FEATURE: MUSIC & THE PERFORMING ARTS


The various benefits of teaching music to children


Right from lullabies during our infancy, music has always been around us. Parents instinctively use music to calm and soothe children, to express love and joy, and to engage and interact, so why isn’t it attributed the same value once they reach school age? After all, these natural instincts can be built


upon further once a child is in education; helping to hone those skills and, specifically, improve social skills in the process. In fact, recent articles in scientific journals point to the wide range of significant effects that learning and listening to music has on the brain development of children and adolescents, The world we are operating in is no longer the


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same as it was before the pandemic, and this in turn provides a unique opportunity for the curriculum to evolve, both in the ways that children are taught but also the skills they’re learning. Now, more than ever, creative skills are valued above all else by employers and children need to hone these skills in order to thrive in the “new normal”.


n our final look at music and the performing arts this month, we catch up


with Gautam Patil, Global Category Head – Music at BYJU’S FutureSchool.


Music and the brain For most of us, listening to music can lift or alter our mood. However, making music is even more


32 www.education-today.co.uk November 2021


powerful, especially for children’s development. Research shows that making music uses various areas of the brain – it requires creativity, motor skills, as well as linguistic and mathematical precision. The University of Southern California’s Brain


and Creativity Institute suggest that musical experiences in childhood can accelerate brain development, particularly in the areas of language acquisition and reading skills. Further research from the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation (NAMM Foundation) also indicates that learning to play an instrument can improve mathematical learning. Tapping into these skills has positive


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