How can music dramatically affect your child's development and lifetime success?

[Lappy]

Did you know... 

Playing an instrument can improve your child's grades and test scores?
Playing the piano can improve your child's self-esteem?
Playing music can help your children understand math better?
Playing music can help your children get into medical school?
Playing music can make a person emotionally healthier?
Playing music helps under-achievers?
The world's top academic countries place a high value on music education?



Sign up for our Music Mailing List and download the free report
   
How Music Can Dramatically Affect Your Child's Development and Life-Time Success
A Summary of the Current Scientific Literature Concerning Music and the Mind

And after you’ve read the report, don’t forget to share your opinions with us here – we’d love to know what you think! 

We've also invited an expert to help us gain a little more insight about this topic:

Introducing Chris Salter



Chris Salter is the founder and CEO of Music Wizard Group. He had no previous music education, but one day he signed up for a group piano class and ended up staying there for 4 years. He went on to get a double degree in Music and Linguistics from SIU, and then a Master’s degree in Musicology from UCLA.

Music literally changed his life, and this led him to founding the Music Wizard Academy, which develops a unique method of teaching children music.

Chris has been gracious enough to offer us his help by joining us at the Forum to answer your questions about teaching your children the wonderful subject of music!

So for those of you who haven't read the report as yet - do sign up for the mailing list and read through it.  And when you have time, visit us and share your insight with the rest of the parents here in the community

[KL]

Welcome, Chris! Looking forward to you sharing all your wisdom with the members!

[ChrisSalter]

Hello all,

I am reposting a response I posted in another part of this forum because I think it will be useful to most parents as at least food for thought, and will give you some sense of my approach to learning music. I absolutely believe that Mozart learned music as if it was a native language, and believe it is possible and great to start them young and make it fun.

   
Re: How to teach music to my son while I am not good at it at all??

My background is in linguistics and music, and what fascinated me was how children all over the world learn to speak whatever language is around them fluently through some kind of natural language acquisition process. I wondered how that could be used to learn music as well, so here are some suggestions. First things first, kids learn by doing, not abstractly studying music theory or notation. "Music first, then studies" said Franz Liszt.

A) Dance with them. Movement in rhythm embeds the rhythm in their bodies. Be crazy and fun, and let them mimic you, in fact make a game of it where you do something crazy to the rhythm and then they follow and then switch. This is "call and response" or modeling. Brazilians use the samba, and while they start drumming early, they dance first.

B) Sing with them, if you are off key, sing along with music you like and then things they like. Play guessing games with classical music (Dum dum dum daaah! Who was that? "Beethoven!") Look for call and response type songs where the lead singer sings something and the chorus mimics or "answers" them. Look for that in Motown music, soul, etc, but it is in classical as well, like in Spring by Vivaldi.

C) Play drums with them. You might find drum circles around your town, or just put on some funky music and beat on some tables or clang a fork on a glass, but don't be afraid to have "loud time" and "free time". Then go into more follow the leader stuff (boom BOOM . . . boom BOOM) You can do this with words too (Boom shaka laka BOOM shaka laka BOOM shaka laka BOOM) alternating in a call and response. They learn by mimicking you. They also learn it is OK to be wrong and silly from you. Relax and have fun. It helps to have loud music in the background and join in rather than create it from scratch.

D) As they get comfortable with simple rhythms, go to a piano and choose just a couple of keys to improvise rhythmically on. The piano is a percussion instrument and by starting with 2, then 3 notes, you can have a lot of fun and get funky.

E) We learn our first language passively at first. A one year old can understand dozens of words, but speak only a few. Saturate your children with all kinds of music and make them guess who is who, from Pop, to classical to folk, and make it a game. They will surprise you. Learn a few motifs or signature hooks from some pieces or songs and sing them and develop a little repertoire of great pieces you admire and sing just fragments and make them guess, then have them sing songs to you and guess too. Move to identifying different instruments in songs or pieces, so they recognize piano, harp, horn, sax, Taiko drum, whatever you can pick out.

