Looking to enhance your life and academic performance and find a new form of fulfilment that lasts a lifetime? While we often look at the direct benefits of music lessons, learning how to play something new, there is so much more to gain from learning musical skills, no matter what age you are when you start. From gaining a new form of artistic expression, cognitive development, boosting your memory, and even improving your academic performance, music lessons help us in every area of our lives.At Musicworks Canada, we believe that learning is a lifelong journey that opens new doors to personal fulfillment and achievement. With decades of experience behind our team, 26+ locations across Canada and online opportunities that make it easier than ever to learn something new, Musicworks is proud to welcome students from all walks of life and backgrounds into our academy so you can learn at your own pace and achieve more than you ever thought before!

Below, we’ll take a closer look at some of the many benefits of music lessons. Read on to learn more!

Personal Growth: Confidence, Discipline, and Emotional Expression

We know that music has profound benefits for our wellness, but the perks extend into even more tangible aspects, including our personal growth, confidence, discipline and overall well-being. Learning to play an instrument or develop vocal skills requires dedication, patience, and practice—all of which help students grow in ways that benefit them beyond music. Some of the most important benefits include:

Building Confidence: While music lessons teach you how to play an instrument, they also impart important performance skills that help build confidence, as does learning how to progress in your development and feeling a sense of personal accomplishment. 

Developing Discipline: Learning any new skill can be challenging, but practice and encouragement can help show the benefits of perseverance. As you learn the value of discipline, this habit will translate to other areas of your life that can benefit from commitment, including school work, personal goals like fitness, and other areas where effort translates to real progress. 

Emotional Expression: Music provides a creative outlet for expressing and processing emotions, which is essential for our ability to stop, reset, and gain a better understanding of ourselves. For children and teens especially, music can be a way to channel feelings and gain a deeper understanding of self, building emotional resilience positively and constructively.

Academic Enrichment: Enhancing Cognitive Skills and Academic Performance

Studies show that music education has a range of cognitive and academic benefits. Regardless of your age, music helps boost academic performance, particularly in core subjects like math, language, and problem-solving. Some of the most profound academic benefits include:

Enhancing Memory and Focus: Learning an instrument and other core musical skills requires us to actively flex our concentration, memory, and attention skills. These abilities are equally important in academic pursuits, and as we strengthen them.  

Boosting Math Skills: You may not think of it, but music and math are very closely linked in the brain. Rhythm and beat counting develop students’ understanding of fractions, patterns, and spatial awareness and children in particular, benefit from being exposed to different concepts in a multitude of ways, translating to better performance in school as they grow.

Improving Language Abilities: Music lessons enhance auditory processing, which is closely tied to language skills. Listening to pitches, tones, and lyrics strengthens the brain’s language centers, which is known to boost both reading and verbal abilities. This is crucial for core development and can even help adults learn better communication skills! 

Developing Critical Thinking: Whether composing a melody or interpreting a piece, students use critical thinking skills to understand structure, play effectively,  and express meaning through music. This ability to analyze and interpret complex topics and patterns carries over to daily problem-solving and analytical tasks, as well as academic subjects. 

Lifelong Fulfillment: Joy, Stress Relief, and Social Connection

The beauty of music, or learning any new hobby, is that it’s a lifelong pursuit that continuously opens new doors of potential. While children get plenty of benefits from learning at a young age,  it’s never too late to start your journey! Perks of learning at any age include:

Creating Joy and Stress Relief: Playing and listening to music is great for our mental health and has significant benefits when it comes to reducing stress and anxiety.  Whether it’s equipping kids with a valuable emotional outlet or giving busy adults a great way to unwind and step out of their day-to-day responsibilities, music offers a creative escape and plenty of joy to help us reset. 

Building Community: Music lessons, whether they’re in the 1-1 format standardly offered by Musicworks or in a group format like our summer camps, learning something new helps to build a sense of community and camaraderie amongst peers and others students meet along the way that are on a similar journey.  This is particularly valuable for younger students, who build friendships in music groups, and for adults, who can find a sense of belonging in community music programs or jam sessions.

Continued Learning and Fulfillment: Finally, learning how to play and read music offers unlimited opportunities for personal fulfillment throughout life. Regardless of what your personal, long-term goals are, there’s always something new and rewarding to experience!

Start Your Musical Journey with Musicworks Canada

At Musicworks Canada, we believe that music is for everyone and are proud to share the benefits that reach far beyond the lesson room with our students. Whether you’re interested in exploring music for personal growth, academic enrichment, or lifelong enjoyment, our classes provide the support, expertise, and encouragement you need to thrive. 

Contact us today to learn more about our programs and start experiencing the benefits of music for yourself!