It goes without saying: You want the best for your children throughout life, but especially during the formative years. So, you try to involve them in as many enjoyable, constructive activities as possible – little league, dance, soccer, swimming classes and music lessons.
While all these activities will contribute to a child’s physical, intellectual and social development, scientists and educators are beginning to realize that early, positive musical experience is uniquely important for children.
Children take to music naturally. Musical sounds are among the first stimuli an infant responds to, and toddlers instinctively weave music into their activities. Children everywhere bring music into their games, their interactions with other children and adults, and employ it as an inner companion to their exploration of the world around them.
Musical activities provide children with important experiences that can help them develop physical coordination, timing, memory, visual, aural and language skills. When they work to increase their command of music and exercise musical skills in the company of others, they gain important experience with self-paced learning, mental concentration and a heightened personal and social awareness.
It’s all over the media: music is good for children (and for their parents)!
· Music significantly aids in improving the fundamental areas of child development: physical, cognitive, language, social, and emotional.
· Studies with preschoolers have shown that those children receiving music training performed 34% higher on tests measuring spatial-temporal ability, indicating that music enhances higher brain functions required for math and science.
· Studies also show that music training generates the neural connections used for abstract reasoning, the so-called “hard-wiring” of neural connections.
· Children who have participated in music perform better in reading and language, and have higher self-esteem.
· Musical activities, especially those with a holistic approach (like LeAnn’s Kids in Music), can help children develop physical coordination, timing, memory, visual, aural and language skills.
Studies aside, there are other definite benefits:
· An appreciation for beauty in art and in the world around us.
· Hearing the music of the planet – the music in nature, in faces, in silence…
· The satisfaction of contributing to a successful performance – teamwork in the arts!