Music for Life

If you are reading this, you’re probably a Take Note Studio family, and you probably already understand the value of what our studio offers your family and child.  As a studio parent myself, I love the way Kindermusik fosters creative play and introduces foundational music skills to my four year old. I love how, while we are mostly homebound during the pandemic, my seven year old can log into Zoom and connect with familiar faces through songs and silly dances in Theatrical Singers.  I love that maintaining connection with the families we have met at the studio feels effortless because music is our common bond. 

As our kids grow and their schedules fill up, it's hard to prioritize the endless activities and experiences available to them.  There are so many fun things to do!  Not all activities are created equal, though.  Much like when we plan meals for our kids, we offer them a wide variety of nourishing foods to keep them healthy and growing -- some childhood experiences are more nourishing than others. Keeping your child in music even after they graduate from the Kindermusik program is arguably the best gift you can give them for their development, and is the gift that will pay off for them the longest. Here’s why:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0JKCYZ8hng

Recently the Take Note Studio staff explored the work of Dr. Anita Collins, author of “The Music Advantage,” at our staff meeting.  We learned that learning music is equivalent to a full body workout for the brain as it engages motor, visual and auditory processes. Additionally, a brain on music functions differently, processing information in more intricate and faster sequences.  Structural lessons and practice strengthens those functions, and allows the brain to apply these strengths to other skills, like language development, reading, attentiveness and inhibitory control.  According to Dr. Collins, someone who takes structural music lessons has an average of 7 ½ more IQ points than a non musician, and earns an average of $5000 more per year.  See what I mean about a long term pay off?

As a kid taking piano lessons, I did not see how my weekly lesson and practice benefitted me. I wrestled with the mistaken belief that because I wasn’t Mozart and had to work at my practice that I wasn’t talented.  The focus of my lessons felt like preparing for a performance, and I wasn’t taught to find joy in the journey.  While we love performances, at Take Note Studio we revel in the process, not the product.  We rejoice in the learning that comes with dedication to a practice, and we know that looks and sounds different for every student.  We understand that the work of learning music, the process of repeating a pattern correctly, is where real learning takes place, and that there’s no one route to get there.  

The process of learning piano taught me, in the words of Dr. Collins, to “be comfortable with discomfort.”  As a mom, there's nothing I love more than seeing my kids being resilient in the face of adversity; from watching my preschooler practicing letters to my first grader completing her first chapter book, I know this developing resilience will benefit them for years to come.  Thank you for investing in your child’s future, and we appreciate the opportunity to provide you “music for life!”