Article: "Music is Critical for Critical Thinking"
Critical thinking skills, such as the ability to use logic and reasoning in problem solving, are a vital part of every child’s growth and development. There are several approaches to developing these skills, but one of the most enjoyable is to simply incorporate music into your child’s world. The kind of music you choose is not significant; what is important is that you enjoy listening to it and that your enthusiasm is evident to your child. That being said, there are some definite benefits to exposing your child to classical music. Listening to classical music, such as that written by Mozart, exercises the same neurons used for mathematics and spatial reasoning. Children learn ratios, fractions and proportions when they learn rhythm. Exposure to the complex musical sounds heard in classical music can also improve your child’s ability to follow mazes, copy patterns and draw shapes. According to Dr. Frances Rauscher from the University of Wisconsin, music “helps improve children’s ability to reason abstractly, by strengthening neural firing patterns of the brain that are relevant to both musical and spatial cognition.”
In additional to boosting spatial and mathematical skills, music can aid in the development of speech. Singing simple songs with and to your child can teach them how language is built. Jessica Pitt from the Pre-School Music Association says “babies seem to learn best when songs are experienced through their bodies. Movement and music greatly enhance acquisition of language.”
Alongside the crucial skills of using logic and the ability to problem solve, social interaction skills are vital to your child’s success and happiness in life. Music can aid in the development of these, too. Dr. Alexandra Lamont, Lecturer in the Psychology of Music at the University of Keele, says: “children who take part in music develop higher levels of social cohesion and understanding of themselves and others, and the emotional aspect of musical activities seems to be beneficial for developing social skills like empathy.” And music allows and encourages self-expression and self-confidence to grow. For a child who finds it difficult to communicate verbally, music can be a creative outlet and a means of communication.
So is it necessary to sign your child up for piano lessons? Not really. The benefits music can impart are accessible to anyone. Even just making sure you have music playing at home can be enough. To further engage your child musically, try asking them how the music makes them feel. What colours can they hear when they hear the song play? What do they think about when they hear it? To engage kinesthetic learners, ask them to show you with their body what the music sounds like to them. Use simple rhythm instruments to allow them experience the music in their own body. Visual learners can be accommodated by asking them to draw what the music sounds like or to paint a picture as the music is playing. Ask them to use colours to show the emotion of the music. Auditory learners can be prompted to pay attention to the words (if there are any) and to describe how the words make them feel or what the words mean. They can also be encouraged to make up their own words to songs that have none or to make up a story to go along with the music.
School is an important venue for developing your child’s critical thinking skills, but so much of the groundwork can be laid at home. And, as with learning a second language, the first five years of your child’s life are the most readily accessible teaching times. Use music to foster the learning that is critical to the development of those critical skills.
Clare is a licensed Music Together teacher and director of Mills and Maples Music Together.
Originally published in the Lanark, Leeds and Grenville Parent-Child Guidebook, Winter 2007-2008. Reprinted with permission.