3 Things You Must Tell Your Child When Starting To Learn A Musical Instrument

As a parent, you probably already know that learning to play a musical instrument will benefit your child in so many ways. An important question we may not always ask is whether your child understands what value it holds for him or her. And even if they know the benefits, do they appreciate its significance? If you are like me, you want your kid(s) to complete their K-12 education with far more than factual knowledge and an ability to score well on tests. You don’t believe that your child’s success in life depends primarily on cognitive skills — the type of intelligence that is measured on IQ tests and such. You don’t believe that school should be primarily focused on stuffing kids’ brains with as much factual knowledge as possible, but instead is focused on growing skills and mindsets that will last a lifetime. Psychological traits that include: The patience to persist at a tough (and perhaps boring) task; The ability to delay gratification; The curiosity and grit to problem solve; …just to name just a few. Via NAfME The first step, however, is to communicate these benefits to your child. And when you do, it’s important to focus on the most important value of learning an instrument – the life skills your child will learn. Improved cognitive skills that result in better grades are great, but the life skills that kids learn will benefit them for their entire lives – not just in the classroom. That musical instrument your child is holding could be the key to gaining these vital skills, and it’s important for you as the parent to let your child know this. Tony Mazzocchi shares three things parents need to understand and express to their children as soon as they start learning a musical instrument. “You are allowed to fail, but it’s your failures that will make you better” Becoming good at anything in life demands that we struggle – and that’s a good thing. You need to help your child understand the value of the learning process. The destination is much more enjoyable, but it’s the journey that makes you grow. There are no red pen marks for missed notes in music the way there are on tests — there is nothing to feel bad about when you play something “wrong” in music. ...In your child’s case, they need to sound bad before they sound good; they need to work on things just beyond what they are capable of in order to get better and smarter, and that means they need to make mistakes. ...Learning a musical instrument allows us to grow from our mistakes. Via NAfME “Hard work trumps talent!” Getting good at something through hard work promises much greater fulfillment than being naturally good at it without hard work. Practicing a skill over and over, the right way, fires circuits in our brains that solidify that skill. Sure, some people find some skills easier at first than others, but the people who practice [...]

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