What are the advantages and disadvantages of a musical education ...

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‘Rhythm Time was designed to help children develop confidence, creativity, and coordination. It is also lots of fun and helps children to discover a love and understanding of music at an early age. There has been research that shows that taking part in pre-school music classes at a young age can help strengthen the neural pathways that develop language and memory. Music is an activity that helps to develop both the logical and creative sides of a baby’s brain. It is often the case that babies are able to sing before they can speak’ (2011). The benefits music can have on parent and child relationships: It has been argued that there is nothing more intense and powerful than that very first time a parent holds their newborn baby in their arms. What could be more beautiful than that first moment parent and child meet? At that very moment in time nothing is more precious than this unique bond that only they share. The early months of a baby’s life are crucial to the relationship between parent and child. Dr Tafuri, an expert in Infant Musicality, has said: ‘The relationship that the mother (and also the father) establishes with the newborn through song is more intense and elicits a more emotional response than speech’ (2008, P. 15). It has been a natural instinct for mothers to sing to their babies since the beginning of time and this newfound evidence that singing to your child is more effective than speech proves just how powerful a mother’s instincts truly are. Dr Tafuri also talks about how to recognize if a new-born is responding well to a certain piece of music: ‘The new-born are sensitive to sounds and musical stimuli; they demonstrate this with various gestures (for example, they bat their eyelids, open their eyes wide and stare, turn their head towards the source of the sound and stop crying)’ (2008, P. 10). Communicating through music doesn’t just play an important role in building a relationship between parent and child; it can also have huge benefits later in the child’s life. ‘We have seen how interactive communication between mother and infant benefits linguistic capacity as well as the sharing of emotions and social behaviour’ (Tafuri, 2008, P. 13). When a child starts school for the very first time, it is important that they do well academically, but almost more importantly, that they are able to communicate well with others, make friends, and are able to integrate well into their new surroundings. ‘Musical sounds enhance neuroplasticity—the ability of the brain to adapt and change to new experiences’ (McDermott, 2010). Music can have a positive effect on a child’s confidence and ability to work and play with others. It can also help to teach them valuable skills such as listening, responding, group work and communication. All of these are necessary skills when building relationships and adapting to new people and surroundings. Music Education in Regard to Children CM6002 Emily McGregor 163930 6
How music can benefit children with learning disabilities Music therapy is an important tool used to help children with learning disabilities. Music can have a huge impact on areas such as reading, reasoning ability, language development, feelings and response, communication, and motor control. Music therapy can help to capture the attention of children with learning disabilities in a way that many other mental and physical activities cannot. It can stimulate different parts of the brain and help children to become more in touch with their emotions. When working with children with special needs, the techniques that are used to teach children in mainstream schools may not be as effective. This doesn’t mean that children with special needs aren’t intelligent or cannot learn the same skills; it just means that the way in which they learn information is often different. Often children with learning disabilities take longer to become comfortable in new surroundings, and struggle to communicate their emotions, which can be very frustrating for them if they are not taught in the correct way and in the right environment. Many special needs children find it easier to communicate through music than they do through speech. Music therapy can be used as an effective way to teach children with learning disabilities in a way that is easy and clear for them to understand. There are various musical activities that can be used to help these children. Singing can be used to help language development and playing a variety of instruments or getting children to move to different kinds of music can help those with physical difficulties. In an article written on music therapy for children with learning disabilities, the writer, who is left unnamed, talks about the positive effects that singing can have on children with speech problems: ‘Singing may help in the improvement and maintenance of the pulmonary functioning and oral-motor skills. It also helps in improving rate of speech, breath-control, pronunciation and articulation skills. It also enhances feelings of self-worth, self- esteem and self-independence’ (admin, 2010). It is often the case that children who suffer from stammers and speech impediments are able to sing fluently although they have great difficulty when speaking. Many children and adults who stammer find it easier to talk if they use a sing-song style of talking. The rhythm and pace of using a sing-song technique makes it easier for speech to flow. Music therapy can be extremely effective when working with autistic children, as they can be extremely sensitive to music. Some autistic children are able to sing, despite not being able to speak. In these cases, music therapy uses simple songs with repetitive phrases to help to develop a child’s language and speech. Some autistic children have a remarkable talent for music, for example, some have perfect pitch while others have an outstanding ability to play a musical instrument. Vocal exercises can also help with listening skills, breath control and articulation. ‘Music is a unique path to communication and learning for children with autism’ (King, 2004, P.5). In her book ‘Music Therapy Group work with Special Needs Children’, the author Karen D. Goodman talks about how different styles and genres of music can be used to help children with particular disabilities: Music Education in Regard to Children CM6002 Emily McGregor 163930 7
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