Orchestra, Choir, Bands Make Resilient Children

A young child plays the violin during a lesson with Buskaid at the Reformed Presbyterian Church in Diepkloof, Soweto, on April 13, 2019. (Wikus de Wet/Getty Images)

An Australian study has suggested that joining a music group in a school or community choir, orchestra, or band could be the answer to developing children who are empathetic and resilient team players.

Researchers from the University of Tasmania examined musicians aged from 14 to 25, and collected comments from managers, conductors, and teachers from the state youth orchestras, specialist ensembles, and two choirs between 2021 and 2022.

They found that playing in music groups builds resilience because players need to listen to each other and adapt quickly to changes, according to the lecturers of the University of Tasmania William James Baker, Anne-Marie Forbes, and Kim McLeod.

“People have to understand what is happening around them, and be prepared to change how they play something (slow or fast, loud or soft) depending on how the group is performing,” they said.

“You need to be able to value the contributions of other people, not just your own.”

Michael Dadap conducts the Children’s Orchestra Society at its 45th Annual Spring Concert in Rockville Centre, N.Y., on June 15. (Laura Cooksey/Epoch Times)

They found that while sports and academics also foster resilience, playing music releases chemicals like dopamine and serotonin, providing a natural motivation for continued engagement.

“Making music with others also affects levels of the bonding hormone oxytocin, supporting a sense of togetherness, while reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol,” the authors said.

For young people, this provides valuable respite from study and daily life and helps them manage and express their emotions, particularly at a time when adversity has been hitting young people on a mass scale and resilience is even more relevant than ever.

8-Year-Old Cancer Patient Regains Strength Through Composition

A case study of a seriously ill boy has also shown how composing music returned psychological control to him as he battled cancer by allowing him to express himself, resulting in improvements in confidence and self-belief.

“He had lost much of his expressive language capability at that time due to the position of his tumour so we used a lot of songwriting as a way of enabling him to express himself,” Louise Miles, senior music therapist at Perth’s Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, said.

“What stood out for me from those early sessions was his determination to keep playing and creating despite other difficulties.”

“Music can be very powerful in helping sick children form an awareness of their own strengths and develop resilience. That’s important as they prepare for what’s coming next.”

Senior occupational therapist Ranita Sidhu is a fan of the benefits of music in the care of sick children.

“I think it lends itself especially to engaging and communicating with pre-verbal and young children in a special way through the use of rhythm, tone, intonation and all the gifts that lie within music,“ Sidhu said.

“It is intrinsically healing. When it’s used skillfully and therapeutically it really is magic.”