Originally published by Lynne Ransom of Music Together in 2002
Have you ever noticed how quickly a crying child stops crying when he hears
music? How often does fussing turn to delight when a grandparent picks up a
child to sing or dance with her? Music is a powerful force in early childhood because young children’s attention is tuned into the sounds around them. Hearing begins in utero at
the fourth month, and most children hear well by the time they are born. In fact, in a recent study, infants were able to pick out minute changes in melodies at the age of only one or two months.
While six-month-olds may not be ready for math, they are acutely attentive
to—and responsive to—musical sounds. Infants coo, gurgle, and flex their torsos
in response to music.
Toddlers shake rattles, bounce to the beat, and sing
occasional notes.
Three-year-olds often have favorite songs and instruments to play and can “lose themselves” in music.
Four-year-olds like to have an effect on
the activity—creating ways to move or inventing new words to songs. They
may play “teacher” and lead the family in their favorite activities at home.
“I like being in class with my mom and dad, because I like music class, and because they play instruments and hold me and dance,” says Mayim Stith, age three-and-a-half, of Princeton. “I like playing my own little instruments at home. I have a little piano and a white flute. I pretend I’m playing Music Together, marching up and down the hallway with a drum. I sing to my baby doll, and I sing to Joram, my brother.”
We hope you will join us for some
fascinating family music-making this
coming fall! —Lynne Ransom
