Music can help in encouraging a child’s development

Karen Mackenzie outlines some of the latest research showing that music plays an important role in enhancing a child’s learning process and helps communication skills.

The Hungarian composer, teacher and psychologist, Zoltan Kodaly recommended that music education should begin nine months before the birth of the child! Music is a universal form of expression and is closely associated with expressing and sharing emotions. Recent research also suggests that it can enhance the learning process. Whether it is used as a tool to control, a support for educational progress or a means of communication, it is clearly a medium in which very young children, even babies, can express themselves.

Recent research amongst parents and carers in Mid-Kent suggests that increasingly technology is replacing the unaccompanied singing voice. The cassette or CD player in the car or at home, together with a range of children's videos seem to be replacing the practice of directly singing to
babies and young children. The child who is directly sung to enjoys face-to-face interaction, touch and the spontaneous adaptations of tempo, dynamics and mood as the song is sung. The recorded song cannot provide these stimuli.

The same research indicates that parents and carers who attend classes for singing with babies and children gain the confidence and the repertoire to sing at home in a relaxed and meaningful way. The songs become a shared and highly enjoyable part of communication. Recent research shows that English-speaking people of the Northern hemisphere tend to use play songs more than lullabies and yet studies and my own observations who that simple folk songs and lullabies offer immediate interest and satisfaction to very young children. Many parents and carers, however, are rueful that they do not know sufficient songs of this type.

A typical singing session for very young children might include simple songs and rhymes that encourage interaction between parent and child. The use of simple percussion instruments helps to develop co-ordination and aural discrimination. From 2-3 years old the children are encouraged to sing short solos and to keep a pulse on a drum or "music sticks". Circle dances are enjoyed at all ages and enable parents and children to experience the form and structure of a variety of music from around the world. From 3-4 years old the children become independent of their parents and learn to clap rhythms and sing a growing repertoire of songs. These classes are very popular and the children learn systematically, yet playfully. The musical context provides the opportunity for social skills, speech and physical development, creative ability and imagination to grow.

Karen Mackenzie (Early Years & Curriculum Specialist) teaches at the Kent Music School. For details of classes in your area or if your are interested in becoming a teacher for Early Years, contact Karen on 01622 814267 or email karenmusic@aol.com