Will Music Really Make Your Child Smarter?

The nineties have been the decade for widespread news about the affects of music on the brain. Everyone seems to be asking about the "Mozart Effect", specifically what it is and how to use it to their child's benefit. It is certainly an exciting time to be a music educator and a parent. We are finally able to look at documented research that shows that music is integral to a child's growth, and use this information to help our children achieve their full potential. What more do we want as parents than to give our children all of the tools necessary to become happy, well-adjusted, intelligent human beings?

Unfortunately, like most popular theories, the "Mozart Effect" has become watered down in an effort by some people to make more money at the expense of the general public. You can go into any bookstore nowadays and buy "Mozart Effect" books, videos, tapes, and even bumper stickers.

In researching this article I did just that at several local music stores, as well as on the internet. I looked first in the music section, and when I didn't find any books on the subject, wandered over to the children's section with my 2 year old daughter. Again, aside from a mixed assortment of compact discs with music for children's brains, I found nothing of real value for research. Curious, I went to the information counter where I was told that the "Mozart Effect" books, written by Don Campell, were to be found in the "alternative medicine" section! And, they were all sold out. That gave me my first clue that something very interesting was happening on this subject. I decided to research further in the library and on the internet.

The term "Mozart Effect" has come to simplify (by Don Campbell et al) a large body of research by neuro-scientists and experimental psychiatrists showing a definitive link between music study and improved spatial intelligence. This is nothing to be taken lightly. Children are born with over 100 billion unconnected or loosely connected nerve cells called neurons. Every experience that child has will strengthen or even create links between neurons. Those pathways that remain unused will, after some time, die. Because neural connections are responsible for every kind of intelligence, a child's brain will develop to its full potential only through exposure to enriching experiences. It is important then, to identify the kinds of enrichment that forges the links between neurons.

Music has been clearly proven to improve neurological connections responsible for spatial intelligence. Spatial intelligence is necessary for a person to be able to see patterns in space and time. It is the ability to perceive the visual world accurately and to form mental images of physical objects. This kind of intelligence is used for higher brain functions such as music, complex math, solving puzzles, reasoning, and chess. Music specialists for years have noted that their musically-trained and involved students tend to be at the top of their class, often outscoring their non-musical classmates in mathematical tasks. Until recently, however, there was no way to clearly prove it.

Definitive studies have been done since the early 1980's when Dr. Gordon Shaw and colleagues presented the trion model of the brain's neuronal structure to the National Academy of Sciences. By 1990 the team had shown through computer experiments that trion firing patterns produce viable music, when these patterns are mapped onto musical pitches. This study was important in that it suggested that this musical model could be used to examine creativity in higher cognitive functions, such as mathematics and chess, which are similar to music. By 1991, Shaw proposed that music could be considered a "pre-language" and that early childhood music training exercises the brain for some higher cognitive structures.

In 1993 at UCal Irvine, Dr. Frances Rauscher, a Columbia PH.D. scientist and former concert cellist, joined the Shaw team in documenting a pilot study of the earlier research, but now directly applying their findings to people. This preliminary study showed that a group of college students temporarily improved their spatial-reasoning skills after listening to a Mozart piano sonata for 10 minutes. The same study applied to preschool children showed a more permanent improvement.

By 1997, the Rauscher-Shaw team had significant evidence suggesting the benefits of music to children's spatial intelligence. The team studied three separate groups of preschoolers. The first group received specialized music training, particularly weekly keyboard lessons; the second group received specialized computer training; the third group received no specialized training at all. After several months, the team tested the children using tests designed to measure spatial tasks. Those children who received the keyboard lessons performed 34% better than the children who had taken either computer lessons, or no lessons. And, the effects of the keyboard training was long-term, suggesting that their may indeed be a learning "window" in early childhood, where we may enhance the connections of neurons forever.

Other research has suggested the same thing--that music training in early childhood indeed helps a child's brain to develop. In the Winter '95 issue of Early Childhood Connections (ECC), Dr. Edwin E. Gordon, talks about a Music Learning Window. He says, "A child will never have a higher level of music aptitude than at the moment of birth... A child's potential to achieve in music remains throughout life where it stabilizes at age 9." Harvard Medical School's Dr. Gottfried Schlaug, found (through magnetic-resonance-imaging of musicians who began training before age 7, began later, and non-musicians) that certain regions of the brain are larger in musicians who started their musical training before age 7.

Now we have an entire scientific collection of data suggesting what music educators have known for centuries-- that music has a definitive effect on children's developments.

