt begin to spill over into your professional life as well.
Practice Helps Develop Practical Skills
Music instruction has also shown to be effective in developing better motor skills and hand eye coordination in children.
In the 2014 paper entitled ’The long-term effects of childhood music instruction on intelligence and general cognitive abilities’ by Eugenia Costa-Giomi, a professor of music at Ohio State University it is stated that:
“The fine motor abilities of children who participated in two years of piano instruction and those who had never received formal music training were compared before and after the instruction. A significant improvement in fine motor skills was found only for the children who received the lessons, and a significant difference in the speed of response was found between the two groups at the end of the two years of instruction. The innumerable opportunities to assess, refine, and time their motor responses to specific stimuli during musical practice and the availability of constant evaluative feedback (i.e., sound) may allow musicians to improve the accuracy and speed of perceiving and responding to relevant stimuli.”
While further research in this field is is ongoing, there is also evidence that this trend may also prove true in adults.
Group Lessons Cultivate Good Social Skills
For some, there is no better feeling, no purer release than playing music with a group of people. Whether as live entertainment, or for fun at home, many people find that spending quality time playing music and singing songs with good friends and loved ones to be a much favored pastime.
Wouldn’t then, the same be true of group music lessons?
The answer is yes.
Many music students young and old have opted to take group music lessons, and in doing so, have offered themselves a way to develop their social and interpersonal skills, as well as socialize with peers who share a common interest. Yes, the appeal of setting yourself for some online lessons is always there, and information resources like GuitarFella help you get started in minutes, but the social aspect is nonexistent.
Group lessons are not only a great way to build healthy interpersonal relationships.
Programs like these also encourage teamwork, organizational skills, and communication when students are tasked with learning or composing a piece of music to be performed with a group of other people.
Conclusion
If you are have been on the fence about taking music lessons, consider the topics in this article, and the benefits that you could put to good use in your life by enrolling in music lessons.
These are not the only benefits of music education as it helps us find the rhythm of our own lives. Musical ability can also provide a healthy ego boost, and a constructive creative outlet for negative emotions, as well as any number of other benefits.
If you were to start taking music lessons, what instrument would you be most interested in learning to play? Piano maybe? Violin? Electric guitar? Leave us a comment with your thoughts in the section below.