The art of playing the drums has often been misunderstood as an activity that’s simply about rhythm and noise. Additionally the drum has always been seen as an instrument that is played by adults or rock stars.

Of course, these are mistaken beliefs, and such misconceptions have been proven wrong many a time, because being an adult is certainly not a prerequisite for someone to be able to take drum lessons. From the tender age of 5, a child can already take up drum lessons and learn a great deal from them.

Apart from perfecting their musical skills, there is a huge variety of benefits such lessons add to your child’s life. The skills and techniques learned from drumming can be applied and transferred to other aspects in life. Moreover for parents with uber-energetic kids, playing such an instrument may very well be a vehicle to vent out and more importantly, help bring back the concentration in your young ones.

There’s a multitude of great reasons for adults and children alike to learn to play drums. So if you’re still weighing out the pros and cons on signing up your child for drum lessons, it’s important to acknowledge the fact that there are positives that go beyond the musical benefits. Therefore before you judge drumming, consider these six advantages your child may profit from when taking drum lessons at an early age:

It reduces stress:
Whether you child is behind a drum kit, hitting a djembe in a drum circle or beating a marching band bass drum, playing drums has proven to relieve frustration, disappointment, and stress. Even if it’s for just a few minutes, drumming can actually boost their mood. The feel-good factor drummers experience can be equated to an athlete’s ‘high’, because just like a good workout, playing the drums releases endorphins.

Increases Academic Performance:
There’s a correspondence between musical training and academic performance that has been documented a number of times, predominantly when it comes to the subject of mathematics. However, drumming can also help students in subjects such as English, by helping them be more in tuned with emotional cues, a skill they can use to understand characters’ thought processes and motives. So parents, if you’re wary about your child learning drums because you’re afraid it will take away from his or her studies, you can put your mind at rest, that learning to drum may actually help your son or daughter perform better in school.

Boosts Brain Power:
Playing the drums, requires coordination of all four limbs to work together, simultaneously. If you’re right handed, it’s probable that you can’t do much with your left hand. Meanwhile, your child’s brain has to work their non-dominant side to strengthen and coordinate the non-dominant limbs. Recent studies have shown how playing drums can boost brain power in a determinate way, particularly when it comes to IQ level. Drumming also helps develop vital dexterity in channelling their mind, and focusing on one thing.

Develops Confidence:
Undoubtedly, drumming is a powerful skill. To ensure success, drummers need to learn how to play vigorously, balancing out both the loud and soft. The action of playing a loud beat takes guts and confidence. Moreover, drummers must keep a growth mentality, this means they must believe that they can learn challenging parts by starting slow and breaking them down.

Learning drums tests them to break difficult tasks into manageable chunks. After tenacious practice, they’ll be able to play something even more challenging. This is a skill that can be transferable to various aspects of life; because self-belief when faced with difficult tasks, is a crucial element to help overcome obstacles, both in music and in life.

Improves Communication Skills:
Musical training aids communication skills, helps your children interact better with their peers, as well as makes them become more empathetic. What’s more, children will automatically be getting lots of practice when it comes to expressing ideas without using words. Drumming also teaches children to read non-verbal cues, which can help them to learn how read between the lines.

Physical Benefits:
Another beneficial aspect drumming brings with it is the physical element. On a basic level, it’s a physical activity, and that in itself takes a lot of energy. Try sitting on a stool and moving your hands and feet around the kit at fast speeds, for long periods of time, and see how you feel. Exhausted? It’s certainly not an easy job. It’s no wonder then, that the cardio muscles in drummers are much more developed than those of non-drummers. For parents who are at a loss as to which activity their children could take up which is fun and exerts energy, look no further. Not only will they get the exercise they need, they will also have fun in the process!

Sending your child to drum lessons could possibly be the best extracurricular activity you could choose to invest in their personal development – both socially and academically. Eventually such advantages will become more tangible, and you will surely be happy with the results when you see your child reaping what they’ve so arduously sown. Drumming helps keep children active, will keep them thinking, and keeps them in the know. Most importantly, it helps shape their personality by teaching them some fundamental life skills.

So if you’re looking to send your child for drum lessons in Guernsey, click here to contact the School of Popular Music today!