How Music Lessons Develop Grit

If you take a look at our school mantra, you’ll see that “we aspire to foster creativity, confidence, and grit.” Creativity and confidence are no-brainers, but what exactly is grit? Why is it important? And how do music lessons promote it?

When you hear the word “grit”, you might automatically think of professional athletes, or hardened characters out of a Western movie. But having grit means more than just having a tough attitude. In a now-viral TED talk as well as in her resulting book, Angela Duckworth defines grit as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals”. Specifically, she mentions five separate characteristics that make up grit: courage, conscientiousness, perseverance, resilience, and passion. These are all great characteristics on their own, but, according to Duckworth, the combination of all five can mean the difference between failure and success in almost every area of life - she says that grit is a more significant predictor of high achievement than natural talent or even IQ. 

Here at the Academy, we want our students to succeed in every area of life, not just music. That being said, we believe that music lessons are a great way to build grit in kids! Here’s how music lessons can foster each of the five characteristics of grit. 

1. Courage

Learning to play an instrument is no small feat. In addition to learning how the instrument works and developing the physical skills needed to play it, such as finger strength and air support, students essentially need to learn a whole new language in order to be able to read music. Putting yourself out there to learn all of that takes some guts! Kids also learn bravery through music lessons by participating in recitals and other performances. Most adults would agree that standing in front of an audience and playing an instrument is pretty nerve-wracking! Learning to overcome stage fright through musical performances will help kids with other future endeavors, like presentations and public speaking. 

1. Conscientiousness

In her book Grit, Angela Duckworth says that conscientiousness is the trait most closely associated with grit. In this context, to be conscientious means to motivate oneself to work extremely hard, with care and attention to detail, in order to achieve the best results possible. Music lessons teach kids to be conscientious by encouraging them to spend lots of time outside of lessons practicing their instrument. 30 minutes a week isn’t enough to master an instrument - most of the real progress students make comes from the time they spend practicing at home. Music lessons give kids the opportunity to develop a routine of self-motivated practice, and their instructors’ guidance allows them to pay attention to the small details of their pieces that allow them to improve their musicianship. In this way, music lessons teach kids that hard work and attention to detail yields amazing results!

1. Perseverance

One of the best things about learning to play a musical instrument is that there is always more to learn - even professional musicians are constantly improving and learning new skills! However, this also means that the better you become at playing your instrument, the more complex and difficult your new material will be. As kids become more advanced and are presented with increasingly challenging pieces, it can be easy to get discouraged. But their prior experience with progressing in lessons, as well as the example set by their accomplished instructors, will inspire them to persevere through these challenges and to reach even higher goals. Many music instructors even implement some sort of motivational program so that kids have physical rewards of their perseverance - for instance, the Powell Academy of Music offers both the 100 Minute Practice Club and the Level Up program, which gives kids the opportunity to earn prizes and medals for their hard work! 

1. Resilience

As with any human endeavor, some amount of failure is inevitable in a music student’s journey. Even the most accomplished musicians have suffered a bad performance or have failed to master a particularly difficult piece. What separates those who have grit from those who don’t is the ability to recover and keep going, using these experiences as a basis for improvement rather than being discouraged. Music lessons teach kids to do just this by encouraging them to keep trying until they’ve succeeded!

1. Passion

Ludwig van Beethoven himself once said, “To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.” And, according to her work, it seems that Angela Duckworth would agree - she argues that when it comes to developing grit, passion is just as, and perhaps even more, important than perfection. Luckily, music is something that’s easy to become passionate about! Every student will eventually find some style of music that just “clicks” with them, whether it’s by Mozart, Miles Davis, or Beyonce. Once a student has mastered their instrument to the point where they’re able to find and play the music that they really love, the real magic can start. Even if a student doesn’t continue with music through their whole lives, music lessons will teach them that it doesn’t matter if you get every detail right - as long as you bring passion to whatever it is you’re doing, you can achieve your goals. 

Give us a call today and see for yourself the amazing benefits of music lessons!

Music Lessons As Stress Relief

Stress is an unavoidable fact of modern life. With busy schedules, evolving technologies, and a seemingly constant cycle of negative news, our stress can rise to almost unbearable levels. But there’s a great, fun way to decrease this stress - music lessons! 

