What Flute Playing is Doing to Your Students’ Brains!

As flute teachers, I think sometimes we undervalue the amazing influence we have in the development of children’s brains.

 You’ll probably agree, our musician friends are just a little bit smarter than the average population, and it’s pretty obvious from looking at the personalities and all-round abilities of advanced flute students that Playing-An-Instrument-Benefits-Your-Brain. I’d describe my advanced students as clever, sensitive, mature, focussed and generally very good human beings with a lot to offer the world.

This TedEd video is an awesome little show-and-tell of what learning music really does for our students (and did for us when we were younger).

Music educators have known this for years – that you become a better person with a higher functioning brain from learning a musical instrument. It is why I want my nieces and nephews to learn an instrument. It’s not because they will be able to socialize in a band or orchestra when they get older, or be able to play beautiful music (even though this is all true), it’s because it will assist them in thinking, excelling and being creative for the rest of their lives.

Playing music is an incredibly powerful training to give our brains. And it is at our fingertips to offer this to children, creating a smarter self for them so they can then pursue in life anything they desire with the intelligence and mindset to be able to succeed.

Enjoy!