I see this happening daily in the lessons I teach and I teach guitar six days a week. I ‘ve taught as young as  5 year olds and the oldest student was 82. Music transcends just learning to play guitar. I believe it gives us better life skills, listening and talking,  when taught a particular way. 

Are you listening?

When I am teaching a lesson I can tell if the student is listening by what they do on the guitar after I explain it to them. I try to be as clear and have a logical order to what I am teaching. Over time teacher and student get to know each other and communication improves.

One of the things is the student will become a better listener and I start seeing a more focused look of attention. I like to take notes at workshops or church and I’ve gotten really good at hearing and wrinting what I’ve heard while hearing new information. I believe the kids can build the “attention” muscle through their music lessons.

Picking up music notes by ear

One of the things I feel is critical for beginning guitar players is to make sure every time they play that the guitar is in tune. Even the very young kids when they tune up then within a few months they can tell when it’s out of tune. Why is this critical? Your child could play all the right notes but if they are out of tune the notes will sound wrong. 

Better listeners make better speakers!

I will do different exercises with my kid students like play a few notes and have them find them and play them back. Or play one note and have them sing it. Match the pitch. It’s a fun game to them and really teaches them to hear music more deeply. I’ve found that this deep listening transfers over to communication.

I’ve seen great improvements in the special needs kids I work with, it’s amazing! I’ve some of the great actors mention that they listen and react to what was said to them. 

Conclusion

All the methods and systems i teach for guitar helps kids to listen and communicate better. 

Whether it’s guitar lessons, piano lessons or voice lessons your child should be having fun and learning music skills! We want them coming out of their lesson better musicians and people then when they went into the their lesson. 

At Metairie Music Academy my mission is help your child learn to appreciate the beauty and art of music. Located in the heart of Metairie, La. serving our community. If you have any questions or would like to book lessons for your child you can call Sid at 504-421-8811 or go to my website, https://metairiemusicacademy.com/ or press the Request Info button below. Thanks!