You’ve probably played drumming with your child at least once. The movement of drumming on a table or on the floor seems to be almost an instinct for kids, but did know that drumming benefits go way beyond providing your kid with fun and laughter?
Firstly, drumming can improve children’s abilities to understand math and reading. For instance, Irish Independent explores an experiment involving eight children with reading difficulties. They were trained to clap their hands, stamp their feet and chant in time for 10 minutes every day over 10 weeks. Prof Hallam told the Independent that “[t]he reading scores of half the group improved by two years during that time, two others had an improvement of six months, and in two of the cases there was no significant effect.” By participating in a drumming experience, children can be working on attention, impulse control, and decision-making skills.
Drumming also helps with overall brain development by stimulating the left and right sides of the brain simultaneously. Children have to use different parts of their brains to listen to the music around them, to instruct their bodies to move and create, and to understand a rhythm or to create their own. Playing music develops analytical processes on the left side of the brain and creativity in the right side of the brain. Increased networks between the left and right brain form thick fibers that interconnect the two brains.
Another positive aspect of drumming is that involves physical fitness. The activity increases heart rate and blood flow. The entire body is used while drumming, especially the fingers, hands, wrists, elbows, arms, shoulders and legs. Children also gain a better understanding of the rhythms of their own bodies. The heart has its own steady rhythm needed to keep the body functioning properly and breathing often involves that rhythm, too. Drumming is also an excellent way of developing different fine and gross motor skills.
And the benefits don’t end there, drumming can also be used as a therapeutic tool. Drums and percussion instruments are progressively accessible, physical, sensory, portable, socially interactive and expressive. Participating in a drumming activity can help a child feel safe enough to express his/her feelings. The activity can also help a child work on skills such as turn-taking and sharing, as well as help them feel they are part of a group contributing towards a group process.
We love to explore group drumming with our little bees during our Musical Bees and Family Bees programs. Whilst your busy little bee is exploring their world of imagination, they’ll also be tuning up their singing voice with our professional singers & teachers; fine-tuning their listening skills as we teach them to hear and respond to musical patterns; using their whole body to respond to music through joyful movement using hoops, parachute, balls and more; and gaining a sense of rhythm as they play back rhythmic patterns on the drums; and so much more. Our Term 2 classes start on 30th of April. Enrol now or book a tour of our school.