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Play it again – the long-term benefits of studying music for children
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PRACTICE makes perfect, so the saying goes, but as parents and educators know, music is about more than just hitting all of the right notes. In fact, numerous studies have proven that a child’s musical study is linked to improved academic performance, linguistic skills, confidence, and transferable skills that can be applied to many future endeavors.
Developmental benefits
A study conducted by Dr Laurel Trainor, a professor and researcher of psychology, neuroscience, and behavior at McMaster University, concluded that children who study music in strong music programs receive significant benefits. Trainor says, “Children taking music lessons improved general memory skills that are correlated with nonmusical abilities, such as literacy, verbal memory, visuospatial processing, mathematics, and IQ.”
Understanding how children benefit from a structured music program, one school, Yew Chung International School of Shanghai (YCIS), has made music a key component of its curriculum. At YCIS, all students participate in the school’s unique violin program from the end of Kindergarten through Primary Year 3, and in addition, students have weekly general music classes from Kindergarten through High School, and are active in many musical groups, related after school activities, and performances.
Connecting music and language
As one of the concrete benefits of studying music is enhanced linguistics skills, this is of particular importance at YCIS as the school also places great emphasis on Chinese language study. Music helps students become more analytical, to recognize patterns, and builds their memorization ability, all of which are key when learning Chinese, as well.
Beyond honing the skills important to effectively learn a language, YCIS’s music program also teaches students the cultural relevance of the music they study, which helps them further understand and reinforce the language they are learning. In classes, children study musical arrangements along with the differing styles of great composers from both the East and the West.
Cherry Chen, Primary Music Education coordinator at the YCIS Hongqiao campus, explains, “In addition to teaching our students a wide range of world music, by learning about Chinese music, their Chinese language learning is further reinforced with an additional cultural context, contributing to their overall comprehension and application of the language. Music is a language without boundaries, and whether it’s through our unique violin program or their regular music classes, both the students and teachers are using this special language to communicate.”
Gaining presence and
self-confidence
One of the key benefits of music programs are regular concerts, as students have the opportunity to build confidence and develop their performance skills.
At YCIS, all students have the opportunity to grace the stage throughout the year, and families, friends, and staff get to hear the music that forms a key part of life at school for their children within the music program. One example of this is the annual YCIS “Seeds of Hope” gala charity concert, a yearly highlight, which features more than 370 student performers from all YCIS schools around the globe, and showcases music written, arranged, and conducted by Gary Sanderson, the school’s Music Director.
Sanderson notes how performances impact students, saying, “Music presents children with a number of unusual opportunities, including gaining confidence on the stage, and being able to express themselves.”
According to Edward Swider, a Music teacher at YCIS’s Century Park and Regency Park campuses, in addition to increasing students’ confidence, their presentation skills excel as a result of music performances.
Swider says, “I’ve spoken with a number of students’ parents who are business executives about how their employees might have difficulty presenting in a boardroom, but how their eight-year-old is able to get up on stage and perform in front of hundreds of people with ease. It’s quite powerful to watch students as they gain the confidence and skills necessary to perform.”
Building transferable skills
Learning to sing and play instruments are feats in themselves, but learning to play in a band, orchestra, or ensemble also helps hone team building and communication skills. Swider adds, “I love to teach kids the ‘community’ aspect of being a part of an orchestra or choir. The students learn not only how to listen to the teachers, but also to their classmates. Learning to work together in a collaborative musical environment develops fundamental non-verbal communication skills. It also helps them learn how to focus and appreciate the importance of details, such as working on a specific task to make sure it’s done right. For our older Primary students, this attention to detail goes a long way toward preparing them for Secondary classes.”
The benefits of music for children are truly boundless. A structured music program, like the one at YCIS, allows children to not only build a deep appreciation for music, it also helps develop a range of skills, including language, self-assurance, communication ability, and focus, that they will use from the concert performances of today, to the many non-musical life endeavors of their future.
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