TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), one of the world’s most well-respected music education institutions, promotes the life-long cognitive benefits that music lessons have on young children. The RCM believes that extracurricular activities such as music lessons can create a path for academic success that can follow students into adulthood. As the school year approaches, The RCM hopes parents will consider The RCM Certificate Program for their children.
Neuroscientist and Director of Research at The Royal Conservatory of Music, Dr. Sean Hutchins, will tell you that music lessons are an amazing extracurricular that have real, long-term benefits for developing minds. “Parents looking to enroll their children in an extracurricular activity should consider music lessons due to its overall benefits. For example, music lessons have been shown to help children improve language abilities, increase spatial awareness, empathy, attention span and self-confidence.” Says Dr. Hutchins. “Studies have shown that increases in IQ and executive function can be seen in young children after only a few months of music lessons.“
Over the last 20 years, there have been numerous psychological and neuroscientific studies investigating the link between music and the mind. This research has shown that those who study music have better cognitive skills than their non-musical counterparts. For example, those who study music show larger vocabularies, better reading ability and enhanced recognition of emotions in speech.
The RCM’s Senior Vice President, Learning Systems, Patrick Duperré shares how The RCM Certificate Program is different from other music programs. “The RCM is built on research and the neuroscience behind music education. Since The RCM’s inception over 135 years ago, we’ve learned that the value of music education founded in an environment of kindness, passion and fun, leads to the development of skill sets in kids that follow students into adulthood. That’s The RCM Effect.”
There is a rich body of evidence to support the notion that music training can lead to enhanced cognitive benefits. The scientific research shows that cognitive abilities gained through music training can transfer to other domains and practices, making music a valuable addition to any path in life. As an extracurricular activity for children, music lessons help them sharpen cognitive skills, develop social connections and as a result, this can lead to music students outperforming their peers in academics. It’s one of the reasons you see so many professionals like doctors and architects who also happen to play an instrument.
The RCM Certificate Program offers lessons in over 20 instruments, Voice, and Speech Arts and Drama. Not only does the curriculum teach the essential elements of music education, but it also inspires confidence, passion and motivation in students.
The RCM Certificate Program is used by 30,000 independent music teachers to support 500,000 students across North America. Their more than 5 million RCM alumni have built careers in a wide range of fields, including medicine, law, journalism, and professional athletics.
To learn more about The RCM Certificate Program or to find an RCM teacher today, please visit: https://www.rcmusic.com/find-a-teacher.
To learn more about the neuroscience around music lessons, check out The RCM white papers on why to study music here.
About The RCM
The Royal Conservatory is one of the largest and most respected music education institutions in the world, providing the definitive standard of excellence in curriculum design, assessment, performance training, teacher certification and arts-based social programs. Entrenched in the minds and hearts of Canadians, The Royal Conservatory has united generations of citizens since its inception in 1886.
