Influence of learning to play a musical instrument on children's development

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Photography my Passion, my Family my Heart, Education my Devotion and Venezuela my Nation.

3 years ago

Topics: Family, Music, Life, Art, Personal

Greetings dear readers

In this opportunity, I will discuss a very interesting topic; it is about the influence of the learning of the musical language and the execution of an instrument in the cognitive and psychomotor development in children.

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Imagen de sarab123 en Pixabay

I would like to start this topic, with my experience as the proud mother of a musician girl. This beautiful journey through the world of music, started when my oldest daughter was 4 years old, at that time, I remember ... it all started with the letters to Santa Claus and the Magi, that was when at the beginning of the year, together with others gifts, I came from the Magi a violin, which, according to the size and age of my daughter, seemed more like a keychain.

At the beginning of the activities after Christmas break, my husband and I finally decided, and impregnated by ignorance about the world of the execution of a musical instrument, we arrived at the music academy, with the firm conviction that our daughter would initiate her violin lessons, but, surprise! ... I will never forget the expression of amazement on the face of the person in charge of the inscription, (today I laugh a lot), when I tell her our expectations; it was then, when she kindly explained to us, that at that age, children usually have not yet fully developed fine motor skills, so playing an instrument such as the violin is very difficult and generally frustrating for the child, On the other hand, in the Kinder Musical program that they managed, the participants started with the Marimba or Xylophone.

Marimba or Xylophone (photography of my authorship)

Another very interesting detail, which I learned later on, is that, since children at that age still do not fully handle reading, they teach them by using colors, assigning a color for each note of the musical scale, allowing them to execute pieces musical, translated from the musical language to a language of colors.

Musical scale based on colors (Image of my authorship)

Now, returning to the unknown that gives rise to this writing, and in order to be able to clarify it, before it is necessary to understand, how does the child learn the musical language and how it starts in the execution of an instrument ?, according to the approach of Casas M (2001) The musical development of children between 3 and 15 years old passes through four levels: sensory manipulation, imitation, imaginative interpretation and reflection. In the particular case of the stage of musical initiation, which takes place between 3 and 7 years, approximately, the child experiences the four stages, mentioned above, favoring the development not only of the cognitive plane, but also of the affective planes and psychomotor.

But ... why is it that music learning offers these benefits? Focusing it from the perspective of music therapy, and particularly in young children, since their learning is achieved through imitation, authors such as Casas (2001) and Albornoz (2009) agree that music, by precipitating the cognitive process, greatly favors conscious observation and the capacity for attention, assimilation, comprehension, retention and evocation. In addition, it develops the sense of rhythm, directly affecting physical and motor training, benefiting the proper development of the sense of balance, laterality and motor skills. In parallel, it promotes the identification and expression of emotions, leading to the discovery and understanding of being, and the characterization of difficulties or virtues associated with emotions that affect learning.

But ..., in simple terms that means ... easy, if the teaching-learning process of music is properly oriented, it will reinforce attention and concentration in the child, increasing their memory and creativity, as well as encouraging the development of motor and rhythmic skills; It will also increase self-confidence, facilitating socialization and, last but not least, reduce stress. I do not know what you think? ... but I think it's great.

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Now, how does it translate, the previous approaches in the performance of children in other areas of their day to day?, around this question the Lic. In Music., And Civil Engineer María Victoria Casas, after reviewing exhaustively diverse studies in the fields of education, psychology and music, could conclude that, "the learning of an artistic discipline such as music during childhood, improves learning, reading, language (including foreign languages), Mathematics, in short, increases academic performance in general, further enhancing other areas of human development.

Research as presented in the article Music Enrichment Programs Improve the Neural Encoding of Speech in At-Risk Children, Journal of Neuroscience 3, and a study conducted at Northwestern University support the previous approach, agreeing that music instruction in Children, especially the youngest ones, have surprising results, obtaining more sophisticated brain responses and a more developed language in comparison with children who have not received this training. In the particular case of the study conducted at Northwestern University, among other things, it was concluded that the teaching methodology in music classes greatly influences learning and the absorption of all benefits by students, and this is largely due to the fact that students need to participate actively in the class.

I insist, do not you think it's great? ... The benefits are undeniable, right?

Photograph of my authorship

I really do not know, if in the future of my daughter, this being a professional musician, or simply music is part of her life as an extracurricular activity, what she decides ... I will support it. What I can say is that after 5 years have passed, I still thank God, because from the first day he started his musical training, he felt like a fish in the water. And although today I know, what his journey through the world of music is just beginning, I am proud of his achievements, with his just 9 years old, he not only writes and understands the musical language, but also, performs musically instruments, Xylophone, Recorder, Piano (from about two years), and very recently began his training with the Mandolin, which has allowed him to join the Orquesta Típica of the Ciudad de Lechería.

For my part, although I still consider myself musically disabled, and as Shakira would say "blind, deaf and mute", what I have managed to understand is that music enhances the soul and that being a musician is a way of life . Finally, I invite you to consider the possibility of giving your children and yourselves the opportunity to know the wonderful world of music.