5 Immediate Benefits From Your First Music Lesson

Many of us know that music lessons provide a wonderful array of benefits not only for children, but for people of all ages. While some benefits are already well-known, it may be hard to actually see them for yourself. For example, it has been found that music lessons improve neural connections. That would be hard to prove for ourselves unless we have our own brain scanning machines and other sophisticated gadgets only scientists, researchers or doctors have.

Nevertheless, there are actually some benefits that you can DIRECTLY experience even from your very first music lesson.

Here they are:

1. Help you learn to focus on a task at hand

In your first music lesson,  you will be taught at least one of the various musical elements such as rhythm, melody, harmony, dynamics, texture, and others. You will also be taught some singing or playing techniques on your chosen musical instrument. Each of these musical tasks require your full attention and focus.

2. Help you develop listening skills

Music is a listening art. It is only through listening that one can truly experience its beauty. In music lessons, students are taught to listen from the very first lesson. From listening to the teacher’s instructions to listening for accurate pitch, beautiful intonation and musical phrasing, there’s just no escape, you will need to listen.

3. Relieve you of stress 

Despite probably feeling a little nervous coming to your first music lesson, it is quite inevitable to have some fun! After all, music lessons should never be stressful. To learn music effectively, there should be a balance of enjoyment plus your own personal drive to reach your set goals. If you find that music lessons are stressing you out, it may be that the tasks have not been broken down into smaller, manageable pieces or you may have set unrealistic goals for yourself (that’ll be a topic on another post).

4. Improve your physical coordination

Physical coordination involves more than just playing hands together.  From proper posture to the correct playing position, every aspect of singing or playing a musical instrument involves different parts of your body working together in coordination. Your posture and playing position will affect your sound or tone on the instrument.

5. Improve your musical literacy

From the very first lesson, you would have already improved your musical literacy, or at least, taken a step towards improving. Music literacy does not just mean the ability to read notes.  To be musically literate (by Western Classical music definition) means, one has developed “the capacity to make music, reflect on the music in which you are engaged in, express your view on the music you play, hear or create as well as read, write, comprehend and interpret staff notation”. Note-reading (music notation) is only one aspect of music literacy.

If you are already taking music lessons, good for you! If you haven’t taken any but are planning to get lessons, don’t miss a beat! Check out our courses HERE.

Enjoy! 🙂