The goal of learning a musical instrument: how long until our children can play a song?

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Learning to play a musical instrument can be a rewarding and enriching experience that offers many benefits, both for children and adults. In this article, we show the importance of children learning musical instruments for personal development, focusing on internal motivation and the value of perseverance over external verification and talent showing. Let's start with the benefits of learning to play!

Show key points

  • Learning to play a musical instrument significantly supports children's personal development by enhancing internal motivation and perseverance.
  • Playing an instrument aids cognitive growth, boosting memory, concentration, and problem-solving skills through consistent practice.
  • Musical training fosters creativity and individuality, allowing learners to explore and express their unique artistic voices.
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  • Children gain social confidence and collaborative skills by performing and interacting with other musicians.
  • Developing musical abilities requires discipline, emotional regulation, and stress resilience, which builds strong foundational life skills.
  • A child's motivation to learn music should ideally stem from a genuine appreciation for the art rather than external rewards or validation.
  • Mastery of a musical instrument reflects not only skill but also personal culture, emotional depth, and life experience.

Benefits of learning to play a musical instrument:

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Whatever machine your child learns, here are some of the benefits you can expect from practicing this wonderful hobby:

1- Improve cognitive function: Learning to play a musical instrument requires concentration, attention, and memory skills, all of which can help improve cognitive function. Research has shown that playing a musical instrument can lead to better problem solving, language development and spatial and temporal skills.

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2- Foster creativity: Playing a musical instrument can stimulate your creativity and motivate you to explore new musical ideas. It can also help you develop your unique style and express yourself more effectively.

3- Enhance social skills: Playing a musical instrument can be a social activity that allows you to communicate with other musicians and collaborate on musical projects. It can also help build confidence and improve communication skills, especially when performing in front of an audience.

4- Relieves stress: Playing an instrument can be a great way to relax after a long day of work or study. It can also help reduce stress levels, lower blood pressure and improve overall health.

5- Promotes discipline: Learning to play a musical instrument requires patience, perseverance and practice. It can help develop discipline and time management skills, which can be applied to other areas of life.

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6- Improves coordination between the senses: Playing a musical instrument requires coordination between hands, eyes and sometimes feet, which can improve fine motor skills and dexterity.

7- Boosts self-esteem: Learning to play a musical instrument can be a difficult but rewarding experience. As you progress and improve, you may feel a sense of accomplishment and pride in your abilities, which boosts your self-esteem.

8- Generates a sense of achievement: Playing a musical instrument can be a satisfying hobby that brings joy and satisfaction. It can also provide a sense of purpose and meaning in life.

Internal motivation and external appreciation:

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Many parents have reasons to teach their children to play a musical instrument and these reasons are generally:

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1- Imitation: Many children learn music, so we have to follow their example to prevent our children from falling behind.

2- Learning to play an instrument can help you get scholarships and be admitted to good schools.

3- Learning to play a musical instrument can enhance the overall quality of life of their children.

The third of the above reasons is the most obvious in aiding a child's development. However, the child's talent display often becomes an additional motivation. It's really not wrong for a child's parents to want to showcase their talent. Good opportunities for children to showcase their skills can be a great learning aid and experience. But the most important aspect is the mentality with which one is involved. What is your initial motivation? What about the child's mentality? Does he play to win the admiration of many, or does he really want to convey the beauty of music to others? Most of the above reasons are external grade lookups.

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Who is the real artist?

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Playing any musical instrument well requires a tremendous amount of time, energy, and even financial investment, and the process can be daunting. Basic training alone lasts at least one hour a day, covering metrics, technical exercises, etc., not to mention the time devoted to music studies. Furthermore, an understanding of music history, general history, an abundance of knowledge of music theory, and an interdisciplinary appreciation of classical arts are essential. When you reach a certain level in learning a musical instrument, the quality of your performance not only depends on your musical instrument or artistic skills but reflects your personal culture. Becoming a professional musician is very difficult. The true masters heard by the public are the sum of all these aspects, and your life experiences will truly manifest themselves in your art.

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Strain Management and Stress Resistance:

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When children have difficulty, they give up because it's not fun. When challenges trump pleasure, they choose to give up. However, all emotions are important, and arguably equally important. When one emotion becomes more dominant than the other, we lose the ability to balance them. Children need a certain level of stress resistance and emotional regulation to face life as they grow. We all hope for happy growth, but doing things "enough" for happiness is not a good approach. When children show fear of difficulty or behave inappropriately, giving up too early means missing opportunities again and again to instill good learning habits. This leads to children being delayed at the critical stage of developing good habits and learning methods.

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Learning to play a musical instrument can provide many benefits beyond just enjoying music. It can improve cognitive function, enhance creativity and social skills, relieve stress, promote discipline, improve hand-eye coordination, boost self-esteem, and give a sense of accomplishment. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced musician, learning to play an instrument can be a beneficial investment for yourself, your child and your future.

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