So, what do we, as parents, do with this information? Here are some suggestions:

1. Although listening to well-structured and performed music such as Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach certainly is wonderful for exposure to the arts, it is not simply by listening to music that your child's brain develops. All of the research has shown that music TRAINING is required. This means getting your children into music lessons early, while the music learning window is at its peak before age 9. Piano lessons seem to be exceptionally helpful, as the keyboard is symmetrical, balanced, and logical.

2. Support your child's local music programs in schools, churches, synagogues, etc. Here you will find skilled, educated music instructors who will bring new musical experiences to your child, including an appreciation for music in culture, history, and pure listening enjoyment. Demand a quality music education for your children throughout their lives.

3. Reevaluate where music fits into your home. Question why music traditions and activities, once central to family life, have been replaced by mass-market entertainment requiring no familial participation. Get off the couch and onto the floor and sing, dance, play instruments with your child.

Paula Penna, MMed., BMus. is the owner and director of MusicMakers, LLC and The MusicMakers Academy in Manchester, CT. She has a Masters degree in Music Education and Arts Administration from Florida State University, and a Bachelors degree in Music Education and art history. She is a publicly certified music teacher (pre K-12, choral, orchestral, and band). After teaching in the public schools in Westchester County, NY she worked as the Associate Director of Educational Outreach at the famed Manhattan School of Music (university level) where she wrote curriculum and trained the graduate students in how to teach music.

While at MSM she worked with teaching artists such as John Bertles, Pinkus Zuckerman, Itzhak Perlman, and Herbie Hancock to help bring music into the inner city schools which did not have music programs. She also sat on the Arts Roundtable of New York City, often encouraging advocacy for music education for all children. Moving to Connecticut to have her first child in 1996, she started MusicMakers Lessons at Home, which eventually grew to MusicMakers Academy, a classical music school with a progressive attitude. She resides in Connecticut where she is currently working on publishing her own books and resources for music education and etiquette.

Developing a Musical Child

"Music has a power of forming the character, and should therefore be introduced into the education of the young." ~Socrates

Parents who put their children to musical learning at a young age must have known that they are putting in a very good investment. All the more enlightened are parents who enroll their young in MUSIC and MOVEMENT classes, where a musical child is developed before a child musician is made.

In a musical environment where foundational musical experiences involving the whole child - mind, body and spirit - form the basis of the developmental process, a solid musical foundation is laid that ensures much more sustainable musical development for the child in years to come. Such musical foundation includes developing a true passion and motivation for this art, musical discernment, auditory acuity, pitch and rhythmic competence, motor coordination, and expressiveness.

As an area of learning, music is a challenging topic that requires perseverance and inspirations. Many children had 'fallen out' with their musical pursuit within a short time because they were 'jump-started' in their musical development, going into learning to play an instrument before any of the above musical skills were in place. It is evident in children who were fortunate enough to be nurtured musically before being put to the rigors of formal music instructions, which they are much more likely to thrive and succeed in playing the instrument well.

The type of pre-instrumental music instructions that nurtures holistically a musical child should be started as early as infancy, but taken to a higher plane at 4 - 6 years of age. These are often weekly group sessions that engage children in a fun and developmentally appropriate manner. The following areas of development must be in place:

• Vocal development - the voice is the most important musical instrument that every child possesses. A musical child ought to be able to sing in pitch.

• Listening development - the human ear is able to process information and discriminate between sound sources and discern qualities of sounds. It also governs attention and focus. A musical child will have a high command of this important sensory faculty.

• Movement development - dexterity, and coordination are motor skills required to play instruments well. Children who have danced and moved and experienced use of their body in a variety of ways will be able to transfer the same skills onto instrumental playing with ease. Music, when played expressively on an instrument, needs to be supported by an equally expressive body movement. A musical child will be relaxed and uninhibited in expressing his music through the body.

• Simple Instrumental Play that promotes eye-hand coordination and pitch association - the skill of reading music and playing at the same time is a challenge faced by many musicians. A young child can be prepared for this by working with simple melodic instruments like xylophones or glockenspiels.

• Musical ensemble works - music is a community art form that is most enjoyable when playing together with others. Different tasks requiring different levels of competence in a musical ensemble allow children of different abilities to enjoy playing together and making 'complex' music. Ensemble opportunities in music classes also promote focus and confidence - both important traits for musicians.

• Music Literacy - reading and writing and composing music can be as easy as ABC if the child starts learning musical notations and putting them in musical context. This can start at age 4.

• Learning about musical styles and genres, composers, musical instruments, and musical terminology - these are all knowledge that widens a musical child's horizon.

To accomplish all these, the weekly session should be at least 60 minutes long and preferably inclusive of parents or caregiver in a portion of the session. So that each child gets sufficient individual attention, the group should not be larger than 12 - 15.

