3 life skills we develop in piano lessons

Piano lessons are starting up at Bruno Montessori this week so I wanted to ask why are we doing this? With the economy so unsure and the job market down we are all cutting corners wherever we can. Why not just cut piano or Kindermusik too?

The one thing we CANNOT do in these uncertain times is cut corners when it comes to our child's education. Now it is more important than ever to give your child the edge he or she needs to be competitive in tomorrow's job market. You child may not grow up to be a concert pianist, but there are 3 life skills we develop in piano lessons that will serve him in whatever he does.
1. Why ask why?
We develop creativity, reasoning skills and critical problem solving skills by asking a lot of questions in lessons and class. "Why do you think the composer chose to write this?" "Why is this scale fingered in this manner?"
2. Recognition of patterns
Music is built by patterns. Learning to listen for a pattern or spot a pattern build crucial study skills. In lessons and Kindermusik class we not only learn to find patterns, but we also learn the musical terms for these patterns. "Is this a sequence? "What is the form of this piece?" "What is the motive/theme?" "How is this section similar and different to the previous section?"

This not only helps them to know WHAT to practice but HOW to practice. This helps them learn how to study.

3. Building self esteem through performance
Performance is an important part of piano. It develops confidence, poise and memory skills. What a wonderful experience this provides for you child as they prepare for presentations at school and job interviews later on! We learn in lessons to tune out distractions during performance and that we are simply there to do our best and enjoy the performance. We learn to continue on even if we make mistakes. We often talk about putting aside our inhibitions and focusing on doing what we enjoy-- it doesn't matter what other think of us.

One of my former students, who is currently working in radio has a message for my current students. "preforming is the best part because you get to show case your talent and share it with everyone. Music is so important and it can reach out to everyone in their own way."