The Benefits of Music

Photo by Layla Mazdyasni

Can Music Enhance One’s Life?

What are the benefits of music and taking private music lessons?  As Carmel Valley parents, this is a question we often ask ourselves.  We live in a community that can offer pretty much everything for our kids.  So many activities, so many sports, so many ways to improve our kids’ development, social skills, and education.  Bottom line is we want the best for our kids, and in this competitive environment, it is understandable.  So in our busy schedules, how can we decide which activity to choose for our kids?  When making this decision, I’d say you first have to really know your kids.  As a Carmel Valley parent, you are the only one who can really know what they are gifted with and what will make them truly happy.

One of the main things to consider is how will this benefit them in the long run?  In my opinion, most things our kids do, they will not do forever.  There is a very small percentage of kids that actually play sports or do music professionally for the rest of their lives.  So what are the benefits of investing in something that will probably not last forever?  Like anything, I think you have to look beyond the obvious and take a deeper look.  Through my own experience and what I’ve been able to witness with my students, learning how to play a musical instrument impacts a child’s life in a positive way and that in itself often does last a life-time.

Of course, the very obvious is the education that a child gets from private music lessons.  This varies depending on the teacher, so please be very wise in choosing the right teacher for your student.  Private music lessons help students learn about music in a deeper and more unique way that they would never otherwise learn in a normal classroom setting.  For instance, it helps improve brain function, fine motor skills and muscle memory.

Music is one of the few things in education that uses the brain, the heart, and the physical touch. Students apply what they learn in their heads immediately with touch and learn how to express their emotions through it.  They also learn discipline and acquire confidence, especially when they perform in recitals and competitions.  Kids also develop an appreciation for classical music and the art of music in general.  This education goes beyond just the musical knowledge they receive.  Studies have shown that students who learn and play music do better on standardized tests and are able to perform better in school overall.  Long-term studies have proven that children who learn and play music have better social skills, are better at languages, math and they develop more life-skills through this training than those who do not associate with music.

Anthony Storr says, “Although music is not a belief system, I think that its importance and its appeal also depend upon its being a way of ordering human experience.  Music exalts life, enhances life, and gives it meaning.  Great music outlives the individual who created it. It is both personal and beyond the personal.  For those who love it, it remains as a fixed point of reference in an unpredictable world”.

Angelina Hardy

Angelina Hardy is a Private Piano Teacher in the Carmel Valley area. She graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University with a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance. She is a member of Music Teacher Association of California and currently serves on their board of directors in the San Diego chapter. Angelina is married to her husband, Jason Hardy, who is one of the Lead Pastors at Wave Church SD (a new church in Carmel Valley). They both love their jobs and love serving the Carmel Valley community and the amazing people that live here. They have two toddler boys whom they absolutely adore!