Why learn music?
Here are just a few articles that support Music instruction in Early Childhood (Toddler through Age 8)
The Importance of Music in Early Childhood by Lili M. Levinowitz from General Music Today, Fall 1998
Lili M. Levinowitz is a professor of music education at Rowan University of New Jersey, Glassboro.
Music is a way of knowing. According to Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner (1983), music intelligence is equal in importance to logical - mathematical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, spatial intelligence, bodily - kinesthetic intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, and intrapersonal intelligence. According to Thomas Armstrong (1994,5), "Intelligence is galvanized by participation in some kind of culturally valued activity and that the individual's growth in such an activity follows a developmental pattern; each activity has its own time arising in early childhood."
Making music is as much a basic life skill as walking or talking. Peery and Peery (1987) suggest that it is desirable for children to be exposed to, trained in, And enculturated with music for its own sake. That is, it is a birthright for all people to be able to sing in tune and march to a beat (Levinowitz and Guilmartin, 1989, 1992, 1996). To ensure a comprehensive learning experience, music must be included in early childhood. Practically speaking, the argument that music education is a frill finds no objective support.
The importance of music instruction for music development during the early years of childhood has been widely investigated since World War II. The Pillsbury studies (1937 - 1958) (Moorhead and Pond, 1977) provided the first glimpse into preschool children's musical lives and informed us about the nature of their spontaneous music behavior. Characteristic music performances of young children provide a window through which music psychologists and educators can understand the sequence of the child's developing music skills.
The Early Childhood Music Connection to Brain Development has been studied :From Early Childhood Music (www.earlychildhoodmusic.net)
Studies show that early experiences determine which brain cells (neurons) will connect with other brain cells, and which ones will die away. Because neural connections are responsible for all types of intelligence, a child’s brain develops to its full potential only with exposure to the necessary enriching experiences in early childhood. What Drs. Rauscher and Shaw have emphasized has been the causal relationship between early music training and the development of the neural circuitry that governs spatial intelligence. Their studies indicate that music training generates the neural connections used for abstract reasoning, including those necessary for understanding mathematical concepts." (Music Beats Computers at Enhancing Early Childhood Development, American Music Conference via PR NEWSWIRE: Neurological Research, February 1997)
Early Childhood Music Lessons Help Older Brains
A new study published in The Journal of Neuroscience demonstrates the lasting benefit of taking music lessons as a child, even if you haven't picked up an instrument in decades. Researchers at Northwestern University studied the brains of 44 adults ages 55 to 76 to see how fast their brains could process sounds. They discovered that those who'd had four to 14 years of music training early in life were a millisecond faster at responding to an audio cue than adults without any musical training. While a millisecond doesn’t sound like much, researchers say it highlights how early investment in the brain continues to pay dividends later in life. “The fact that musical training in childhood affected the timing of the response to speech in older adults in our study is especially telling because neural timing is the first to go in the aging adult,” lead researcher Nina Kraus said in a statement.
The Importance of Music in Early Childhood by Lili M. Levinowitz from General Music Today, Fall 1998
Lili M. Levinowitz is a professor of music education at Rowan University of New Jersey, Glassboro.
Music is a way of knowing. According to Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner (1983), music intelligence is equal in importance to logical - mathematical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, spatial intelligence, bodily - kinesthetic intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, and intrapersonal intelligence. According to Thomas Armstrong (1994,5), "Intelligence is galvanized by participation in some kind of culturally valued activity and that the individual's growth in such an activity follows a developmental pattern; each activity has its own time arising in early childhood."
Making music is as much a basic life skill as walking or talking. Peery and Peery (1987) suggest that it is desirable for children to be exposed to, trained in, And enculturated with music for its own sake. That is, it is a birthright for all people to be able to sing in tune and march to a beat (Levinowitz and Guilmartin, 1989, 1992, 1996). To ensure a comprehensive learning experience, music must be included in early childhood. Practically speaking, the argument that music education is a frill finds no objective support.
The importance of music instruction for music development during the early years of childhood has been widely investigated since World War II. The Pillsbury studies (1937 - 1958) (Moorhead and Pond, 1977) provided the first glimpse into preschool children's musical lives and informed us about the nature of their spontaneous music behavior. Characteristic music performances of young children provide a window through which music psychologists and educators can understand the sequence of the child's developing music skills.
The Early Childhood Music Connection to Brain Development has been studied :From Early Childhood Music (www.earlychildhoodmusic.net)
Studies show that early experiences determine which brain cells (neurons) will connect with other brain cells, and which ones will die away. Because neural connections are responsible for all types of intelligence, a child’s brain develops to its full potential only with exposure to the necessary enriching experiences in early childhood. What Drs. Rauscher and Shaw have emphasized has been the causal relationship between early music training and the development of the neural circuitry that governs spatial intelligence. Their studies indicate that music training generates the neural connections used for abstract reasoning, including those necessary for understanding mathematical concepts." (Music Beats Computers at Enhancing Early Childhood Development, American Music Conference via PR NEWSWIRE: Neurological Research, February 1997)
Early Childhood Music Lessons Help Older Brains
A new study published in The Journal of Neuroscience demonstrates the lasting benefit of taking music lessons as a child, even if you haven't picked up an instrument in decades. Researchers at Northwestern University studied the brains of 44 adults ages 55 to 76 to see how fast their brains could process sounds. They discovered that those who'd had four to 14 years of music training early in life were a millisecond faster at responding to an audio cue than adults without any musical training. While a millisecond doesn’t sound like much, researchers say it highlights how early investment in the brain continues to pay dividends later in life. “The fact that musical training in childhood affected the timing of the response to speech in older adults in our study is especially telling because neural timing is the first to go in the aging adult,” lead researcher Nina Kraus said in a statement.