Taking Dance Classes can also help with your Music Lessons

Have you ever heard the expression "music make you smarter"? Many parents put their children into music lessons at a young age because it's common knowledge that music lessons improve your ability to think and make better decisions. The actual act of performing music requires the performer to make anywhere from a few to more than one hundred decisions per minute. This often-overlooked part of music education is one the key factors in the improved brain development in children that take music lessons.

Dancing although not quite as intense mentally can be physically demanding and like most physical activity will increase your heart rate. How does this help with music? The increased heart rate means that more blood is being pumped throughout your body making the following things happen.

1) Increased coordination in your limbs
2) More oxygen to the brain causing better focus and concentration
3) Higher levels of energy
These are of course only 3 things that dancing can do to increase your performance in music. I'm sure that there is a lot more physically that make music and dance perfect for each other. One thing I am certain of, the majority of musicians that I know that dance as well all seem to be extremely strong and creative both on their instruments and on the dance floor!

Do music lessons also help with dance?
Yes! Learning music is great for improving rhythm and feel in music. If you can imagine a musician swaying back and forth with the music they are playing then it's not much of a stretch to imagine them feeling and moving to the rhythm in the dance. Also, with music and dance it can be very rewarding to make a clear connection between the two. This might be compared to reading a great story and having beautiful illustrations to go with it.