For decades, kids around the world have been practicing music as a hobby from a young age. Turns out, it’s for good reason. Besides being something fun for them to do on a weekly basis, learning an instrument- particularly taking lessons, has been known to provide a number of benefits, especially for children.

First, music can help them with their concentration skills. Naturally, kids tend to have short attention spans. Learning an instrument requires them to focus on the task at hand, and work towards a goal. It also requires a lot of patience. Learning to read music and make it come to life is no easy feat. Your child will feel a real sense of pride and accomplishment when their hard work begins to pay off!

It teaches discipline. In order to truly learn an instrument, you must practice consistently. Though your child may be attending a weekly lesson, if they don’t practice throughout the week on their own time, it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to progress. With a little help from you, you can encourage them to set aside time to practice several times a week. 

Music lessons can even help kids develop their social skills, ranging from improved speech to cognitive performance. In order to play an instrument, you must have a good ear; it’s essential to be able to hear when you hit a wrong note, or you’re out of tune. This will naturally make your child a better listener, enabling them to pick up on irregular speech patterns, and social cues. 

Lastly, you may find that the sheer accomplishment of successfully learning to play an instrument, along with learning new songs and continual improvement will give your child a new sense of confidence and self esteem. Besides the pride they may feel in themselves, they’ll also learn to take constructive criticism, and discover how to keep trying even when they fail. 

These are just a few of the reasons your child should take music lessons! Even if it’s just for fun, the skill of playing an instrument is something that you can carry with you forever, and brush off (if needed) in the future!