Even though we’re in a recession, there are still vast numbers of people throughout the country, young and old, enrolling for music lessons or continuing courses in music. Surely, with everyone constantly reviewing their budgets these days, this means that music must be regarded as more than just a hobby?

Personally, from the very beginning, I never thought of piano lessons and musical activities as a hobby. If my school teacher ever asked us to list our pastimes, piano never went down on the list, nor did listening to music or singing in the church choir. TV and computer games were hobbies, and playing with toys was a hobby, but somehow music was always something different. Looking back on it I’ve always thought I was just being the black sheep, but now that I’m studying music at third level I’ve been taking a closer look at why people are so keen on learning to play an instrument and why parents are so supportive of music lessons for their children.

Firstly, music is a huge part of everyone’s daily life. Everyone has a favourite type of music. It can be as complex as polyphonic liturgical music from the era of Baroque music, or as simple as the repetitive entrancing pulse of the dance music we hear in our nightclubs. Music is used manipulatively in advertising to get our attention, in restaurants and shops either to entice us to stay or to drive us away. Music has existed for as long as mankind itself as a tool for self-expression. While all aspects of music will change constantly, music will never cease to be part of our lives. The fact that so many common electrical devices in our 21st century lifestyle (e.g. PCs and laptops, mobile phones, mp3 players and gaming consoles) are designed to store and play increasing amounts of music is proof of this.

So everyone loves some type of music for various reasons. What better way to enjoy it than to play it yourself, and to come up with your own interpretation?

The next big reason people want music lessons is because of its educational benefits. Most people don’t actually know just how healthy it is to learn to play an instrument until they’ve had their first few weeks or months of lessons and practice. An essay I wrote in college recently required me to study Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences, and to look into the types of “intelligences” people exercise when learning music. Gardner believes everyone has varying levels of these interrelated intelligences:

Verbal-Linguistic intelligence (verbal reasoning, spoken communication, languages)
Logical-mathematical intelligence (numbers, problem-solving)
Visual-Spatial intelligence (use of images/visual aids and surrounding space)
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence (physical coordination)
Musical intelligence (understanding of music)
Interpersonal intelligence (understanding of/communication with others)
Intrapersonal intelligence (knowing and understanding the self, internalising information)
Naturalist intelligence (understanding of surroundings/events, how things fit together)

So, which intelligences are engaged in the process of learning music? All of them! Musical understanding is listed as an intelligence of its own here, but it is largely developed by regular use of all of the others. Many parents see an improvement in their children’s grades at school, bodily coordination, confidence, social development and even in behaviour as a result of sending them to music lessons. It is also proven that a person who has sustained a serious head injury and some resulting brain damage can recover more quickly and completely if they have had extensive musical education than a person who hasn’t, because music exercises so many parts of the brain simultaneously.

So, in a way, there is some small amount of truth to the myth that all musicians are intelligent!