Here's the big misconception...
It takes talent to learn a musical instrument. My kids probably don't have it, so let's pick another activity instead.
But the reality is different. Your child is in fact a born musician. As humans, we are all wired for music.
And with your help and support, your child can learn to play a musical instrument and enjoy music for life.
Not buying it? Continue reading, dear parent, and you will understand.
Here are 5 reasons your child is a born musician.
1. Science Supports It
Music lights up so many neurons, our brain activity looks like fireworks.
So much so, that neurologists have used music as a tool to study how the brain works.
The book The Music Advantage by Anita Collins explores this in great detail.
In addition, much research has been done relating learning music to learning language.
Remember how your child absorbed your language and started imitating it one day? And then started forming his or her own ideas soon after?
Well, it's the same thing with music.
Just as anyone can learn a language by being around it, anyone can learn music given the right environment and instruction.
This article from the Gordon Institute of Music Learning (GIML) explains children’s stages of music learning. From a developmental perspective.
You know what's interesting, though? You're already witnessing this process, because it's very likely that...
2. Your Children Are Already Expressing Music
You know how children love to sing and dance? If you encourage it, that is.
Singing in tune and moving to a musical beat are the foundations of learning to play music.
Notice how you didn’t need to teach them to sing in tune?
And you didn’t have to teach them how to move to a beat?
That’s because children are wired to absorb music and express it through their bodies. All they need to learn to play is an instrument and a skilled teacher.
Which brings us to the fact that...
3. Talent is a Myth. It's All About Skill.
It's one of the greatest lies ever told. That all of the great musicians are just talented or gifted.
But behind every great artist are thousands of hours of practice and failures. When they finally succeeded, we called it an "overnight success."
Learning music is not about talent, but the development of skill. And anyone can learn a skill.
Daniel Coyle's famous book, The Talent Code, goes on a journey to unravel the myth of talent.
Coyle traveled far and wide to discover what made the highest performers in their field...well...high performers.
Think it was talent that just appeared? Think they were born with it?
Not at all. Every time, success was the result of deliberate action and deep practice. And most importantly, the biological phenomenon of myelination.
That process that allows you to repeat an action without thinking about it. Because you've practiced it.
And the cool thing about myelination is that it can happen in every human.
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How that we've gotten that out of the way, on to #4!
4. Your Children Are Naturally Curious
Have you ever put a musical instrument in front of a child who did not want to create sounds immediately?
Children are naturally curious…to the extent that we have to keep them out of danger half the time!
And as it so happens, curiosity and exploration are part of what makes a great musician.
As children get older and schools place more demands on test scores, this curiosity fades.
As adults, we have to work to get that curiosity back.
But children are born to play and create music with their natural sense of curiosity. When a parent satisfies that curiosity with proper music instruction, incredible things happen.
And if I still haven't convinced you that your child is a born musician, I want to draw your attention to the fact that...
5. Music is Everywhere
Music has been part of our culture for millennia.
Yet, children don’t study it in school as much as they do literature or math…doesn’t make much sense, right?
By the same token, have you ever experienced a single day without hearing some kind of music?
Just as they’ve grown up hearing language, your children have grown up hearing music in some form.
They recognize familiar tunes. They probably remember many of the lyrics.
It’s in our nature and history as humans to create and enjoy music.
Children are born musicians. But here's the thing...
You Blink, and Your Children are Grown Up
Between being a busy superhero parent and being overwhelmed with the options for music study, it's easy to let music pass your children by.
Before you know it, their childhood has passed and they never got the chance to learn.
If you haven't given your children music yet, there's no better time than today.
At the South Shore Piano School, we're all about making music a meaningful part of as many lives as possible.
Whether they're enrolled with us or not.
And so, I would like to invite you once again to subscribe to our mailing list.
Or, if you're ready to explore, sign up for a free trial piano lesson with us using the link at the top of this page.
If you made it here to the end of this blog post, you are clearly a parent who cares about bringing music to your child's life.
And we're here for you every step of the way.