The Magical Effect of Music on young children
By Jonathan Webster
The power of music has been known about for several millenia – especially when it comes to the development of children’s intelligence. Great philosophers such as Plato, Pythagorus and Confucius all discussed the profound and mysterious influence of music upon the body and the mind.
Plato said that ‘Music encodes ethical qualities in the human being and feeds them back to the soul.” He believed that if children were taught music and gymnastics, all subsequent
learning would be derived from those skills.
There is much recent scientific evidence to prove his theory was right (at least as regards the music part).
Parents will be interested to learn that – according to A. Pascual-Leone of Harvard Medical School:- “Playing a musical instrument demands extensive procedural and motor learning that results in…reorganisation of the human brain. These… changes seem to include the rapid unmasking of existing (neural) connections and the establishment of new ones.”
Music appears to help form neural pathways by encouraging links between brain cells, and it can promote positive mental growth.
For example, the main information channel between the two sides of the brain (i.e. the corpus callosum) grows larger as a result of musical stimulation. This creates a more efficient connection between the left and right hemispheres. This can help positively stimulate a whole range of key mental and physical processes including:-
1. General co-ordination skills.
2. Spatial reasoning skills
3. Memory functions
4. Language skills
5. Maths comprehension
6. Social skills
7. Mental and physical health
So what is the best music to get young children listening to? Well on the classical side it seems that there is much evidence to support the fact that Mozart’s music is the best of all.
Don Campbell (author of The Mozart Effect) nails it when he writes that: “...the melodies, rhythms and high frequencies of Mozart’s music stimulate and charge the creative and motivational regions of the brain. But perhaps the key to his greatness is that his music sounds so pure and simple,” which is why it appeals to children.
However, the music that children listen to does not have to be exclusively classical. Folk music has been found to be very good, and the famous music educators Kodaly and Carl Orff felt that it could be just as efficacious as classical music.
Furthermore, there is evidence to show that good, light jazz and even quality melodic pop (a la The Beatles and Abba) can be beneficial.
Most pre-school and primary schools now have music appreciation and small group or one-on-one instrumental lessons. However, if there is no music provision in the school that your child attends (or you feel that it is sub-standard) there are sure to be Saturday music schools in your area. Failing that, there are hundreds of excellent private teachers whose contact details can easily be Googled.
Children are inherently musical. It is up to us to help them develop their musicality, and the added benefits could be significant indeed. After all, what parent would not like to have better adjusted, more socially integrated, and calmer children.
USEFUL RESOURCES
Books:
- The Mozart Effect by Don Campbell (Hodder Mobius)
- Music Makes Your Child Smarter by Philip Sheppard (Artemis Editions).
CDs:
- Any collection of Mozart pieces on CD (see Naxos records for budget price)
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