Coming Together: 7 Reasons Live Music is So Important

Feb 12, 2025

Music can be a very private experience. The emotional reaction and catharsis from listening to music alone can be very satisfying. But even with that said, music is better when shared, and live music is best of all!

British composer Malcolm Arnold once said, “Music is the social act of communications among people, a gesture of friendship, the strongest there is.” Prolific singer-songwriter-piano man Billy Joel had this to add: “I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music.”

And it’s true; everyone tends to agree that music has special powers. It helps to connect every single person on this little blue planet.

And never is this connection more evident than when experiencing music live. Music is meant to be shared as a community, and today it helps to connect us as a community.

Which brings us to this week’s topic. Sometimes we can lose sight of the importance of live music in our communities and our lives, despite how important it can be, especially for young children. Let’s look at the top 7 reasons live music is so important to your community and how it helps give students an amazing opportunity to grow.

For the Audience

Live Music Touches The Heart & Soul

Many children don’t have many opportunities to see live music, if they have any at all. With so much access to pre-recorded, digital music at our fingertips, we often neglect the importance of attending live events. But watching musicians perform live can touch the soul and fire the imagination in ways that recorded music simply cannot. It connects the performers with the audience in a profoundly intimate and powerful way that can’t be replicated through an iPod.

Live Music is a Motivator

For young and old alike, going to see live music can be incredibly inspiring and motivating! It makes us want to go home and pick up that old, dusty guitar! And this experience is even stronger in active music students. We want them to leave a concert feeling like what they want to do most in the world is go home and start practicing. And if they keep up the hard work and practice every day, they’ll play like their favourite performers!

Diverse Experiences

One of the most amazing things about community events that feature live music is the opportunity for a diverse performance. Through these kinds of recitals, the audience, and especially young music students, can be exposed to a wide range of music they might not otherwise hear. The world of music is massive, with more variety than can ever be performed in a lifetime, but live music can give you just a flavour of everything there is to offer.

And what’s more, every performance is unique; even if you’ve heard the same piece before, each performer gives the music their own interpretation and flair. Students can learn a lot from hearing different versions of the same song.

For the Performers

Goals to Work Towards

On the performers’ side of things, live recitals offer several benefits as well. The first of which is a goal to work towards. Practicing at home and in class is all well and good, but having something to work towards is even better. Recitals give students a set date and time by which they must have their music learned. This teaches them how to manage their practice time while also learning what it feels like to polish a piece to perfection.

Measure Success and Progress

One of the important parts of a live recital is that it allows students an opportunity to feel successful. Playing an instrument requires a lot of hard work, both in the classroom and alone. A performance allows them to show off their accomplishments and feel good about their success.

And hand-in-hand with this opportunity is the chance for your child (and you!) to see where they have come from and where they can go from where they are, skill-wise. When they watch beginning students, they can see how far they have come from when they were just starting out. And when they watch their more experienced peers perform, they can hear and see performances of songs they will enjoy learning and playing in the near future and see some of the more advanced techniques they will be studying soon.

Learn to Conquer Nerves

Everyone gets nervous sometimes, but it’s all about how you handle it. Performing live music provides students with the chance to feel that nervousness and to learn that it’s okay. Moreover, it offers early experience for some of the most fear-inducing situations in adult life: speaking in front of a group of people. Learning to perform music provides a safe environment for students to gain confidence in front of a crowd. Studies have shown that the earlier these sorts of experiences happen, the easier children will handle these kinds of situations as they grow into adolescence and adulthood.

Sense of Community

Finally, live music creates a wonderful sense of community, both among the performers and the listening audience. These events are amazing opportunities for students and parents alike to meet others in their communities and experience their culture at a local event.

When an audience experiences a great performance, they are forever linked to one another and the musicians by that place and time in their memories.

Nowadays, it seems like everyone is super busy. We don’t always make the time for live music at community events. Going requires planning and, in many cases, a certain amount of sacrifice. But it’s important to remember just how critical live music is to the lives of our children, no matter if they are in the crowd or on the stage. If we want to help develop musicians who have a love and passion for the arts and for life, they need to experience the wonder of live music in concert.

Are you looking for some help starting a musical journey for yourself or your child? Check out The Music Studio’s online and in-person lessons and classes, and get started today!