Music is a common extracurricular activity that children can join in school, but not all schools offer it. However, those who do have shown an improvement in rates of graduation, attendance, and others.
One report claims that schools with music programs have an estimated 90.2 percent graduation rate and 93.9 percent attendance rate. For comparison, the average graduation and attendance rates in schools that do not have musical education are 72. 9 percent and 84.9 percent, respectively.
The benefits of continuing teaching music to students are obvious. While it is not the most popular extracurricular activity among young people, it improves their lives. Here, we list down some advantages of encouraging students to join the school band.
It Lowers Levels of Stress
Children are stressed. A previous study by the American Psychological Association revealed that those between the ages of 8 and 17 are worried about doing well in school, getting into a good university, and their family’s finances. As a result, they experience physical symptoms such as headaches and stomach problems.
Band can help. Music has already been proven to reduce levels of stress. Research has found that playing a musical instrument switches off the brain’s stress response, boosting mood and improving emotional health. You do not have to be good at it to reap the benefits. If you do it for fun, the better it will make you feel.
Moreover, playing the drums during lessons and performances can relieve frustration and other negative feelings instantly.
It Creates Opportunities for Socialization
The school’s band is a group of students who have similar interests and will spend time together a couple of times a week. Training for a performance naturally creates friendship, especially among young people suffering from shyness or low self-esteem.
Playing music improves social skills. Members have to communicate to be able to work together to perfect the performance. Children who participate gain soft skills that will be valuable throughout their lives, including adulthood, when they enter the workforce.
It Makes Them Smarter
Music creates geniuses out of children. Numerous research has already proven that those who learn how to play musical instruments do better in school.
In one study, researchers recruited 40 children, half of whom had prior musical training. The participants were given auditory and visual stimuli. They were asked to either pay attention to just the visual, just the auditory, or both simultaneously. During the test, the researchers tracked the children’s neural activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Afterward, the participants took a memory task.
The researchers found that children who were musically trained performed better on the visual and auditory retrieval tasks. They also exhibited higher activation in the cognitive control regions of the brain.
Children who play musical instruments become smarter. They boost their memories and improve their attention, both of which will help them excel academically.
It Instills a Sense of Responsibility
Members of a school band all have critical roles to play when they are on stage. They are playing as a group, but they also perform as an individual. If one of them messes up, it can affect the rest of the team.
Early in their life, a child who participates in a school band understands responsibility. They do not have to be forced to practice during their free time because they know that if they do not master their part, it can ruin the performance.
In addition, they learn how to mind their possessions. A musical instrument is an expensive piece of equipment, and, to a musician, it is precious. If it falls, it might get a dent and compromise the quality of the sound it makes. It needs to be repaired or replaced, both of which will be very expensive. So, they have to put their instruments back to their respective cases immediately after use and store them securely.
They become more responsible. They treat their possessions with respect, and they know to work hard to hone their skills and master their instruments.
More educators and parents are focusing on improving their children’s ability to do mathematics or sciences. However, extracurricular activities, especially those that involve music, are important, too. Learning how to play musical instruments reduces stress levels, encourages socialization, builds friendships, improves memory and attention, and teaches responsibility. Children who participate in school bands reap numerous benefits from the experience. Music should not disappear from the curriculum, and students should be encouraged to participate.
