The Importance of Learning Different Styles of Music

I ran across the website for an all-classical music radio station in New York City—WQXR.org that has many short articles on classical music.  The article Top Five Studies on Classical Music and Health by Amanda Angel talks about the effects of classical music on people.  Her article shows evidence that classical music can help lower blood pressure, relieve pain after surgery, help you to be more in touch with your emotions, help you sleep, and help make you smarter.

Many of my students prefer either Jazz or Popular music but I have three students this year who have branched out and are beginning to learn Classical music (1750 - 1830) from composers like Johann Sebastian Bach, Leopold Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig Van Beethoven and Robert Schumann. 

Another group of my students began learning some of the music of the Contemporary Composers (1910 - 1950) like Dimitri Kabalevsky, Elie Siegmeister, Alexandre Tasman, Alexander Tcherepnin, Bela Bartok and Dimitri Shostakovich. These students who have expanded into these other styles of music are finding great joy in learning this music and seem to be practicing more (according to their practice charts) and enjoying lessons more. Many of them only hear Jazz and Popular music on their many devices so this new style, to them, is exciting and makes them want to learn even more. 

We don't eat the same food choice 24/7. We don't wear the same clothes for the entire year. Occasionally we change our hair style etc. So why would we only want to listen to or learn the play only one style of music? If you are a musician and you have not expanded your musical style — consider one of the many styles of music that are available to you.