You can never go wrong when it comes to kids and music. In fact, music is an essential part of every kid’s development. After all, parents know that they can use music to soothe their kids, express their love for them, and engage with them. Let’s look at why kids should learn the ukulele.
1. A ukulele is affordable
When it comes to teaching their kids a musical instrument, instinctively, parents may think of a guitar or a piano. However, compared to a piano and even guitars, a ukulele is comparatively affordable. You can get a budget ukulele for as low as $50 to $150. Once you’ve got your child a ukulele, you can guide him or her to the Musician Authority to get started learning how to strum the strings.
2. A ukulele is portable and small in size
A ukulele is small and portable. It’s easy for even a six-year-old to hold a ukulele without straining themselves. A kid can easily carry it to school or on school trips by themselves. When it comes to a piano, not even adults can carry one on their own. The size of a guitar is much larger than a ukulele, and young kids will struggle to carry a guitar from one place to another.
3. A ukulele is easy to learn
The ukulele is easy to learn compared to learning the piano, a guitar, or other stringed instruments. It has only four strings that help make it comfortable for kids to master the technique of finger placements. What’s more, ukulele strings are made with nylon, which is gentler than guitar strings on your kid’s fingertips. Finally, kids can handle a ukulele without straining their wrists since it has a compact size and shape. As such, it is the perfect instrument to take up for kids.
4. Playing the ukulele helps improve your kid’s memory
When your small child plays the ukulele for a while, they get to learn how to create, retrieve and store memories efficiently. While playing the ukulele, your kid is constantly exercising their brain muscles. This is one of the best ways to ensure your kid’s brain stays healthy during their formative years. Furthermore, a study found that musicians have better memory than non musicians. Isn’t that an advantage that every parent would like for their child?
5. Playing the ukulele can help improve your child’s math skills
Learning to play the ukulele can help improve your math skills. This takes place because reading music requires your kid to count both rhythms and notes. Furthermore, learning to play a musical instrument helps your kid to learn music theory. Music theory uses many mathematical aspects, and understanding these aspects will help your child understand other mathematical theories that they’ll come across in school. Studies have shown that kids who play musical instruments are better at math skills and get higher grades than students who don’t play musical instruments.
6. Sharpens your child’s concentration levels
Playing the ukulele requires your child to be hyper-focused. They need to constantly pay attention to pitch, note duration, rhythm, sound quality, and tempo. Being distracted will diminish their quality of play. If you’d like your child’s concentration levels to be sharp, helping them learn to play the ukulele is a great way to achieve this objective. In fact, for children with ADHD or ADD, playing the ukulele can be especially beneficial.
7. Helps teach your child to persevere
Nobody can become a good musician in a day or two. At first, learning the ukulele may seem hard to your child. But regular practice on the instrument will ensure that they improve in double-quick time. The process of learning to play the ukulele teaches your child to be patient and how to persevere. Through the study of music, your child will learn that daily effort is essential. They’ll also learn how to manage frustration successfully.
8. Helps boost your child’s confidence
After they become proficient at playing the ukulele, your child will perform whatever they’ve learned in front of their parents, teachers, classmates, or friends. The art of performance will help your child develop confidence. Remember that learning music is not a simple task. Once your child masters a skill that they initially found difficult, they’ll feel more confident when it comes to tackling other challenges.
9. Increases your child’s discipline
Today’s kids have small attention spans due to the increased use of electronic gadgets. Video games, smartphones, and tablets tend to distract children from other important childhood activities such as studying, playing, and even eating. Learning how to play the strings of a ukulele properly needs considerable amounts of discipline. If your kid successfully dedicates time to learning to play the ukulele, they’ll also be able to focus on other important childhood tasks.
In Summary
Learning to play a musical instrument is an excellent way for kids to learn, grow, develop and have fun. A ukulele is the perfect musical instrument for children to learn music during their formative years.
