Music Encouraging Creativity in Children

Brain Function

• Learning how to play a musical instrument can make your child's brain function differently from a non-musician. The PBSParents website reports that a study led by Ellen Winner, a professor of psychology at Boston College, found that children who had 15 months of weekly music practice showed better sound discrimination and fine motor skills. Eric Rasmussen of the Early Childhood Music Department at John Hopkins University notes that when your child is learning to play or practicing a musical instrument, he is forced to use more of his brain. Improved fine motor skills and other changes to the brain can help your child be more creative in music and other areas of the arts and academics.

Sensory Experience

• Drumming or singing along and listening to music or playing a musical instrument exposes your child to a rich sensory environment. Along with textures, colors, tastes and smells, varying sounds, harmonies, rhythms, acoustics and lyrics help your child forge more neural pathways in his developing brain. KidsHealth notes that music enhances sensory development and helps your child in all areas of school, including being more creative in writing and other subjects.

Spatial-Temporal Skills

• PBSParents reports that music influences spatial-temporal intelligence, which means it can help your child visualize imagery better. Visualizing colors, shapes, structures and elements that complement or contrast each other helps kids create artwork, paintings, toy sculptures and games. Later in life these skills will help your child in creative fields such as art, graphic design, gaming, architecture, information technology and engineering.

Motor Skills

• Playing a musical instrument can be complicated and your child must learn to coordinate his motor and sensory skills. If your child is taking piano lessons, he will have to learn to move his fingers over the keys as he listens to the changes in the tune and count the beats in his head. This instruction and practice will help him develop better hand-eye coordination and also speed up tasks that require multiple movements. These skills will carry over to other creative areas in your child's life such as dance, acting, painting and singing.