There’s been a great deal of research into the benefits of playing and listening to music, with the verdict generally being that learning an instrument is a powerful boost to many areas of a young person’s life.
Professor Susan Hallam’s wide-ranging 2015 study, The Power Of Music, explored in depth the benefits of music. She found that actively making music boosted the intellectual, social and personal development of children and young people. She also found links between music education and improvements in areas such as literacy, maths, emotional regulation and teamwork.
Other research has been carried out in to more specific aspects of the benefits of music, such as its positive effect on the emotional development of children aged three to twelve.
These sorts of benefits have been found to be far-reaching, with childhood music lessons boosting people’s brain power into their seventies.
This academic work has been endorsed outside universities, too. The Children’s Society, which works to ensure a better childhood for all young people, recognises that music plays a key part in young people’s wellbeing.
The best evidence we’ve seen for the power of music is the fantastic engagement and feedback at the schools where we work. Watch our video from St Michael’s to see the difference that music can make.
