Studies suggest that teaching children piano lessons has positive effects on the development of their cognitive and sensorimotor abilities. Playing the piano stimulates both the right and left sides of the brain, thus helping in many areas of neural development. A Canadian study indicated that gamma-induced response to music is more notable in musicians than in non-musicians. This is the response seen as a result of a musical training of a child at the age of 4.5 years. The study showed that music training enlivens the oscillatory networks that help in the function of the executive parts of the brain. It has now been found that it is a good practice for pregnant mothers to let their unborn child listen to music. Parents also enrol their children in piano class to prepare them for primary education.

Taking children piano lessons is associated with better academic performance. Piano lessons require students to interpret notes, concentrate and memorize. Piano students get more chances to hone their spatial and intuitive problem solving skills than students who are not involved in music. Reading musical pieces makes it easier for piano students to solve math problems involving fractions and ratios.

A study led by Dr. Frances Rauscher and Dr. Gordon Shawl, published in Neurological Research, proved a direct relationship between piano playing and mathematical abilities, which they relate to any improvement in spatial-temporal reasoning. Dr. Rauscher found that enrolling a pre-schooler in an 8-month piano class will give a 46% boost to his spatial reason IQ.

Improvements in linguistic functions resulting from children piano lessons could be explained by the link between certain aspects of communication and acoustic information. Perceiving rhythm and musical pitch is believed to be correlated with verbal communication. Music itself is a type of language, so exposing children to piano will certainly have an impact on their linguistic development. Identifying a note and interpreting it into keystrokes is a key operation aspect of language. As a matter of fact, there are many young pianists who have improved their reading skills after taking piano lessons.

Children piano lessons will also enhance hand to eye coordination. Piano requires two hands working together with the eyes glancing between the keys and the music sheets. Trying to press on several key combinations while playing enhances motor skills and the finger dexterity of pianists.

Building self-esteem is another benefit of children piano lessons. To learn the piano means to develop more patience, persistence and dedication. It will take more than a few weeks for a person to master reading the notes while playing the instrument simultaneously. So when children get the chance to perform at competitions or recitals, they feel proud of their accomplishments. Receiving public applause and having an audience are quite a rewarding experience for those who have spent months learning the piano.

Since the relational dependence between children development and music has been established, many parents are now more informed on how to better raise smarter and self-confident children. A good number of parents confirm that piano education is an effective aid in raising smart kids. The challenge is for the parents to look for a child-friendly music school in order to convince their kids to take piano classes.

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