Do kids who don't get music training early miss out?
April 16th 2008 02:00
Signature Tune
Research seems to suggest that music is learned, much like language, with the critical period for internalizing that development being in the first few years of life, even before a child reaches kindergarten age. Many scientists believe that early music training (and, some would say, the reading of poetry as well) prepares and enriches the brain for other, higher forms of learning. In research studies where children received music training and were then tested in puzzle-solving and other spatial intelligence challenges, the scores were significantly higher for those who had had the music lessons. Piano lessons, singing in a chorus, chanting, reciting, and other music skills seem to increase the ability to visualize the world accurately, a skill that leads to greater ability with math and engineering tasks. Listening skills, memorization, and other abilities are also improved in the process.
Parents may worry that if a child is not exposed to music early on, he or she will miss important developmental steps. While early exposure to music certainly enhances brain patterning and excites other abilities, music can be taken up at any age, with good results. The message is not to push your children into something they may not want, but rather to expose them to a variety of sights, sounds, and opportunities throughout their lives. Children can make music with simple percussion instruments in a classroom or on a keyboard. The radio offers a chance for children to learn to identify various musical instruments, while in the car or at home, and any parent can start a child off learning to sing and drum and dance to various rhythms.
Extracted from: Ask The Old Farmer's Almanac: Does music really make children math geniuses?
by Robert B. Thomas .... link attached
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Comment by the world of gaye
batty
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I really believe music is one of the great pleasures in our lives. I surrounded my son with music even before he was born, not because I wanted to force it on him, more because I wanted him to enjoy it. Music has sometimes been my salvation from an ugly scene at home as a child and been my friend when I felt so alone, I hope it will be all those things to him. He is now a professional entertainer and as a teenager was so immersed in his music he didn't have time to get into any trouble. That in itself was a good enough reason to lay out my money and have him taught piano and singing. Music is a joy everybody should experience, especially our kids,not in way where it is shoved down their throats, but in a way that they can appreciate the beauty of it.
Comment by katyzzz
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It's lovely to have your visit and your thoughtful comments, life is not just about achieving and learning in an academic way, is it?
I perhaps erred overly much that way.
Comment by the world of gaye
batty
Family Madness
bright lights greedy city
REFLECTIONS
THE WINDMILLS OF MY MIND