The benefits of early music

 

 

The benefits of early music Learning and performing music strengthens the synapses between brain cells, positively impacting the sensory and perceptual systems, cognitive abilities, fine and gross muscle action and coordination, the motivation or pleasure system, and learning memory. Group music activities encourage social awareness, and learning and remembering a song's nuances or memorizing a piece for performance engages memory. Music performs all of these tasks in an atmosphere of enjoyment, enthusiasm, creativity, and participation--the four essential elements for optimal early educational development. Good pitch discrimination has long been shown to help children learn to read, as it helps with the critical process of sounding out words. Researchers report that children taught with games and songs at the preschool level tend to test higher in reading all the way up to age 15, and that an IQ advantage of 10-20 points has frequently been observed. Studies have shown that playing an instrument as a child literally makes the brain grow, with certain neural regions expanding through frequent use just as muscles develop through exercise...The corpus callosum is significantly larger in musicians--particularly among those who began music studies before age seven. Listening to music, making music alone and with others, moving to rhythmic sounds, and ideally participating in early childhood music-instruction programs will help guide your child through all areas of development. Music as an activity engages nearly all sectors of the brain, positively impacting childhood development, cognitive abilities, and brain function. Excerpted from Healing at the Speed of Sound by Don Campbell (also of The Mozart Effect) and Alex Doman