Though often overlooked, learning to play an instrument can be beneficial to individuals of all ages. For children especially, picking up a violin, cello, viola, or another selection from their local string instrument store is invaluable to their mental and emotional development, as well as their future. Here’s a brief overview of how music lessons can set children up for success throughout their lives.

3 Areas Music Education Improves in Kids 

1. Patience & Perseverance

Whether they’re a new musician or picking up a new piece of music, mastery takes time, patience, and practice. Patience and perseverance help children academically, socially, and emotionally. However, unlike other disciplines, playing an instrument offers children a way to track their progress. As they practice, they’ll hear improvement until they perfect piece. By realizing that advancement is possible through hard work, they’ll be able to carry this skill into other areas of their lives.

2. Physical & Mental Coordination

Playing a stringed instrument, like the violin, is challenging and requires strong multi-tasking abilities to play even a simple song. While sports are thought to improve coordination, they’re not the only option to help children develop these talents. By regularly practicing an instrument, they’ll develop fine motor skills while also strengthening their ability to hone their focus, as they tackle the many tasks of reading and learning a new “language", listening, adjusting, mastering right and left hand independence, maintaining proper position and posture and memorizing.

3. Memory & Recall

Playing an instrument helps develop memorization skills. Not only do kids need to learn to read music and recognize notes on sight, but they must also remember where they fall on the fingerboard at all times. Advancing students are often asked to memorize their music before a recital or performance. As such, they regularly exercise their memory skills and improve their ability to recall information on command.

How Your Local String Instrument Store Can Help

Local string instrument stores are a wonderful place to start looking for instructors, find equipment, and upgrade to better models as musicians progress and develop their skills. Most offer violins, cellos, and violas at different price points and may even provide a rental program for students unsure of how long they wish to continue playing. They’ll also serve as a launchpad, helping students network with the community of musicians they serve.

The String House in Rochester, NY, is proud to be one of the area’s premier string instrument stores. Whether you’re looking for a student violin to rent or want to purchase a professional-quality instrument for a collegiate music program, their friendly staff will find you the right choice for your needs. Stop by the store or browse their selection online. To inquire about a specific instrument, call (585) 442-9272 today.