Music and Child Development

Whether it be with our classes, another programme, or simply doing it on your own, bringing Music into children's lives is a key to promoting their development. Here’s how:

Language Development

• Songs input language in “chunks” rather than single word identification of objects. The "chunks" encourage the early association of sound with meaning.
• Melody actually helps children remember language.
• Research suggests songs support language development better than language alone.

Recognition and Recall

• Patterns in songs help children organize the “Sound Stream” and make sense of what they hear.
• Sounds perceived as “noteworthy” create a memory “trigger” that helps recall.
• Music helps to form network of neural connections that facilitate learning of songs and memory.
• Patterns provide a “temporal sequence” and sense of expectation.

Social/Emotional Development

• Music is extremely powerful to the pre-linguistic child! Meaning is conveyed through the “experience” rather than through words.
• Music offers communication without words.
• From 6 months on, children have conscious perception of external emotions, yet are unable to verbalize them.
• Emotions that can’t be verbalized are shared through music. Music creates bonding in ways that language cannot.