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Fewer children learning to play musical instrument
Almost two thirds of children do not play any musical instruments compared with just 34% of their parents at the same age, a survey has found.
Fewer than half of parents (44%) believe it is important that their child is involved in music, with parents in the Southeast more likely to think this (55%) than their counterparts in Wales and the Southwest (39%), the poll for BBC Worldwide revealed.
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Parents are more likely to place importance on their daughters' involvement in music (45%) rather than their sons picking up an instrument (41%).
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And 9% of parents feel that it is "not important at all" for their child to be involved in music, with a further 12% saying it is "not that important".
The poll, taken to coincide with the launch of the BBC's ZingZillas
magazine, based on the children's TV music show, found 64% of children do not play any musical instruments, or 64% of boys and 63% of girls.
The guitar is currently the most popular instrument played by children (13%), followed by the keyboard (9%) and the recorder (8%).
Boys are most likely to learn the guitar (17%), the keyboard (8%) and the drums (7%), while girls favour the recorder (11%) and the guitar, piano and keyboard (all 9%).
The eldest child is more likely to play an instrument (41%) than the second eldest (33%) and the third eldest (23%).
The recorder was the most popular instrument among parents when they were children (35%), followed by the piano (17%) and the guitar (15%).
Just 34% of parents did not play an instrument as a child, according to the survey.
Stephanie Cooper, editor of ZingZillas magazine, said: "As this research shows, fewer children are now learning musical instruments and parents may not be aware of just how beneficial music can be to a child's development.
"Young children love responding to music by dancing, singing, creating pictures or talking about what they hear, which gives them creative confidence. Hearing musical rhythms, patterns and sounds is beneficial for early literacy learning and experimenting with everyday things to make music gives them the chance to learn about science."
She added: "Listening to music is something that parents and children can do together and it's great fun too. Whether it's The Beatles, Bob Dylan, JLS, Leona Lewis or ZingZillas, music is a brilliant way to engage children with all sorts of learning in a really exciting way. Listening to different styles of music gives them the chance to appreciate other people and cultures as well as gaining experience of different types of sounds.
"Learning how to play an instrument is a way of focusing that interest and the outcomes are potentially very rewarding. The achievement of producing a great sound or playing a piece of music from start to finish is immensely satisfying for a child."
* ICM Research polled 1,046 parents of children aged 18 and under online between August 25-30.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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