Courses
For younger children, there are musical awakening courses that generally introduce several musical instruments. Children can thus discover the shapes, sounds and methods to play several instruments. Before making a choice and venturing into high expenses, it may be a good idea to suggest this introduction to your child. At the same time, you will assess the interest of your little musician and gather information that will be useful if he wants to continue learning music. The recorder is a good instrument to start with because the fingering is simple and the sound is easily produced. However, your child still needs wide enough fingers to cover the holes completely.
It is worth mentioning that learning an instrument is one of the best ways to improve fine dexterity in children. A study led by researchers from Harvard1 reported that children who have learned and practiced an instrument for at least three years are better in some subjects than children who have not studied music. The results show that the time spent practicing piano or violin, for example, influence skills that have no apparent connection with music, namely verbal abilities and visual patterns. Unsurprisingly, it also improves dexterity and auditory discrimination.
Therefore, let’s encourage our children to learn instruments for fun or for more serious purposes. The benefits it brings are many and the effort it requires is nothing compared with the pride that we feel when achieving our goals. Happy rehearsal!
Reference
[1] Public Library of Science. "Time Invested In Practicing Pays Off For Young Musicians, Research Shows." ScienceDaily, 5 Nov. 2008. Web. 29 Mar. 2013.