That’s right - there’s plentiful evidence that learning to play an instrument can significantly relieve stress. Scientific studies have shown that people who play an instrument have lower stress levels, lower blood pressure, decreased heart rate, and decreased symptoms of anxiety and depression. One such study found that playing the piano reduces levels of cortisol, which is known as the “stress hormone” because it can cause physical symptoms of stress and anxiety. Researchers even found that playing the piano reduced cortisol levels more than other relaxing activities like reading, writing, and art! Another study found that taking guitar lessons can help to reduce symptoms of PTSD and depression. 

There are a few reasons behind this phenomenon. You might have heard the term “mindfulness” from self-help books, yoga instructors, and even Instagram influencers. At its core, mindfulness is simply the practice of staying in the present moment by being aware of and focusing on your physical surroundings as well as your current mental and emotional state. The idea is that extreme focus on the present prevents your mind from rehashing the past and worrying about the future, which of course helps reduce stress. As it turns out, music lessons are a great way to promote mindfulness! When you’re practicing a musical instrument, you need all your mental energy to focus on all the skills you’re learning in your lessons, from reading the music in front of you to moving your fingers in the proper way to producing a great tone. With your mind working overtime to accomplish all these things, there’s not much room for worrying about the future! 

Another great way that music lessons reduce stress is by getting you away from screens. Our modern world provides us with a constant stream of information from our phones, tablets, and televisions, which can cause considerable stress - several studies have linked frequent screen time with anxiety and sleep disorders. Playing an instrument gives you a break from work emails, social media, negative news, and other virtual stressors. 

Another anti-stress benefit of learning music is that it is an inherently social activity. As humans, we crave interaction with other people, and music lessons allow you to work on a new skill while connecting with others, whether it’s other students or just your instructor. Even if you’re teaching yourself, music is a great way to start conversations and meet new people! 

Even with all these benefits, many students are hesitant to start lessons because they’re afraid that they won’t be good at learning an instrument. But the good news is that you don’t have to be a great musician to reap the anti-stress benefits of music lessons! In fact, researchers have found that learning to play an instrument works even better as an anti-stress tool for musicians who play casually and who don’t worry about getting everything right. 

So, if you’ve been feeling more stressed than usual, consider signing up for music lessons! Give us a call today for more information! 

The Benefits of Music Lessons During Quarantine

In this unprecedented and uncertain time, most schools have been able to successfully transition to an online format. Here at Powell Academy of Music, we are thrilled to be able to do the same, and to continue offering our high-quality music education using Zoom! Although our Zoom lessons have been incredibly successful, it’s understandable to have apprehensions about moving to online video lessons. After all, we pride ourselves on our amazing hands-on, face to face lessons with our talented staff. However, there are many important benefits to continuing music lessons during this time, even over video! Below are just a few.

• Structure: We’re used to leading carefully scheduled and organized lives, which have largely been derailed by the COVID-19 crisis. This sudden lack of structure affects not only parents but kids as well, and can cause stress, boredom, and irritability! Keeping a scheduled activity, like a music lesson at the same day and time, from life before quarantine can help provide this much needed structure along with a sense of normality in a very abnormal situation.

• A break for parents: Speaking of stress and irritability, the COVID-19 crisis has left lots of parents wondering what to do with their kids at home 24/7! Regularly scheduled music lessons can provide some relief for overwhelmed parents, even if it’s just for thirty minutes each week.

• Keep up with progress: One of the main reasons we encourage our students not to take long breaks in their lessons – for instance, putting lessons on hold during summer vacation – is that they’re likely to lose a lot of the progress that they’ve made. The truth is that unfortunately we don’t know how long this crisis will last, and by not taking advantage of video lessons, students not only will miss out on learning new skills but also risk losing the skills they’ve worked so hard to develop. Continuing regular lessons via Zoom, as well as maintaining their normal practice regimen, will ensure that by the time our students are able to see their instructors face to face again, they’ll be more than ready to move forward!

• Stress relief: Countless studies have demonstrated that music has a wonderfully relaxing effect on our minds and bodies. During this time of extreme stress and uncertainty, it is more important than ever that we keep music in our lives! So, if you haven’t tried your lessons over Zoom, please consider reaching out to us to get started!

If you are interested in getting started with music lessons via the Zoom app then please call us at 614-572-3640 or email info@powellacademyofmusic.com.