The Life-Changing Magic of Piano Lessons

Few things in life can compare the joy and satisfaction that come from mastering the piano. Being able to
sit down and play at will a Beethoven sonata or a honky-tonk standard is a enduring source of pleasure,
and proficiency in music has traditionally been considered an essential element in a well-rounded
education.

But especially in the case of children, piano lessons provide more than just happiness. As one of the
foundational instruments in western music, one that demands rigorous study and disciplined practice to
learn, taking on the piano can instil a wide range of good habits in budding performers. Here’s why.

Music Lessons Have Been Linked with the Development of Cognitive Skills 

Many studies have been done on the links between musical knowledge and ability and how it relates to
other types of problem solving and pattern recognition, and a serious body of evidence has built up
showing that the links between music lessons and success in other cognitive areas are real.

Children who take piano lessons and study other instruments demonstrate better language-based
reasoning, and are more effective at organizing, planning, and completing tasks. They also tend to do
better at school. 

Piano lessons aren’t just a mode for self-expression — they can also help children develop real
cognitive skills. 

Piano Lessons Build Confidence

Piano lessons have also been shown to play a major role in helping kids build confidence in themselves,
for the simple reason that piano lessons deliver measurable progress over time.  

For example, when students study piano lessons at Toronto Arts Academy and other schools, they don’t
just learn how to play the instrument; they also learn valuable lessons about how incremental progress
can help build concrete skills. 

Through piano lessons Toronto children — and children around the world — have the opportunity to learn
for themselves that hard work pays off over time.  

Piano Lessons Offer a Window on Music History   

In addition the secondary benefits like improved discipline and better cognitive abilities, piano lessons
Toronto also gives children a window onto the history of music. 

From the gorgeous fugues of the eighteenth century German masters to the rhythmically complex and
melodically sophisticated jazz compositions of the twentieth, learning how to play music is one of the
funnest ways to learn about music history. 

This knowledge helps build an understanding of general cultural history that won’t just make a child more
able to understand their heritage, but will also give them invaluable perspective on how the world around
them has grown out of a complex and diverse past. 

At the end of the day, music — like visual art, literature, and dance — is worth pursuing because they are
vital forms of self-expression and cultural exploration. Art is how adults play. So if you’ve ever worried
about the practicality of music instruction, remember that piano lessons have a long history of helping
students build skills and character in other areas of their lives as well. 

   

How Crowdsourcing Could Help Your Family Make Better Investment Decisions

Crowdsourcing is a relatively new concept, emerging in the post-cloud era. It’s the idea that you can take
advantage of the ideas and money of the crowd to achieve better outcomes for whatever you’re trying to
do. Companies like Kickstarter most famously make use of the “crowd” for raising money to launch
companies and products, but it goes beyond that. Now researchers at the University of Alabama
Birmingham have found that you can use large groups of people for better financial analysis.

Currently, when most investors want to know the future earnings growth of a firm, they look to Wall Street
guidance. Analysts at the world-famous financial hub use models to crunch numbers and provide
investor clients with data on how much money they think the company in question will make. The more
money coming through the doors, the higher a company’s stock value.

Researchers, however, have found that when you crowdsource opinions on how much money a company
will actually make, you get more reliable answers. In other words, when you take advantage of the
knowledge of the herd, you get results that are closer to the truth. 

If you’re interested in this phenomenon, please take a look at the following infographic. It shows the latest
research into crowdsourcing and accounting, and how it is transforming the way investors evaluate stocks
. The infographic makes it easy to understand this tricky concept and provides all the intellectual tools you
need to make better investment decisions for your family. Check it out below. 

Infographic by University of Alabama Birmingham