My husband won’t stop reminding me of a new research study we came across recently. Any time I disagree with him over anything, he reminds me that musicians are smarter than the rest of us, as reported this summer. And, therefore, he must be right. (He’s a professional musician and has studied music for 25+ years and played professionally for 19). So, I have to remind my husband that I studied viola, voice, & musical theater for many years, so that makes me right! Right?
…Moving on…
The one thing that I thought long and hard about after reading these research findings – something that is truly is amazing to me – is the amount of hard research surrounding the topic of the benefits of music education on babies, toddlers, kids, adults, & even senior citizens. In fact, this particular study found that “musicians might have brains that function better than their peers well into old age.”
As the Huffington Post reports:
Researchers tested the mental abilities of senior citizens and discovered that musicians performed better at a number of tests. In particular, musicians excelled at visual memory tasks. While musicians had similar verbal capabilities to non-musicians, the musicians’ ability to memorize new words was markedly better, too. Perhaps most importantly, the musicians’ IQ scores were higher overall than those who spent their lives listening to music rather than performing it.
Kindermusik just posted on this blog about how 6 year olds taking music lessons were shown to have enhanced IQs. This study shows that the benefit to intelligence and IQ lasts throughout life, well into the senior years. That leads to another very important point that I read. The research proved that the younger the musician was when he or she started playing an instrument, the sharper the mind in old age. Now, that doesn’t mean starting your toddler at piano lessons at age 2 is right either (there is an appropriate age for proper music instruction to start). But, it does mean that doing age-appropriate musical activities with your children from a very young age may actually help raise your child’s IQ and intelligence.
And, that’s why my family involves music in our every day life. We think Kindermusik music classes are essential to our son’s development. My oldest son, Marcus, who is 5 years old, has some special needs. He has epilepsy and, as a result of his abnormal brain activity and daily anticonvulsant medicine, has had some speech and language learning developments. Since he started his Kindermusik Young Child curriculum, which gives him the opportunity to practice his speech in a social environment AND expend his energy, he has shown a lot of progress in his development! The ‘homework’ assigned in music class gives him the chance to practice singing, words, and creative thinking. And, in his words, “Music class is SOOO fun!!!” So, he has a great time too. #Winning!
But, to me, it’s really all about the time we spend with our kids outside of a classroom. We make it a point to hold daily jam sessions, where we all play instruments (homemade & real musical instruments) and sing! I swear our newborn, Parker, lights up immediately when the music starts and sometimes even sings along! We have dance parties – Marcus is a huge fan of the Pandora mixes I created (yep, my five year old LOVES Gorillaz, Cake, Jamiroquai, Stevie Wonder, 70s Funk, & Jazz) and picks the songs he likes and dislikes. He break dances to the ones he REALLY likes. We buy age-appropriate musical instruments and toys for Christmas and birthdays. We have musical apps on the iPad that the kids interact and perform with, although, we do try to keep screen time limited. I even remember my husband helping a 5 month old Marcus sit up, grip drumsticks (they were chopsticks) and bang on the drums (a peanut butter jar, a sugar canister, and a single toy drum).
There is just too much research out there proving the amazing benefits of music. I feel that I wouldn’t be doing right by my boys if I didn’t involve music in their lives! On my end, I think I better pick up those guitar lessons again. Maybe it will sharpen my wit and help me win a few more arguments 😉