WHY I OFTEN ASK MY STUDENTS TO COLOR OR DRAW WHILE LISTENING TO CLASSICAL MUSIC.
As you know me, I am a fan of music workshops for students.
During that extra time of a workshop on a Saturday afternoon or during Christmas time, easter time or summer, we have the time to approach different activities and learn different things that we don’t have the time to learn or do during a piano lesson.
We perform piano ensemble arrangements, boomwhackers, percussion instruments, we learn music history, music theory, we improvise, we compose.
One of the things I realized for my students is that they don’t listen to classical music.
Students usually listen to modern songs that are available on Spotify or YouTube. There are beautiful songs out there and they should keep listening to their favorite music but as a classical piano teacher I feel the need to give them some other options, too.
That is why I make some time and give them space to color and draw beautiful drawings mostly related to music while in the meantime I choose some classical music for them.
Undoubtable listening to classical music has many benefits:
Benefits of listening to classical music
- It can decrease blood pressure
- It is a natural pain reliever
- It reduces stress levels
- It improves sleep quality
Students who listen to classical music during lectures, studying or while they sleep will perform better in exams.
More on the benefits of listening to classical music and why we need to expose our children to classical music from an early age here
Why coloring while listening to classical music?
Coloring is fun and has many benefits for children and adults.
Coloring can keep a young child occupied while listening to music that might not be interested at all at the beginning. But once children learn to listen to and appreciate classical music, the benefits are huge.
Benefits of coloring to young children
- Coloring helps develop hand strength and finger grip
- Staying within the lines help develop fine motor skills
- Focusing on a coloring task for several minutes helps foster concentration and attention.
- Coloring helps develop color awareness, and artistic expression
Coloring has benefits not only to small children but it’s also beneficial to teens and adults
Benefits of coloring to older children and teens
- The rhythmic repetitious movement of coloring helps calm the often-anxious teen brain.
- It increases awareness of the present moment and helps to distract from negative emotions.
Coloring is a healthy way to relieve stress.
It calms the brain and helps your body relax.
This can improve sleep and fatigue while decreasing body aches, heart rate, respiration, and feelings of depression and anxiety.
Does coloring while listening requires a talent?
This is a common question. The answer is no.
Some of you may think that this activity is not for everyone. You might have heard the terms synesthesia and chromeshesia
The truth is that having my students coloring while listening to music has nothing to do with chromeshesia although some children may find out that they can ‘see’ colors in the sounds.
Coloring while listening to classical music is a great activity for everyone. It releases stress, it develops creativity, it builds self confidence and it makes classical music easy to hear even to people who never listen to classical music.
What music shall you use?
In this article you will find a list of some of the most popular classical pieces.
Recommended books for coloring while listening to music.
There is a variety of coloring books for children, teens or adults.
My students enjoy coloring books and drawings related to music so these are the ones I recommend.
Coloring music books for children:
Music Coloring book for kids ages 4-8
Music is Cool! Coloring book for kids
The Best Music Symbols Coloring Book for Kids Ages 3 to 8
Free resources
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