Children who are exposed to music or who play an instrument from a young age are more successful in school than those that don't and British parents are well ahead of the game according to a survey by Karacha.com.
The survey of over 1000 people found that 74% of British parents felt that their children learning an instrument was very important. Research has shown that exposure to music from an early age can benefit a child’s reading age, concentration levels, IQ and even brain development. This research is backed up by Susan Hallam, Professor of Education at the University of London, who commented: "There is growing evidence that active involvement in music making can have positive benefits for children’s intellectual and social development, it is important that as many children as possible are provided with the opportunity to actively engage with music making at an early age."
Cathy McCallum, early music expert and Founder of Musical Steps said: "Listening to music is good for children, but actually making music is even more beneficial and should start as early as possible. Singing simple songs, playing musical games, and experimenting with percussion instruments are absolutely crucial to children’s all-round development - emotional, physical, linguistic, social and cognitive.
"What’s more, brain development continues to be stimulated in children who go on to learn a musical instrument. Repeated musical activity - ie taking part as opposed to just listening - actually improves mental functions. The right and left sides of the brain do different things, but information usually needs to be processed simultaneously by both sides. Musical activity strengthens the pathways between the two, which promotes cognitive development, enhances abstract thought processes and improves the ability to multi-task and think creatively."
The survey also found that Mothers feel learning a musical instrument is more important than Fathers and that the age range that felt the most strongly about this was those individuals of Grandparenting age between 55 and 64.