Singing to babies is common in many different cultures. There are many benefits to exposing children to music at an early age. There is evidence that babies like songs and music. It is also possible that music has a calming effect on infants. There is research illustrating that playing music for premature infants decreases the amount of time they spend crying, and betters their physical health. Although the evidence is not clear about whether hearing music helps babies with learning, exposing them to music may be helpful for remembering information. Music and language have been compared in some different studies – as they are quite similar. They both have certain rules and are used to express feelings and ideas. Similar to how babies naturally learn many rules of language quite young, they learn some properties of music at a very young age. By 6 months many of them can understand when a song goes up in pitch.
Learning to play an instrument at a young age can also be beneficial to many areas of development – as learning to play before age 7 makes greater connections in the parts of the brain responsible for movement. Learning to play an instrument could get the brain ready for the coordination needed to play that instrument later on.
There have been both correlational and experimental studies relating learning a musical instrument to increased skills in language, reading, and math skills. In experimental studies in which children were randomly assigned to get music lessons or another type of lesson – like computer classes – the music training itself was found to be helpful for building academic skills. For many of these results, the children experienced more benefits the longer they played and the easier in life that they started playing. Additionally, musical lessons can also increase a child’s IQ, and these benefits may last into young adulthood and the college years.
It is also important to recognize that music training can be unaffordable and inaccessible for many families. It is a great opportunity to get involved with school music programs or free group sessions at the library or music schools. Singing and dancing casually with children is also free and beneficial – sharing music at home may contribute to pro-social skills.
Ethel Dvoskin
Research Assistant, UCONN KIDS
Article Link: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-baby-scientist/202109/why-music-matters