Benefits of Music in Early Childhood Education

With many schools turning towards virtual and e-learning, one of the first subjects many students have had to go without is music.

Music education not only suffered from multiple budget cuts but also seems to be deemed by many schooling systems as non-essential.

Music has always been viewed as more of an extracurricular activity than an actual subject, which deems it to be so high on the chopping block when schools lose money and have to cancel programs.

The problem with doing this is that music education should be considered an essential subject in learning, most especially in early childhood development.

Children learn in varying ways, and it’s important to understand music education as a versatile way to teach many different things.

Music helps us to grasp concepts like language and emotion, as well as many other benefits and rewards for children that we will look at more closely.

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Benefits of Music in Early Childhood Education

1. Music is essential in the Development of Language

Though this could be geared towards very young children, there are multiple reasons music can help us to learn the language. Some claim that you can see the development of language with music in a child’s brain.

Studies performed on the brain have indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, wiring the brain’s circuit in specific ways.

This relationship between music and language is definitely more prominent in younger children, helping them learn how to speak and express themselves since language helps us be competent in a verbal manner.

However, older students also discovered that trying to take on learning a new language actually comes easier to them when doing it with music, since the focus is more on sounds rather than meaning, which comes later.

2. Music improves reading in Academics

There was another study that was done by NAFME that took students who came from musical backgrounds and upbringing and compared their academic scores to those who did not.

The difference was astounding. Those enriched with music education scored higher, more particularly within the areas of math and reading skills. Overall IQ scores were also higher in those of musically rich children.

3. Music also helps develop strong math skills:

Since starting with language, it is easy to see that reading skills would be advanced.

But why math? Those who learn more music actually use more of the left side of their brain, or the part that creates logic with enhanced spatial-temporal skills – helping children to visualize elements that fit together, which is exactly what associates with math knowledge.

Benefits of Music in Early Childhood Education

4. Music improves hand-eye coordination:

The piano has been regarded by far as one of the best instruments for beginners to start with – and some of the easiest piano songs for beginners are simple enough to plunk out note by note when you’re just starting to learn how to play.

When you actually start to work with both hands on the keys as you learn how to play and practice, you also drastically improve your fine motor skills, which can carry over into the ability to write well or put delicate/small pieces of equipment together.

For most students nowadays, personalized online piano classes have been a great success. The parents have been surprised to know how comforting, productive, and fun the virtual lessons can be.

The guitar is a similar beginner instrument that can also help with this since finger-plucking specific notes can really help increase those motor skills.

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The inclination to move to music while singing or keeping a beat makes a difference with coordination. If you’ve ever young children who clap or tap their foot on a specific rhythm, this demonstrates the beginning of building upon that ability.

Going as far as jumping up and down on the beat to music also provides muscle building, balance, and strength in children.

Music has always had the power to help us convey certain emotions and expressions, but it also provides a common ground for relationship building.

Have you ever developed a stronger bond with someone because you happen to share the same musical interests? This is a prime example of how music can help with social skills.

Many children can have difficulty adapting to social changes, or being in certain socially engaged situations.

When singing or playing in a group such as a choir or an orchestra, children work with other children towards a common goal, making it easier to establish social interactions and relate with others, as well as working as a team.

6. Music teaches discipline and gives boosted confidence:

One of the most important facets of learning music is practice.

Children will have to learn early on that they need to create time within their routines for practicing their instrument or singing their song, so that they can improve upon it, ultimately to master it for a performance.

This habit of creating practice time is great for teaching children discipline and time management on how to structure their time, which is a wonderful life-skill.

It’s also very beneficial for children who have special needs when they need to stick to routines as well.

As children are more engaged and improve upon their musical skills, they become more confident in their abilities.

This can also help with other life situations like public speaking, where performing musically in front of others when prepared helps to prepare them later for making a speech in front of their classroom or even at an event.

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When your child reaches the point where they can see that they have become skilled at their craft, it gives them a sense of pride and a strong boost of confidence, allowing them to take more risks and lead in their own desires.

Benefits of Music in Early Childhood Education

7. Music helps children to learn patience:

We all know the saying “patience is a virtue” – but in today’s reality there isn’t much room for it. Everything is so ‘right now’ and immediate, from buying products to watching television. Musical education has the added benefit of teaching children how to be patient.

This is because learning a new instrument or song takes a lot of time, requiring children to exercise patience in their learning growth.

Certain other parts of learning music require patience, such as waiting for the beat you have to start on, or if you’re a part of a choir or orchestra, waiting for the conductor to signal to begin.

8. Music inspires creativity and improves mood

With the added boost in confidence and development of skills, it is easy to understand that music inspires more creativity. Children who study music are usually more apt to take risks in doing something new, exploring the inner workings of imagination without limits or restrictions.

Music lessons provide children with a place to be themselves freely, to try their hand at new tasks like writing their songs or coming up with their arrangements for music.

Because music is a great form of expression, some of the most creative minds are associated with musical talent.

It is incredible to see how much it can change someone’s mood. People often turn to music in desperation as a way to escape sad or undesirable situations.

Music has actually been shown to help focus and calm anxiety in people, some just by listening, some through singing, and others by playing.

Many people utilize music as a way to de-stress and unwind, so it can be a great outlet for when children become frustrated or need some way to release frustrations.

Music is an essential tool for our lives and should be a subject that is included in all early childhood education. It creates solid developmental advancements as well as provides fun. From birth, many babies hear music by a parent singing or hearing common nursery rhymes.

They immediately begin to understand music and song before learning anything else, so it is already a huge part of their growth. Music has numerous positive benefits and rewards and should keep its place in early childhood education.

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