Music is Key to Child's Development
Music speaks in a universal language understood by not only humans, but also by plants and animals. It evokes strong emotions in the listeners and influences them in a positive way. Dairy farmers have reported that cows regard music favourably and have been known to produce more milk. Scientific research has shown that even plants are swayed by the sound of music.
In our mythology and folklore, the power of music has been described in great detail. Lord Krishna used to play the flute to round up his family’s cows after the day’s grazing. All of us have heard the story of the Pied Piper, who rid the German village of Hamelin of the menace of the marauding rats and lured them away from the town by playing his magic pipe.
In fact, our day at school starts with a prayer, sung in unison by students. Music is said to create positive energy that has the power to make one alert, energised and ready to take on the day with great enthusiasm. Singing of our national anthem has a similar effect on us. It breaks down barriers between us and makes us feel proud to be citizens of this great country.
Which brings us to the question of whether schools should have music education programs as part of the curriculum. Let us examine the benefits:
- Better language and reasoning skills: Music is a great way to develop language and reasoning skills. It also teaches children to imprint information in their minds.
- Helps in memorizing: Playing music is an elaborate affair with performers having to memorize musical notations, lyrics and when to play their part of the musical piece.
- Improved coordination: Playing music requires good hand-eye coordination. For students who do not take part in sports, it’s a good way to develop their motor skills.
- Personal achievement: Music is a specialized subject and success her can make students feel proud of their achievement. It also keeps them engaged in school.
- Societal success: Music has the power to keep them interested and responsible. They are less likely to indulge in substance abuse.
- Emotional development: Students who are into music also develop higher self esteem and can cope with stress and anxiety better.
- All Round development of the child: Music education programs also help the student to develop pattern-recognition skills, fine-tune their auditory skills which results in developing better communications skills, builds imagination and intellectual curiosity.
To sum up, musical education help students better suited to be a part of the 21st century workforce by encouraging them to be creative thinkers. Students who study music also have highly developed spatial intelligence skills. They are disciplined and can fit into any environment easily. Being part of an orchestra or choir, they understand the importance of teamwork.