Five Reasons Why Music Theory is Important for Your Kids' Education

by Marek Tomaszewski

What is this magical term called Music Theory? Music theory is a fixed set of rules that allows the player to understand the complex art of music. Musicians must follow certain rules, so that they can: read sheet music, learn pieces from the music, learn by ear or play with other musicians in a band. Music Theory then, serves as a tool that holds together not only the act of performing, but also makes it more compelling to the listener. 

There are also more hidden gems in the learning of music theory by kids. It will definitely surprise many parents.

Treble Clef decides about the note being a G note, on the second line of the stave.

Here are the 5 main reasons for the importance of including music theory in your child's education:

Gives the ability to see the whole picture of how things work in music

You see, it's all very logical. There are certain rules to follow. Here we have dots and stems that have got some magical features! Each note can be expressed by two most important factors: pitch and rhythm. Depending on where and how you draw them on the stave, they are played higher or lower and last for certain amount of time. Then, in order to execute them properly, you need to play them in certain way that is defined by the time signature and tempo indicators. All of these and many more elements add up eventually to a large portion of knowledge that allows the player to perform and create an extraordinary effect of music flow.

Helps children to become independent learners

Although your kids are taking music lessons with a professional teacher or even have some classes at school too - let's not forget that the time they spend with them is very limited. The time spent learning on their own is the most precious, as they are trying to figure things out on their own. This in turn is actually one of the best ways to learn anything on their own in the future.   

Gives broad, versatile skills helpful in all future  professional careers, not only in music

In order to understand music theory, each student must memorise a complex set of rules and mathematically precise connections between the musical elements: intervals, subdivisions, time signatures, rhythm values, articulation, music expressions, and groupings, to name just a few. This in turn will translate into pragmatic skills they will use in their future careers. Clint Eastwood, Hugh Laurie, Hugh Jackman, Steven Spielberg, Kevin Bacon and Keanu Reeves are names that don't need introducing. They all play a musical instrument.

Improves their memory and imagination

Once someone knows the theory behind the music, the sky is the limit. The memorization of a particular piece of music is much easier. Young musicians can organize all the necessary informations into small chunks of data like 2, 4 or 8 bar phrases with specific elements in mind. 

It also helps them to create and compose their own pieces. All of these processes take place in one's imagination. A music film composer for instance needs to translate the emotions of a particular movie scene into sounds that will move the imagination of the viewers. 

Boosts cognitive skills and concentration 

As with any demanding subject, the amount of concentration required is great, to say the least. Music theory is no different. To give you an example let's take the so-called music intervals. Interval is a gap between two notes. If you imagine for instance, a piano keyboard with white and black keys - any distance between either white to white, black to black, white to black would be an interval. The space between one white and closest black key is the smallest possible gap in western music, called a semitone/half tone. There are 8 basic intervals to memorise. Each has a specific type like major, minor or perfect. The story continues and it's just the begining.

About the author:

Marek is a saxophone, clarinet, flute and pianoteacher with over 20 years experience and a graduate of Guildhall School of Music and Drama London. He is also a published author of Music Theory Book for Kids Level 1. He currently teaches privately and performs live in the UK and worldwide.