My son loves music. He got his first ukulele at age three. Yes, it was painful for the rest of the family to suffer through. How many wrong G chords can a child hit? Millions!
He was also a talker. His mind flowed with a never-ending stream of questions, and he was oh-so charismatic. He could talk his way out of anything; even when caught with one hand in the cookie jar.
Now, as a writer and a speaker, words are his life. And he still sweet talks me when I catch him with his hand in the cookie jar.
Language and music are learned in similar ways
There is a strong scientific link between learning an instrument and increased language development. As it turns out, music and language are learned in similar ways.
Musicians have highly consistent auditory-neural responses. This means that their brains are good at processing the sounds that they hear and turning them into something meaningful. This is especially encouraging news if your child has ADHD or a learning disability. Learning an instrument can help them learn more easily and build confidence.
Music is its own language
Babies are born with an understanding of sounds. Later, they connect those sounds with meanings or words. Music can help with this process because music is a unique type of language.
Music teaches rhythm, patterns, and repetition. Children have to learn how to recognize the tones and the starts and stops to learn to speak and to read. These skills are easily learned through music.
The same part of the brain is used to learn music and language. Music requires both the left and right sides of the brain to work together. Science shows that learning an instrument actually makes kids smarter because they form new brain connections as they learn.
Both music and language require listening and attention to detail. Learning to read music to play an instrument can also greatly aid in learning to read.
So if your kid has been begging to learn the trumpet or the drums, it is definitely worth suffering through those first few months. A little advice though: buy yourself some earplugs
