listening skills Archives - Minds On Music

How to Teach Babies Language Skills Before They Can Talk

Do you ever wonder what newborns would say if they could talk? Where am I? What just happened? Who turned on the lights? Whew, that was a lot of work! I’m exhausted. Why is everyone staring at me? Do I have something on my face? Mom! Dad! It’s me! Truth is—most newborns all say the same thing: WaaaaWaaaa!
Of course, children aren’t born talking. However, even at birth, a child can usually respond to a mother’s voice, an early sign of communication, Speech and early language development involves both receptive language (what a child hears and understands) and expressive language (what a child says to others through sounds and gestures). Receptive language skills show up first as babies learn to turn towards interesting sounds or respond to tones and even their own names.

New Research: Improving Babies’ Language Skills Before They Can Talk

A new study from Rutgers University indicates that babies can be taught to better recognize sounds that “might” be language. This would increase brain development in the areas responsible for language acquisition and processing.
In the study led by Emily Benasich who directs the Infancy Studies Laboratory at Rutgers University’s Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, the team found that when 4-month-old babies learned to pay attention to increasingly complex non-language audio patterns, their brain scans at 7 months old showed they were faster and more accurate at detecting other sounds important to language than babies who had not been exposed to the sound patterns.
“Young babies are constantly scanning the environment to identify sounds that might be language,” explained Benasich in a press release. “This is one of their key jobs – as between 4 and 7 months of age they are setting up their pre-linguistic acoustic maps….If you shape something while the baby is actually building it, it allows each infant to build the best possible auditory network for his or her particular brain. This provides a stronger foundation for any language (or languages) the infant will be learning.”
Take a look inside the Laboratory:
[youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ3yZDoRwOs[/youtube]

Use Music to Support Early Language Development

In Kindermusik classes, we provide many opportunities for caregivers and babies to communicate with each other both verbally and nonverbally. For example, when we actively listen to a specific sound such as a clock sound or running water sound, integrate language and movement during a song, or use sign language, babies gain practice hearing words and making connections to their meanings—all which heightens babies’ abilities to communicate!

Find out more at Kindermusik.com.

Contributed by Lisa Camino Rowell a freelance writer living in the Atlanta area.

Music & Movement Benefits: The Color of Music

Ever heard of a dulcimer, a didgeridoo, or a dun dun? Our Kindermusik students have! By exploring a variety of instruments, the children hear, see, and experience a variety of sounds – scratchy sounds, booming drum sounds, ringing sounds, trickling sounds, and more. And not just on Uncommon Instrument Awareness Day (which happens to be today, by the way!). Musically speaking, the distinctive quality of these sounds is called “timbre.”
As your child experiences the variety of sounds he/she can make with musical instruments and everyday objects, he or she is developing the listening vocabulary necessary for sound discrimination preceding language. In fact, Kindermusik builds on your child’s sound discrimination skills throughout their Kindermusik years. Here are just a few examples:
BABIES

In our babies music classes, our focus is on exposing your baby to a variety of timbres to build a base for his/her listening vocabulary to develop. Developing a “vocabulary of sound” at a very young age not only helps children better tune in to the subtle distinctions of both music and speech, but also encourages them to try to make those sounds for themselves with instruments or voice.
TODDLERS
In our toddlers music classes, your child is introduced to a variety of timbres related to animals, transportation, home, and everyday object sounds. The children are also exposed to the timbres of wooden instruments, metal instruments, and shaker instruments. We use these experiences to begin the process of teaching your child how to develop discriminating listening skills.
PRESCHOOLERS
In our preschoolers music classes, we explore the timbres of specific rhythm and orchestra instruments( i.e. such as resonator bars, slide whistles, clarinets, and trombones), teaching your child to learn to identify these timbres as well as discriminate the timbres of voices – male, female, child, children, etc. While learning these skills your child is also taught to hear in layers; in other words, to listen to many things at the same time.
BIG KIDS

As your child progresses to our music classes for big kids, we introduce all the families in the orchestra. Along the way, your child will learn the distinctive sound of over twenty orchestra and keyboard instruments. Plus they’ll learn about and listen to instruments from all around the world. Pretty impressive!

Come see all the fun and learning that happens with all of the many different instruments we use in Kindermusik classes every week! Try a class for free… and then enroll so that you can enjoy the instrumental variety in class and at home each week.

Compiled by Theresa Case, who has an award-winning Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in beautiful upstate South Carolina.

FOL Fridays: Pre-ensemble Development

One day, your child may want to participate in a team sport or play in a band. Kindermusik will provide him or her with the unique opportunity to develop and practice the skills that are required to perform in an ensemble, skills like distinguishing between sounds, listening for the appropriate entrance, timing the participation, accomplishing the steady-beat play with an outside source, and playing with others.

Ideas for parents:

Even the youngest children can experience ensemble, whether it’s in Kindermusik Village or it’s just the two of you at home tapping on the pots and pans. You might even enjoy putting together a Family Jam, a time when the whole family grabs something to tap, shake, or jingle as you all play-along to a recording or a song you’re singing.

– Contributed by Theresa Case, whose Greenville, SC program, Kindermusik at Piano Central Studios, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.

Kindermusik and Your Child: Exercising Your Listening Muscles

Improve Listening Skills with Kindermusik

Like a muscle, your child’s listening skills need constant exercise in order to grow stronger. Kindermusik classes give your child weekly opportunities to “exercise” and develop listening skills as we listen to specific sounds, listen to many various instrumental sounds, listen to directions and musical cues, listen to suggestions from your Kindermusik Educator for ways to participate in class activities, listen to encouragement from you to participate and share ideas, listen to various styles of recorded and live music and singing, and of course listen to ideas from other parents and students!

A good listener is able to focus attention on what he/she hears. Becoming a good listener will help your child:

Learn more quickly and effectively for later academic success
Heed danger signals
Get along better with you and other adults
Make better friends

There are many things you can do to help your child develop listening skills. Your example speaks volumes to your child if you are a good listener, chances are, your child will learn good listening skills from you! If you ask your child “listening” questions, then your child’s neural network will learn to listen. For some great articles that contain tips for helping your child develop listening skills, check out the following links:

Getting Your Toddler to Listen (8 easy steps)

Fun Activities to Promote Listening Skills (by Learning Style)

How Can Parents Model Good Listening Skills?

Compiled by Theresa Case, whose Kindermusik program at Piano Central Studios in Greenville, SC, is proudly among the top 1% of Kindermusik programs worldwide.