Making music gives people an opportunity to express themselves, communicate their inner feelings about sounds, tones, and rhythms, and to combine them with other forms of expression, such as movement and dance. Confronting musical “issues” encourages creative thinking, coming up with your own ideas, a wider range of ideas, original ideas, and flexibility. Problem-solving skills are honed in the process.

Exposure to music encourages careful listening. Kids discover the sounds that they can make on an instrument and develop a distinct ability to distinguish between volume levels, pitches, and harmonies, strengthening their general receptiveness in all areas of life as a result.

Making music requires and supports fine-motor skills. Playing a scale on a keyboard instrument, for instance, requires teamwork between activation and inhibition. When the index finger bends, all other fingers naturally bend too. To stop this from happening, the brain must not only learn to send stimuli to the activated finger, but also to tell the other fingers to stop moving.

Several sensory stimuli must be processed at the same time when making music. To produce a sound, a child must plan motor skills and coordinate hand-arm movement to hit the (right) key (eye-hand coordination). The child must also control his or her strength. When playing with others or accompanying a song, the speed and rhythm also need to be synchronized.

Playing a musical instrument encourages the formation of synapses. Brain cells are connected, including from the left side to the right side of the brain. In turn, this helps the brain make connections more quickly and improves memory performance.

Making music – whether alone or in a group – also has a social aspect that we wish to mention here. Making music creates confidence, even if the player only knows a few songs. Music builds friendships. Music and playing an instrument create identity.