If the child loves what he does in a music class, he will be much more likely to make music his life-long passion, whether or not he chooses the path of becoming a professional musician.

The Musical Classroom Experience:

• Vocal enhancement and singing - The use of musical language may sound odd to the average person, but it plays a vital role in preparing children for reading and writing easy rhythm patterns. You will hear tonal sounds like "do", "re" "mi" and combination of rhythm and pitch like "mi-mi", "ti-ti" and "fa-fa". This is the language of music.

• Moving - Children already love to dance, and this kind of musical program encourages moving and dancing to the rhythms of musical pieces. This exercise helps improve coordination and promotes musicianship.

• Musical reading and writing - Children learn about pitch, rhythmic notation, melodic notation and musical notes which will lead to their own compositions over the course of these classes.

• Attentive listening - Since young children love music already, they will be attentive and focused on learning the sounds of various instruments and develop the ability to identify them. Music classes like these also aid in learning more about the works of the master composers.

• Musical instrument exploration - The children will be given real instruments including percussion, stringed, keyboards and woodwind instruments in order to introduce them to all the choices they have in them. This opens up the opportunity for musical development before starting any kind of formal lessons.

Music plays a vital role in not only the musical development of children, but also vocabulary, verbal skills, math, emotional self-control and physical coordination. This is one of the best ways to give your child the gift of an early musical education that you can share with them.

For more information about music for children, visit Kindermusik Asia.

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When Should My Child Begin Music Lessons? A Comparison of Waldorf and Suzuki Philosophies

I am a trained Waldorf early childhood teacher and have also completed training as a "Music Together" teacher (a music and movement program for preschoolers and their parents) through the Center for Music and Young Children in Princeton, NJ. In addition, I am a Suzuki parent and a strong supporter of Suzuki music education. I have been interested in comparing the similarities and differences between Suzuki and Waldorf pedagogy ever since discovering how much they share in common.

In spite of the number of similarities in approach, one fundamental difference between the two approaches is regarding the age at which a child should begin formal music instruction. Suzuki students are encouraged to begin instrumental lessons as early as age two or three. On the other hand, students in a Waldorf school do not begin lessons with string instruments until third or fourth grade. My personal opinion is that Suzuki, for many children, starts too early, and that Waldorf schools may start too late. Based on my research and observation, I believe that age seven is a more appropriate age for most children to begin private music lessons -- for many of the same reasons that make seven the ideal age for a child to begin formal, academic learning at school, according to Waldorf philosophy.

In Waldorf pedagogy, formal academic learning does not begin until, ideally the age of seven. This comes after a period of intense growth during the first seven years of life, after which, according to Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Waldorf education, the child's "etheric" or life forces are freed up for more cognitive pursuits. As a child of seven is better able to sit and focus on formal "lessons" than a younger child, so a child of this age would be better able to focus on formal music instruction, and to be capable of practicing. I have questioned many different music teachers - Suzuki teachers, traditional music teachers and Waldorf music teachers -- on whether there is a great advantage to starting children on an instrument as early as three- to five-years old and, by and large, most teachers I've talked to seem to agree that children who start when they are older (say, seven or eight) are not at a disadvantage; they are usually able to catch up quickly with the children who have been taking lessons since they were much younger.

Within a few months of starting cello, I observed that my seven-year-old caught up to the same place as another seven-year-old boy in his class who'd been playing for a full two years. My child, I would say, has fairly average musical ability. He is musical, but not precocious.

I think it is unnatural for a child under seven to be asked to sit down and practice an instrument daily, no matter how short or playful the practice session. I feel strongly that children under seven should be moving, playing and engaged in their imagination without the pressure or stress of practicing, or worse, performing. They are learning an enormous amount -- taking in the world through their senses, developing their imaginations through play and the experience of life. This short and precious period of childhood should be free from the pressures of performing and feeling the need to please others.

On the other hand, most Waldorf schools don't start teaching strings until third or fourth grade. I worry that this is too late. Recent brain research indicates that there is a musical learning "window" of opportunity that closes around the age of nine (similar to the "window" for language acquisition). Based upon my research and observation, I believe that it is more difficult, though certainly not impossible, for children to become proficient at an instrument if they start after the age of nine. Waldorf students are, of course, learning to play the pentatonic flute, and often the soprano recorder, before the age of nine, which is absolutely beneficial and helps to develop the student's musical ear. There are many Waldorf teachers who would argue that learning to play a stringed instrument or the piano would be inappropriate for a child under nine. I do not agree with them. My own experience with my children has been entirely rewarding and positive, having started them with music lessons at ages seven and eight.

