Music is a universal language. Studies have shown that people from diverse cultures and backgrounds are able to correctly infer the function of songs from cultures which they are unfamiliar. Simply hearing the structure of a song’s melody or beat is enough for most everyone to understand the feeling or purpose conveyed by the song. Other studies have shown that certain melodic lines transcend culture. Certain melodies or beats are familiar to many cultures independent of each other. This universal nature of music seems to be part of the human experience in general. All people have this innate ability to grasp some essence of a song. If as these studies show, a connection to music is not simply based on cultural experience, then even small children who have not had time to culturally assimilate can benefit from the universal power of music. This power music has to convey meaning is very unique and should be used for more than just anthropological discussions. What better tool can we use than music, to help our children learn essential pre-literacy skills that will help them develop their language, regardless of their culture or background?
Everyone is drawn to and relates to the elements of music. Since the beginning of history people have been creating instruments and making music. Like language, music is a powerful form of expression. Faith traditions have used music to express their beliefs and feelings for millennia. Artists use music to express their ideas, feelings, and inspirations. The average person turns to music to express themselves in times of grief, happiness, or relaxation. We often find ourselves turning to a particular song or type of music to complement the activity we are engaged in. It is as if we often need a soundtrack for our lives, whatever we might be doing. If you were able to watch your favorite movie without any music, just the speaking, you will quickly realize how powerful music is at conveying the feeling of a moment and influencing our emotions. They give Academy Awards for best musical score and best song for a reason, music makes emotion. Music can change the feeling in a room. Retailers understand this. Stores use music to generate more sales. The music played in a retail environment is often just as important as the products being sold. Music allows stores to create or add to the environment they want. Our environments greatly influence our moods and reinforce our sensibilities. Music sets the mood in any situation we are in.
Putting words, letters, or sounds to a melody makes them more memorable and easier to remember, learn, and use. The same goes for Beats and Rhythms. Music draws attention to an activity. It easily engages children and captures their attention much more than simply hearing words alone. Not only does music capture children’s attention, it is also more engaging for a longer period of time that hearing words. With their immature attention spans and processing abilities speech alone does not maintain children’s attention. Melodies or tunes added to speech make it more engaging and greatly improves children’s ability to maintain their attention on a task. Greater attention, for longer periods of time, translates into greater processing and eventually greater recall and use of concepts taught. Music is age appropriate for the age group where pre-literacy skills are being taught. Music helps maximize their short attention spans.
In addition to these benefits, combing words and music creates a multi-stimuli experience. Instead of simply hearing words or concepts, the child also hears the musical elements that activate additional regions of the brain to assist with processing. Combining concepts with music opens up unique pathways in the brain for the learner to more easily recall and use those concepts. Many of the areas of the brain that process language also process music. This helps the child’s brain build stronger pathways.
Kids love music. When lessons are combined with music they don’t see the activities as learning, they see it as fun. This enjoyment encourages students to return to the concept and practice it without even be prompted or reminded. It stays on their mind and they continually practice it in their head or out loud. If a child is taught a pre-literacy skill you are not going to find them using that skill for fun when they are on their own. If that pre-literacy skill is put to music, you most likely will find them repeating that song to themselves.
Music activities create a situation where other senses can also be involved. Music allows for activities that also include touch, movement, and sight. This allows for multi-sensory activities that non-music activities wouldn’t allow for. Children are very curious about instruments and new things they haven’t been exposed to before. They want to touch, hold, and use these instruments. These additional stimuli fire neurons in their brains and again, help build stronger pathways that lead to greater learning and recall.
Fifty years ago children’s television shows such as Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers started using music to teach concepts to children. Pairing songs with phonics and other pre-literacy skills simply seemed like a way to make things fun for the kids but modern neurological research shows that it more than just a fun thing to do. We now see that this pairing of music and literacy lessons does improve children’s abilities.
For 20 years, the Be Sharp Learn Through Music activities have been helping children learn pre-literacy skills more effectively than standard approaches. We invite you to look at our offerings and see how they can help the children in your life enjoy their literacy development journey!
Sources:
https://phys.org/news/2018-01-music-universal-language.html
https://thinkgrowth.org/stores-are-using-music-to-make-you-spend-more-d6c85974b20b
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/did-sesame-street-have-it-right/
