Playgrounds Are Good, But Musical Playgrounds Are Even Better!

Kids Love Playgrounds, and Kids Love Music

Playgrounds have been well-loved by children for generations. What child doesn’t like to play, socialize, and get some exercise in a structured outdoor setting? At the same time, music is recognized the world over as being a universal language, transcending age, ability, and culture gaps alike. And the only thing better than playgrounds and music is combining the two together in one integrated experience!

Ever seen children enjoying an outdoor musical playground at a school or daycare, in a park, or in some other local community setting? Making music a part of a child’s outdoor play experience offers all sorts of potentially positive takeaways. Musical play stimulates both the mind and the emotions, helps to generate better social engagement, and is just plain fun for kids and adults alike. If you’re thinking about creating a children’s music playground or musical sensory trail for your outdoor facility, that’s a really smart move!

Specific Benefits of Installing Musical Playground Equipment

Enjoying music through play is really fun for everyone, but it can provide some specific benefits for children in particular. Musical experiences are known to help children relieve stress, express feelings, grow memory retention, and improve communication skills. Here are several other points worth noting about adding musical elements to your commercial playground:

1. Enhances physical skills

Kids love to investigate what different sounds an instrument will make whenever they tap it in different areas. As children engage with playground chimes or other percussion elements, they’re also improving and enhancing both gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Outdoor musical instruments of this nature can be placed in early years playgrounds or nursery gardens, and are well-liked by primary age students as well.

2. Fuels sensory development

Any playground resource which can produce sound generates a sensory experience, but that gets taken to a whole different level with musical playground equipment. When children explore ideas and concepts through playground instruments, it helps connect more pathways in their young brains. Playing with and exploring musical sounds also stimulates the part of the brain responsible for reading, math, and emotional development, so it’s really about more than just auditory stimulation.

3. Increases concentration levels

Musical instruments do a great job of grabbing children’s attention and keeping them fully focused and occupied. A typical playground environment presents many different distractions, and some children aren’t always able to take advantage of all the resources available to them. Choosing to implement some music features in your playground empowers children to increase their attention span and further improve their powers of concentration.

4. Improves Working Memory

Functional working memory enables children to process information quickly and helps improve their focus whenever there are distractions in the child’s immediate environment. While engaging in outdoor musical instruments, children also benefit by further developing their working memory. Musical play equipment helps kids to focus on specific melodies, memorize tunes, and grow their levels of focus.

5. Promotes Language & Communication Skills

Whenever playing musical instruments, singing, or simply listening to others create music, kids tend to pay close attention to what they’re hearing and are able to generate thoughtful responses. Neurotransmitters are released, which facilitate children’s ability to bond with one another, process language & speech, and experience pleasure. In the process, children’s brains are able to connect new pathways which enhance both language and communication development through play.

6. Nurtures Social Skills Development

Social skills are those everyday skills we use to communicate and interact with other humans. Music can be a fun and engaging way to help nurture social skills development in children, even from a young age. For example, with music as a platform, children can work together to create their own performance, which they can then share with others present on the playground. This has a dual impact which benefits both the young players and their young hearers.

7. Boosts Self Confidence

Music brings out children’s inner creativity, and also gives them a safe platform for expressing themselves. This can be particularly beneficial to children who are shy, or are generally lacking in confidence. While working towards mastering the art of music, children will naturally become more confident, and will start to gain more enjoyment from performing with others and for others. Music is a great medium for bringing children together and helping them to feel better about themselves.

8. Inspires a Sense of Creativity

Instruments enable children to share creative ideas as they collaborate – and also learn to compromise – over what to play and how to play for their intended audiences. Plus, children are naturally drawn to musical instruments, due in no small part to the fact that musical creation fuels creative play and imagination.

9. Promotes Emotional Development

Developing children need to learn more about understanding their own emotions, as well as the emotions of those around them. This necessarily entails learning to manage their emotions, and being able to express them in a healthy way. Musical play equipment offers children an opportunity to express how they feel and communicate what’s going on inside at any given moment. Plus, banging on percussion instruments serves to help reduce feelings of anxiety, worry, and stress in children.

10. Creates a More Inclusive Play Environment

Choosing to create a truly inclusive play environment means that all children – regardless of ability level or need – can work and play together. And a musical playground enables any child to participate, including those who may be dependent upon walking aids or wheelchairs for mobility. It’s really a beautiful thing when all children are able to play and participate alongside their classmates and friends.

Some Outdoor Musical Instruments We Provide in NC, SC, VA, and TN

Carolina Recreation & Design offers a wide selection of outdoor musical instruments we can install into practically any playground environment. Here are a few of the engaging music features we provide for organizations just like yours:

• Drums
• Xylophones in many tones and pitches
• Marimbas in many tones and pitches
• Chimes in a variety of tones and ranges
• Sustaining cymbals
• Bells
• Marimba / xylophone combination options

Carolina Recreation & Design Has Your Musical Playground Needs Covered!

We provide the best available commercial playground equipment and outdoor musical instrument products for any setting. We’re also happy to install everything we sell, and we provide design services, site prep, outdoor shelters, shade structures, and any other site furnishings or amenities you may need.

Carolina Recreation & Design is a full-service general contracting company offering turnkey installation of playgrounds, recreational elements, and outdoor structures for parks, schools, churches, clubs, daycares, HOAs, and amusement parks across NC, SC, VA, and TN. We offer premium-quality commercial products that are safe, fun, and built to last. Connect with us simply give us a call today at (704) 664-1833 !