I also recommend waiting until a child begins to show an interest in learning to play an instrument before offering private music instruction. Children are much more likely to be self-motivated when there is a genuine and personal interest in learning to play an instrument. I have observed very few children who have expressed an interest in learning to play an instrument before the age of 5-7. Of course, there are some children who really are musically precocious and may, in fact, prove to be prodigious musical students. If your child is relentless in demanding to learn a particular instrument, I would advise listening to them and taking advantage of his interest.

If you decide to pursue music education for your child under seven I would highly recommend - no, I would BEG you - to find a Suzuki teacher. A good Suzuki teacher, like a good Waldorf, teacher, teaches out of imitation and in a playful, imaginative way. The emphasis should be on the process, not on the product.

Another similarity between Suzuki method and Waldorf education is that children are taught to play beautiful music by memory and ear before they are able to read music -- just the way Waldorf students are able to recite beautiful poetry by heart before they are able to read or write. Learning to play music precedes learning to read music, just as in human development learning to speak always precedes learning to read and write. Learning to read music should not be attempted before the child is able to read language.

Readers of Dr. Suzuki's book Nurtured by Love, will come across much philosophy that is similar to Rudolf Steiner's. (It is interesting to note that both lived in Germany during the same period of time.) Dr. Suzuki emphasizes that it is far more important for a child to strive to become a beautiful person on the inside, than the most technically proficient musician. By nurturing beautiful feelings in the child, beautiful music will be produced.

The most important thing one can do musically for a child under seven is to expose them to lots and lots music, especially the human voice. Sing to them and with them all the time! Sing even if you think you can't -- your child will not be critical, and will appreciate your effort more than you can imagine. I think it's also of great benefit to let children hear live music being played so that they learn that music is something that human beings make, and are not just mechanical sounds that come out of an electronic box. Research indicates that that listening to music (and lots of different kinds and tonalities) early in life is what develops a child's musical ear. So that even if a child doesn't begin formal music instruction until age nine or later, by having been exposed to many types of music and different qualities of tone, that child will still have developed musically during her early childhood.

Sera Jane Smolen, Ph.D., a cellist who has also taught music in a Waldorf school and wrote her thesis on a comparison of Waldorf and Suzuki methods, once told me that no world-class musician (that is to say, the Yo Yo Ma's and the Emanuel Ax's of the world) ever started music instruction later than the age of five. This statement is likely to give many parents pause. But then she asked me, "Is our goal to raise world-class musicians, or Martin Luther Kings?" Do we offer our children music lessons because we want to produce a prodigy, or do we do it to nurture a love of music in child who may fulfill Dr. Suzuki's vision of bringing about world peace through music?

© Sarah Baldwin, M.S.Ed., 2009

Resources:

Shinichi Suzuki, Nurtured by Love: The Classic Approach to Talent Education, Suzuki Method International, 1986.

For more information on Suzuki music instruction, or to find a teacher, visit http://www.suzukiassociation.org/.

About Sarah Baldwin

Before becoming a Waldorf teacher, Sarah Baldwin studied theatre at Bard College and graduated from New York University with a degree in theatre. She worked professionally as an actress in New York City for ten years.

Upon the birth of her first child in 1992, Sarah realized that children were meant to be her life's work. She went on to teach "Music Together" classes for parents and toddlers; began a support and activity group for stay-at-home-mothers; and worked in mainstream preschool settings in Los Angeles before enrolling in the part-time teacher education program at the Waldorf Institute of Southern California in 1996. She completed Waldorf early childhood teacher training in 1999 at Sunbridge College in Spring Valley, NY, and received an M.S.Ed. in Waldorf early childhood education in 2004.

Sarah taught early childhood classes at the Ashwood Waldorf School in Rockport, ME over a period of ten years, and currently serves a member of the Board of Trustees at Spindlewood Waldorf Kindergarten and LifeWays Center in Lincolnville, ME. She is the author of Nurturing Children and Families: One Model of a Waldorf Parent/Child Program, published in 2004 by the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (WECAN).

Sarah recently became the new owner of Bella Luna Toys http://www.bellalunatoys.com, an online retail shop selling natural and wooden toys, inspired by Waldorf education.

Bella Luna Toys is proud to offer families a selection of the highest quality natural toys, designed to nourish a young child's senses and ignite the imagination. The collection includes wooden toys; play kitchens and playstands; Waldorf dolls; homeschool supplies; natural fiber craft supplies; non-toxic art materials; silk play cloths and dress-ups from Sarah's Silks; kinderlyres, toys from Haba; cooperative games; and heirloom-quality wooden trucks and trains made in Maine.