Why music lessons are important for your child.

I wanted to dedicate this blog post to explaining the  benefits that private music lessons can give your child.  Many parents are frightened by the cost of lessons as well as the cost of buying/renting and maintaining an instrument.  There are also those who don't believe their child will have a chance of becoming a professional musician, so therefore believe they are wasting their time and money by bringing them for music lessons.  Even if your child doesn't pursue a music career there are lifelong benefits to learning music. 

Learning to read music is much like learning to read a new language.  Most musical terms they learn will probably be in Italian, thus they will literally begin to read a new language.  The child will also develop the ability to distinguish between different pitches and rhythms on sight.   Learning how to read rhythms also requires basic math skills that the child will have to recall instantly.  The pitches will help train your child's hearing and make music listening as an adult more enjoyable for them.  

Learning music will also help expand your child's attention span.  They will have to learn to focus for longer and longer periods of time, which may be extremely difficult for some children at first, but having a teacher to work with them one on one will eventually help them succeed.  This will crossover to their studies at school and they will have an easier time focusing in class.

Many parents are afraid if they give their child an instrument, they will break it.  Though accidents do sometimes happen, most children will learn the responsibility of caring for an instrument.  They will have to learn to clean/oil the instrument and to be careful and not drop the instrument so it won't get damaged.

The child will grow up with a lifetime appreciation for music.  They will be more likely to attend concerts, enjoy playing as a hobby alone and with friends, and have a basic knowledge of music they can share as adults.