Getting started

It is our hope that through learning a musical instrument or having singing lessons your child will gain enormous musical and social enjoyment, artistic and expressive satisfaction, and a real sense of achievement which will continue throughout their life. Although learning to sing/play a musical instrument requires commitment and hard work, there will be many occasions along the way to celebrate and enjoy.

To see the way students at Habs take music to their hearts and get such joy and fun out of playing and singing together is one of the highlights of working at the school. Opportunities to share music-making with others in the vast array of extra-curricular ensembles on offer at Habs naturally culminate in performance opportunities and concerts which are scheduled during the year.

The advantages for taking up a musical instrument at a young age have been well-researched over the years, but here are a few pointers from an article which appeared in the Daily Mail in 2010:

‘Learning to play an instrument has major advantages for a growing brain and should be a key part of school education says neuroscientist Professor Nina Kraus. She points out that there is strong evidence to show that music lessons help children improve their language skills…playing a musical instrument significantly enhances the brain’s sensitivity to speech sounds. The benefits could help all children including those with developmental challenges such as dyslexia and autism. ‘Music training is not only beneficial for processing music stimuli. We’ve found that years of music training may also improve how sounds are processed for language and emotion. … Now we know that music can fundamentally shape our sub-cortical sensory circuitry in ways that enhance everyday tasks, including reading and listening in noise.’

The decision to learn a musical instrument or to have singing lessons should be taken after careful consideration. This document aims to help you make that decision and to serve as a guide for both you and your child.