By Lauren McDougle
This article is part of the Awakening the Natural Musician in Your Child series. 1
Singer songwriter Tori Amos. Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan. Jazz band leader Cab Calloway. Film score composer Philip Glass. Producer Pharrell Williams. All of these accomplished and award-winning musicians and artists found their musical roots at an early age. These talented performers sought out their passion for rhythm and melody, and filled their lives with music.
“The point was that the world of music—its language, beauty, and mystery—was already urging itself on me. Some shift had already begun. Music was no longer a metaphor for the real world somewhere out there…the real part was, and is to this day, the music.”
Philip Glass, Words Without Music: A Memoir
Musicians participate in ensemble work all of the time, bonding through inspiration to create chord progressions, lyrics, and songs that can last lifetimes. But musical moments are not just beneficial to creative expression alone. Now more than ever, scientists and educators are developing a better understanding of the social and emotional benefits of community music making. Music gives people a voice for their shared culture. It encourages collaboration among people from diverse backgrounds, and songs can bring back strong memories and emotions from past experiences. The sooner that same spark is lit in your child, the better!
In “The Importance of Exposure to Music and Musical Play in the Early Years”, Susan Bialek introduced a number of ways to encourage musical growth. With babies and toddlers, community music making is as simple as singing songs and chanting nursery rhymes as a family. Adults should share music from their own childhood to strengthen generational connections.
These musical bonding experiences build strong families, and help children feel safe, loved, and secure. Folk songs allow family members to create new memories and rituals together through music making. In turn, adults can recall and share their experiences and special moments with their children. It is such a sweet moment to watch a grandmother sing a lullaby to her granddaughter. Nurturing moments, like singing lullabies, help children develop the confidence and empowerment to explore their world independently. Children will sing the songs almost anywhere, and even create new songs while they are playing as a way to tell a story and communicate. Some children may express themselves like singer and songwriter Tori Amos, who was creating and writing songs on the piano before age five. As is common with toddlers, these musical creations may start out a little wobbly, but confidence and skill will soon grow! They will benefit from continued singing and playing together and enrolling in early childhood music classes can also be considered.
Once a child is of school age, his or her sense of community will expand beyond the family and they will start to form new relationships with teachers and other children. In the music classroom, these relationships are developed with group singing, instrument performance, and playing singing games. These activities help children develop social skills such as sharing, empathy, respect, fairness, and generosity. In addition, these games provide an opportunity to experience losing with no real life consequences, and teach children conflict resolution and problem solving skills. Through play, children practice the real-world skills that will be valuable to them later in life, learning to manage and cope with change, loss, fear, anticipation, excitement, victory, and even, regret.2 Many music classes, such as those offered to the choristers of Children’s Chorus of Maryland and School of Music, offer these social opportunities as an integrated component of the musical experience.
Individuals that discover their musical passion as pre-teens and teenagers also benefit socially and emotionally from collaborating with other musicians. At this age, look for activities like singing in a choir, or do what Pharrell Williams did and join marching band. Age and experience increase musical ability, exposing teens to a broader range of performance experiences, music from other countries, cultures, and historical time periods. When teenagers studies music from other cultures, it not only strengthens their sense of personal identity, but expands their world view and changes the way they view others, helping them develop empathy and strengthen their intrapersonal intelligence, or sense of self.3
In addition to the cultural benefits of broad musical exposure, increased levels of difficulty provides children an opportunity to practice resiliency. Musicians cannot just give up – a quality ensemble is made from team work, hours of focused practice, and constructive criticism. In the YouTube demonstration, “Why an ‘A’ is Not Good Enough,” Bob Devonshire and his wind ensemble demonstrate the importance of self-efficacy and team work. It is not enough for a musician to just learn his or her music, but they must perform it perfectly and in sync with the rest of the ensemble to create a successful performance.4 This coordinated effort is no small feat and the hard work almost always results in a boost of confidence and self-esteem.
John Adams, the second President of the United States, said the arts were “critical to the success of society and the wellbeing of people.” Do what you can to get your children involved music making activities and performances. Attend quality musical performances in your community. Spend time listening to music together or singing as a family to increase relaxation, strengthen memory, and promote and reinforce cultural identity. Early music making will lay the foundations for musical citizenship, ensuring life-long music making, cultural understanding, and community involvement.
FEATURE IMAGE: Solfà students playing a musical game in class, 2011.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lauren McDougle, Education Director for Children’s Chorus of Maryland, teaches elementary school music in Baltimore public schools. She received her Bachelor’s in Music Education from Bowling Green State University and her Master’s of Education in Kodály Music Education from Loyola University. Lauren holds her Level I OrffSchulwerk Certification from the Eastman School of Music and teaches graduate level Materials classes at the American Kodály Institute at Loyola University.
"*" indicates required fields
Or reach us by phone at (410) 494-1480
