| Why
having your child learn a musical instrument is a good thing
Learning to play a musical instrument can be
very rewarding for a child. What starts out as an awkward
endeavor, becomes easier and more fun over time, as fine motor
skills develop and a better understanding of the structure
of music is acquired. Developing these skills helps children
gain confidence and self-esteem. As a bonus, over the last
twenty years various studies have linked musical abilities
to other advanced thinking skills. It appears that for some
reason, kids' minds work better at seemingly unrelated thinking
skills when they have learned some music. It apparently wires
the brain for math skills, puzzle solving, language and other
skills.
But I think what's most important is that it
gives a child a huge head start on a skill that will most
likely be an important hobby that they can enjoy forever.
The truth is, when children learn music before adolescence,
they learn it in a very different way than an adult. It is
very analogous to learning languages as a child. In essence,
learning to play music as a kid ensures that it is being learned
as a native language, a huge advantage compared to those who
decide to learn later in life. Just as grownups labor over
their Spanish or French language studies, so too must they
labor over learning to play an instrument. I have had kids
learn in just a few years what would take most adults a decade
to learn. This includes not only the manual dexterity issues,
but also the music related thinking skills such as improvising
and ear-training.
One of the most important things about
playing music, especially an interactive form like bluegrass
is the social rewards of playing with other people and building
friendships that last a lifetime. We live in an era that can
be very isolating, with children (and adults) spending more
and more of their time in front of a screen of one form or
another, and less and less time interacting with people. The
bluegrass community has informal jams in houses, pizza parlors,
and at festivals and camps all across the country. Most musicians
I know watch way less TV and spend more time with friends
than your typical non-musician types. This, I think, is a
good thing.
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