Providing music education to kids throughout early childhood development can have a lifelong impact. Children who have music lessons at an early age gain advantages in cognitive areas that affect academic achievement and critical thinking. The Suzuki Music School of Maryland, Inc. in Columbia offers voice lessons and instrument lessons, including piano, guitar, and violin, that let you see firsthand how music education influences learning.

Human understanding of the brain is relatively primitive, but our knowledge suggests music is universal in its impact and benefits. Music education may shape each child’s cognitive processes differently, but it will expand their neural growth.

Making music involves multisensory coordination, entailing multilevel listening, reading notes on a page, and singing or playing an instrument simultaneously. The tactile and aural components are even evident in brain imaging, indicated by changes to associated neural networks.

In addition to increased neural activity, music education can improve spatial intelligence. Studies have shown music lessons can provide a slight IQ bump and improved test scores. That’s no surprise, considering music has been shown to affect memory and verbal skills. Music literacy also is closely linked with language processing, and music theory indicates patterns that tie it to mathematics. 

To prepare your child for school — especially a STEAM curriculum — introduce them to music early.  STEAM is an integrated approach to learning which requires an intentional connection between standards, assessments and lesson design/implementation.

True STEAM experiences involve two or more standards from Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and the Arts to be taught AND assessed in and through each other. They will reap the many benefits of music education for years to come. Suzuki Music School of Maryland, Inc. offers a broad range of enrichment classes for children as young as 3 years old. Visit their website to learn more about their lessons, and call (410) 964-1983 for more information.