You might hear that "one out of every four Germans can play a music instrument proficiently", as the origin of the Orff Approach and the birthplace of many famous musicians such as Beethoven and Strauss, German's music education has a unique history and cultural accumulation.
How popular is music in Germany?
According to the statistics of the German Music Business Association in 2018, of the 80 million German population, 14 million people are able to play at least one musical instrument. The penetration rate of music education among the younger generation is particularly high. Taking the 17-year-old group as an example, the proportion who can skillfully play musical instruments is as high as 24%. There are also many Germans who like to enjoy music. Most of German listen to at least one concert or watches an opera every year.
Why does Germany attach so much importance to music education?
The benefits of learning music for children are manifold.
According to research conducted by Mary Luehrisen, executive director of the National Association of Music Business Foundation (NAMM), learning music can help students learn other subjects well and enhance children's necessary abilities in other fields.
Luehrisen believes that "for children from 2 to 9 years old, music plays a very good role in promoting language development at this age". When children are exposed to the world, they need to encode sounds and words. Music education helps strengthen their natural coding skills. "An environment with music is very beneficial to children's language development." Luehrisen added that those natural abilities need to be "strengthened, practiced and encouraged." Music education at home and school can improve these natural abilities.
The above data is only a small part that shows the benefits of learning music. Therefore, giving children proper music education is conducive to the healthy growth of children's body and mind.
