What are the benefits of learning music?

1) A study conducted by the American Psychological Association [APA] observed that participants who had musical training scored better in cognitive tests than their non-musical counterparts (APA, 2011).

2) Another study conducted by White-Schwoch et al. revealed that adults who had between 4-14 years' worth of musical training possessed faster speech sound processing in the brain versus those who did not have training (Bhanoo, 2013).

3) Music is a language! People who have musical training facilitates language, reading and speech abilities (Royal Conservatory of Music, 2014).

4) Multiple studies have shown a correlation between musical education and academic success in both children and adults ("10 Reasons You Should Take Up a Musical Instrument", 2018).

5) Music can help with socializing/networking skills, including collaboration, teamwork and leadership ("10 Reasons You Should Take Up a Musical Instrument", 2018).

6) Music lessons help to build confidence. It also provides a sense of accomplishment, especially when you nail that difficult passage you've worked on for weeks ("10 Reasons You Should Take Up a Musical Instrument, 2018).

7) Music helps improve your self-esteem. Music is something that should be shared. By performing in front of others, it helps reduce shyness and overcome stage fright ("18 Major Benefits of Playing the Piano", 2018).

8) Improves hand-eye coordination and reflexes ("18 Major Benefits of Playing the Piano", 2018).

9) Lessons can also help with concentration, memory, emotional intelligence, patience, time management and perseverance (Herrmann, 2019).

10) Music can help improve mood, manage stress, hand-eye coordination, dexterity and posture (Hroncich, 2019).

11) Learning the piano can also provide a strong foundation to help easily learn other instruments. 

FUN FACT: Kathleen plays 11 instruments and Jessica plays 9!

References

10 reasons you should take up a musical instrument. (2018). Classic FM. https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/reasons-to-play-a-musical-instrument/

18 major benefits of playing the piano. (2018). Upbeat Piano Studio. https://upbeatpianostudio.com/18-major-benefits-playing-piano/ 

APA. (2011). Childhood music lessons may provide lifelong boost in brain functioning. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2011/04/music-lessons 

Bhanoo, S. N. (2013). Long-term benefits of music lessons. The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/12/science/long-term-benefits-of-music-lessons.html 

Herrmann, D. (2019). How playing piano makes you more successful in life. Flowkey. https://www.flowkey.com/en/benefits-playing-piano 

Hroncich, C. (2019). Benefits that rock: Why Zappos uses music to promote well-being at work. Employee Benefit News. https://www.benefitnews.com/news/zappos-adds-music-lessons-to-promote-well-being-at-work 

Royal Conservatory of Music. (2014). The benefits of music education. https://www.rcmusic.com/getmedia/443b86ec-47ce-44b7-97e8-4860ffd91335/RCM_MusicEducationBenefits.aspx 

Shipman, D. (2016). A prescription for music lessons. PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6368928/