„Why do you sound so much different than my child?“ Explanations of the high importance and positive effects of regular practice (Andrea Hobson)

(For German version click here!)

„For half a year, my child has been practising at least once a week and does everything exactly as you say. Yet your sound is totally different – how can that be? What do we need to change to get to the same point as you quickly?“ When I hear questions like this, I am more than surprised every time. Yet I never tire of explaining that you can’t just conjure up a good sound. As we all know, no master has ever fallen from the sky. And it is not enough just to know the technique and to implement it correctly. No, learning a brass instrument is much more complex and there are no shortcuts. The decisive factor is simply practice, continuous and regular practice.

The reason for this lies in the complex interaction of various factors that determine the quality of the sound. Or to put it another way: if you want to „sound beautiful“, you have to pay attention to many different aspects. Breathing, lip position, tongue position etc. – the things that parents like to summarise with the word „technique“ – are only one point here. It is equally important that the children develop a feeling for the music. This involves topics such as tone perception, dynamics, articulation and expression, which cannot be explained with the help of short step-by-step instructions. This requires continuous engagement with music and a holistic approach. And that in turn requires a certain commitment from our students: They have to contribute by practising regularly.

But the supposed effort is worth it! Because the assumption that music lessons have a positive effect on children’s development has now been confirmed by research. Various studies clearly showed that children with music lessons are cognitively and socio-emotionally more developed.

These positive effects are due to the fact that music lessons particularly „train“ the processing of acoustic information. The normal course of this process is quickly explained: whatever arrives at the ear is first transmitted to the brain as a vibration and then converted into neural signals. These are then sent to the brainstem, then on to the thalamus and finally to the primary auditory cortex on both sides of the brain. Since this process is particularly stressed by the practice of music, the competence to recognise and classify a „melody“ – i.e. certain sound sequences – improves over time.

This in turn results in the ability to process acoustic signals more effectively in general, which benefits speech development as well as speech perception and reading ability. And these are all important aspects that come into play in our educational system as well as in our daily interactions with friends, teachers and fellow human beings. (If you want to know more about other positive effects, you can read about them at the Brain and Creativity Institute of the University of Southern California).

Therefore, regular practice – as exhausting as it may sometimes be! – has several advantages: Not only does it ensure that children will eventually actually sound like their teachers, but it also decisively promotes their individual development. And no one should miss out on these positive effects!