Bringing The Classroom Outside…

Why children should be creating music in the great outdoors

As the world reflects on the Covid-19 pandemic and its effect on communities, it is clear restrictions had a deep impact on young people with playgrounds and parks shut across the world. In some instances, children were told to stay indoors for weeks on end.

It’s no surprise then that the great outdoors has been firmly embraced as, post-pandemic, the world moves to socialising and playing outside. Could one of the positives taken from the pandemic be that we have a renewed appreciation for our outdoor spaces where we can relax and play?

Play is essential for children. In fact, it is enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 31 states that children have a right to “join in a wide range of cultural, artistic and other recreational activities”.

One such activity that can be enjoyed is playing musical instruments. There is a growing trend for schools and nurseries using outdoor musical instruments, bringing learning outside to the playground, because of the pandemic. Percussion Play, a leading manufacturer of outdoor musical instruments has seen a growing trend for schools and nurseries buying musical instruments for their outdoor space, there has been an increase of 70% in orders since the beginning of the pandemic.

Moving the classroom outside, can help improve learning but importantly it can help a child’s social development. Playing musical instruments (as opposed to simply listening to music) is particularly important for human social development because music making is fun and uses different skills to the ones that most people usually employ on a day-to-day basis. This means that making music is relaxing and can relieve feelings of stress and anxiety. In fact, there is now a growing body of research which demonstrates that playing musical instruments is beneficial for children in terms of both improved physical and mental health.

 
The benefits of music for children includes:

• It encourages teamwork, self-confidence, empathy, improved communication skills and intellectual curiosity.
   
• Playing music accelerates the emotional development of children because children learn how to communicate with others.
   
• Children who play musical instruments develop the ability to show compassion and empathy towards others and to have respect for other cultures.
   
• Children who have had the opportunity to develop these skills and behaviours in early life often turn out to be happier, healthier and higher-achieving adults.

The links between music and language development are well known and many studies have concluded that children who have early musical training will develop the areas of the brain that are related to language and reasoning. Research conclusively proves that playing musical instruments improves both phonetic and language skills and that even short-term engagement with musical training has a significant impact on the development of the neurological paths and processes associated with understanding speech and sounds.
 

 
The skills and qualities that music training facilitates are essential in building a child’s sense of self-accomplishment and self-assurance and that is why outdoor musical instruments such as those produced by Percussion Play are so well suited to a school or nursery setting. It is widely observed that when parents and teachers encourage a child to play musical instruments the child gains pride and confidence in themselves. Self-confidence is strongly related to the development of social and interpersonal skills and an early engagement with music can therefore help to develop positive character traits which will stay with the child for the rest of their life.

Jody Ashfield, Founder and CEO of Percussion Play says it’s not just education settings that can benefit from outdoor musical instruments. “Parks, trails, libraries and community centres are making music in the great outdoors”. Jody continues, “it’s never been more important to encourage children’s outdoor play and we want to champion the importance of outdoor music and recognize its ability to promote play and creativity. We want to encourage more children to play and learn outside”.

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