I have my kids enrolled in piano lessons. They are nine, six and four. If you know many nine, six and four year olds I’m sure you’re wondering why I would spend the time, money and mental aerobics getting them a musical education.
Although there are tons of reasons, here are my main two:
ONE
I want my children to have high self esteem. I want them to have skills that they have worked super hard to develop that they can fall back on time and time again. There are few things more rewarding than working hard on a piano piece and mastering it. When this happens, I find them coming back to the piano again and again to play that piece. They take pride in that accomplishment each time they sit down to play it and that aids in building their self worth.
Because I play the piano, I am asked to accompany people quite often. What a self esteem booster that is! To be the one to make a musical number happen? To serve other people? Now that feels good. I’m excited for my children to have those same opportunities someday.
TWO
My mental health needs the piano. The piano has become a mood stabilizer for me. I don’t play as well as I once did but having the skills to sit down and play something, as simple as it may be, can take me from chaotic to peaceful. My mind is able to clear and focusing my attention on the music before me pushes out the noise of the world.
I want my children to have that same coping mechanism. I want them to have the piano to sit down to and forget the problems with friends, that failed test or the noise of social media. I want them to have that safe space where they get to create something beautiful simply for the sake of creating something beautiful.
Music is the gateway to so much goodness. Trust me. The blessings of a music education are endless.