How Indian classical music can help your child’s mental well-being

Mental health issues are on the rise amongst children and young people. Is raga music from India the best natural anti-depressant? 

Parents are notorious for being worrywarts about their children. Is my child tracking with growth charts? Meeting milestones? Academically on track? Eating well? Getting too much screen time – or, if there’s such a thing – too little?  

However, the rise of mental health issues amongst children and young people, particularly post pandemic makes for grim reading. For example, between 2020 and 2023, mental health referrals for children and young people increased by over 50% in the UK. Whilst it is well researched that the COVID-19 pandemic had a part to play in exacerbating existing mental health challenges, other factors such as the development factors affecting this age group, the cost of living crisis, a prolonged transition into adulthood, overprotective parenting styles restricting young people’s ability to build resilience and autonomy as well as negative effects of social media have created a perfect storm for what has been called a mental health crisis.  

How Indian classical music can help  

The role of classical music in supporting wellbeing and development, for example, decreasing stress and blood pressure, relieving pain and aiding sleep is well known.  For children and young people Indian classical music can help manage stress and anxiety. That’s because it can help regulate emotions and provide a much-needed break from overstimulation. While some of the benefits come from the nature and structural format of the artform itself, there is potent healing in the practice of learning – rather than simply listening – to Indian classical music.  

It grounds you.  

Raga music has been found to have a calming effect on children due to its slow and repetitive patterns. Like the lull of rhythmic waves or the reassuring drone of the tanpura, these help regulate breathing and heart rate, leading to a reduction in stress and anxiety. Specific ragas have been found to be uplifting, calming and relaxing.  

Additionally, the use of specific notes and rhythms in raga music can stimulate the production of dopamine and serotonin in the brain, which can enhance the mood and overall sense of well-being, as evidenced by some emerging studies, especially around special needs children.   

And by virtue of the holistic connection with nature and ragas based on different times of day or cyclical nature of seasons, the music resonates with us at a deeper, molecular level.  

As a result, children and young people feel soothed and settled in a turbulent world.  

Learning Indian classical music helps children feel part of something greater than themselves. 

Raga music also stirs a sense of awe, belonging and oneness with the universe. 

Part of a rich tradition that has been passed down since Ancient Vedic times, Indian classical music is steeped in culture, heritage and a rich awareness of the interconnectedness of natural rhythms. 

Since it is often performed in a communal setting, such as at a concert or during religious ceremonies, the live experience of Indian classical music fosters a sense of collective experience and belonging.  

The repetitive patterns and improvisational elements of raga music can also induce a meditative state, allowing listeners to lose themselves in the music and feel a connection to something larger than themselves – something beautiful, sublime and profound.  

Learning raga music from India can help young minds understand this legacy, view their place in the world through a holistic lens, and begin to see that demarcations and rigid boundaries are rarely as unyielding as we would believe.  

Instead, children soon realise that the world we inhabit is fluid and harmonious, leading to a virtuous cycle of more tolerance and fluidity – essential traits in this globally interconnected age.  

It helps develop emotional intelligence  

In a less abstract way, learning Indian classical music advances students’ ability to navigate the world around them. Students who learn raga music may demonstrate better attention spans, higher engagement in school, more fruitful relationships and the ability to be more empathic.  

One reason for this is because of the role of Indian classical music in developing emotional intelligence.  

Emotional intelligence might not enjoy the laurels and lauded spotlight of IQ tests. Yet, it’s becoming painfully more obvious that our emotional intelligence is a crucial life skill.  It helps students work through challenges, respond to situations effectively and create meaningful connections.  

So, how exactly does learning Indian classical music help your child’s emotional intelligence?  

Beyond physical and spatial awareness, emotional awareness (knowing why and how we respond to certain stimuli in a specific way) helps us be more conscious about how we feel – as well as the feelings of others.  

A 2022 study about music school students’ ability to cope with stress argues that, “…students with an appropriate, elevated level of emotional intelligence have an increased probability not only of functioning well at school or in the music profession but also of maintaining mental well-being and even better health.” 

Strikingly, prior research suggests that the length of musical training increases the level of emotional intelligence further.  

This means that the decades of dedicated riyaz (practice) that Indian classical music often entails is all feeding into the slow, yet steady, development of discipline, mindfulness and emotional intelligence. In an age of multiple windows, frenzied multi-tasking and shortened attention spans, the reverence and sanctity the art form demands feeds a greater degree of awareness – as well as empathy. 

Ultimately, this leads to greater resilience, courage and self-assurance, slashing anxiety and reducing depressive symptoms.   

It allows children to delve into emotions, giving credence to better coping mechanisms  

Emotionally, the evocation of strong emotions and dedicated focus on self-expression can help children thrive.  

And Indian classical music, with its core focus on evoking the concentrated essence of emotion, perpetuates a system of acknowledging, valuing and celebrating different emotional states.  

In Indian classical music, rasa refers to the artistic tastes evoked by each piece, and Bhavas, or emotions, inform each rasa. Together, rasa and bhava form the bedrock of modern-day psychology, and having young learners be familiar with the syntax and grammar of the emotions of music is a profound opportunity.    

Studies reveal how such avenues increase emotional intelligence and self-regulation, as well as fostering an awareness of the moods and feelings that are universal – yet intensely personal – all at the same time.  

Lastly, the art of learning Indian classical music, in all its subtlety, nuances, deep improvisation and encompassing rigour gives students a well-earned feeling of mastery and achievement. Critically acclaimed Indian classical musicians often speak of the artform as an ocean with no limits to learning and propelling a child down such a gentle yet uplifting path breeds respect, patience, happiness and hope.  

And of course, it goes without saying that in an art form centreed upon oneness with the natural rhythms of the universe, primordial sounds and eons of historical tradition, learning Indian classical music allows your child to feel not only connected, but hopeful, happy and well.  

Sometimes, that’s the best way to restore faith in the planet, in humanity and in oneself.