Everyone loves music and there are many people who not only enjoy listening to music, they enjoy playing it as well. Whether it is a profession or just a hobby, playing music carries a variety of benefits, especially for children. Research shows that learning to play an instrument can be incredibly beneficial to the development of young people. In fact, even those who give up playing music when they reach their teenage years are positively impacted if they played an instrument when their brains were developing. Playing music helps kids in a variety of ways, so it’s important that kids spend at least some of their youth learning to play an instrument. Here are a few musical instruments that every kid should try at least once:
Piano
The piano is probably the most popular instrument for young musicians, and for understandable reasons. While most instruments focus primarily on technique and form, playing the piano is mostly about learning how to read music. There is technique as well, of course, but sight-reading is one of the most important aspects of learning how to play the piano. It should come as no surprise that learning how to read sheet music is exceptionally good for the brain, especially in developmental years. In fact, it is suggested that good thinkers should pursue playing the piano, so it only follows that the piano exercises cognitive functions. Furthermore, researchers link piano playing to inquisitive and analytic minds.
Guitar
The guitar is most certainly the most romanticized instrument in the United States. Everyone wants to play guitar so that they can sing along with their favorite songs, and maybe star in a rock and roll band one day. Every kid should be given a chance to play the guitar, because its popularity breeds a passion for music. If a kid plays an instrument as glorified as the guitar, they will likely fall in love with music and want to keep playing. Furthermore, the guitar is the best instrument for learning how to play on your own. Give a kid a guitar and a book of chords, and they’ll sit in their room all day learning how to play. It’s something that every kid should try at some point.
Drums
A drum set can be the ideal instrument for a kid because it’s a creative way to release energy. Some kids are a little too hyper, impatient, or active to sit in a chair and slowly learn how to play chords on the guitar or hit notes on the flute. But with a drum set, these kids can channel that energy into their music, making the drums an energy outlet as well as a creative outlet. It can be wildly beneficial to have an instrument that serves the dual purpose of stimulating the brain and exercising the body.
With these three instruments, kids can strengthen auditory and cognitive skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. Playing an instrument has been shown to be incredibly beneficial to childhood development, and these are three instruments that will help every kid with that development.
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Werner Yeats is a freelance writer who enjoys contributing material on gadgets, gizmos, musical technology, musical instruments, musical accessories such as the kensington ipad bluetooth keyboard, music education and other related topics.
