I always thought that kids, who learn to play piano, or any musical instrument for that matter, were already the “brainy” type. It turns out that learning to play the piano enhanced the brain power of my child immensely and today he is on his way to a more successful life. Any child’s brain power can be enhanced through learning music and practicing to play a musical instrument like a piano goes a very long way in wiring the brain.
Music Stimulates the Brain
The parts of a person’s brain that relate to math, emotional development, and reading are stimulated by music. The vestibular system is enhanced when movement and music are combined. It furthermore activates the frontal eye field region, a large area of the motor cortex, and dopamine (a neurotransmitter) is produced. An expert study was conducted on children that read slowly.
They were all introduced to playing the piano and a few other musical instruments for 5 months. Through feeling the rhythms against their bodies regularly their reading scores improved by about 4.5 grade levels during this time. Further studies have shown that children aged six to eight find themselves at a “sensitive period”. During this time, if they come into contact with music lessons, the training interacts directly with their brain’s normal development, which produces long-term changes in the brain structure and motor abilities.
The above findings emphasize the positive effects music in general has on the brain. The stimulation improves important parts of a child’s brain development and can easily improve his or her chances to success.
Actual Benefits My Child Received From Playing the Piano
- His hand and visual, and hand and auditory coordination was strengthened
- It boosted the maturation of the connections between his sensory and motor regions in the brain
- His bilateral integration was strengthened through the hands that learned to better coordinate jointly
- Playing the piano has created a framework from which further training can take place
Apart from playing the piano, my child listens to music a lot. Why does this matter? Through the 
technology of CAT scans, it was determined that the different characteristics of music also activate various parts of a person’s brain. More astonishingly, it was revealed that one part of the brain processes the music itself, while the other part processes the words that are heard from a song. Listening to music regularly assists a child in using more than one part of the brain at the same time and the music moreover stimulates the frontal lobes, which are essential for motor and language development.
My Child Learned Through Music
Learning through music, song and playing the piano, have been very useful in the years my son grew up. It combined discrete information pieces into a song, which is after all one large piece of information. It is much easier for the brain to process that one larger piece of information than having to process an entire list of separated facts.
Therapy for Your Child through Music
An acquaintance of mine recently discovered the immense benefits of music therapy and she introduced him to piano lessons. Her child suffered from a condition early on that caused delays with his development, but that all changed after a while because of his love for music and in particular the piano. It inspires me to see how actively involved some parents are and how the power of music can change a child’s circumstances so dramatically.
Do you have any similar stories to share with reference to your own children, or perhaps you know about a friend or family member’s child that experienced changes due to music and/or playing the piano?