F) Make the adventure of learning about music something you share with them. You don't need to be the expert, just the courageous guide, saying, "Let's live dangerously, and listen to this!" When they bring their songs (they  may be soundtracks to video games) break them down like you would Mozart. Language is built brick by brick with vocabulary, music is the same, give them lots of interesting musical bricks to play with, and soon they will be wanting to build their own structures and be fascinated with how others did things.

I hope these ideas help.

Thanks

Chris Salter
Music Wizard Group

[LilViolet]

Thanks, Chris, those tips are very interesting!

I remember my mum used to play her classical music CDs for us whenever we were studying for tests at school and I think it did help us focus on what we were reading -- not to mention, I eventually did the same thing when I needed to concentrate on work! 

I also believe that it is possible to "pass on" your love of music to your kids, even if you can't play an instrument or carry a tune. My mum was able to do it, so I think I can manage to do the same too!

[alistair]

Thanks for the report, it was most interesting. I guess it just confirms what most of us parents here already know - that music can play an enormous role on the growth of our children.  Although the report was quite short, I found it informative.

And thanks for the tips Chris. I've already started doing a few of those exercises with the kids, especially the mimicking activity. Kids are great that way, they enjoy imitating what the adults do, and it IS a fantastic way to g et them started on their music education

I'm particularly interested to learn more about how music can help with learning math - just because I can't quite wrap my head around the concept. The report provides proof of this positive effect, but not how. If any of you can explain how this is done, I'd be grateful.

As a musician, I am inclined to agree on how music can impact our lives and the lives of our children - only because I've experienced first-hand how music can literally move people to greater heights. I can only hope that I can pass on this love of music to my kids.

[Hsmummy]

Thanks for the report - and the tips. I read the report this morning and was left with the thought "so how do I do this?". I didnt receive any musical teaching beyond the very basic at school. I was and still am what you might call mathematically challenged but the opportunities to help my children in this fascinate me. So I was highly relieved to find the tips.

As a totally unscientific aside the paper got me thinking about the people (friends /family) that I know who are musical and how well they have done in life compared to those of us that arent. And from this annecdotal evidence I can totally see the point.

Im going to try the tips - we had quite unwittingly been doing some of them - lead by my little girl's current ideas - but Id really like to know more and how to keep this going. I looked on the internet just now for example,  for piano lessons in the area I live for pre schoolers - and perhaps unsurprisingly found nothing !?

[tatianna]

i signed up to read the e book and now i can't find the link
what should i do?

thanks for the info by the way
karma

[ChrisSalter]

Check your junk mail folder, there should be a link in an email to get it. If not, try and register again. You will enjoy it.

Thanks

Chris

[Lappy]

Hi Tatianna! Chris is right - do check your email junk folder for the confirmation link.

In case you didn't get it, please check the PM I just sent you.

[ChrisSalter]

More tips

For those of you who have little or no experience teaching or playing music, getting your kids started seems like a very daunting task better left to professionals. But kids will do nothing you say and everything you do, which is life's way of making us better people! So, we need to lead a little by example, and remember it is not the complexity of music, (language and math are complex and we do OK with them) it is the way we learn that is important.

Follow the leader. Start with a simple song (A Simple Song by Sly and the Family Stone is one) and teach it to them in pieces, either singing, clapping or both. I sometimes pat out a song on my daughter's head or belly and ask her to guess what song it is. I choose classic riffs like Eine Kleine Nachtmusic by Mozart or Beethoven's fifth. I play guess what is playing in the car (I have control of the CD player, and confess I sometimes bribe them to get them started). If they ask me a question ("What does Baroque mean?") I look it up in Wikipedia and read it out loud (NOT while driving!). I am musically curious and lead by example, and I am interactive with them to dissect music into phrases and patterns. I don't CARE about conventional terms, I care that I am listening with a way to break it down and see how it comes together.

For example, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, "Spring" is based on a very universal musical trait of pattern creation (expectaion) then variation. Almost all music uses this in some way.
First verse
Bada bum bum bum bada ba
Second verse repeats
Bada bum bum bum bada ba
Then the third varies from that pattern and expectation
Bada bum bada bum bum bum bada bum . . .

And that kind of AAB pattern is one of the hidden keys to musical enjoyment, because there are endless variations on that. (I think the group ABBA named themselves for a popular song format of First verse, variation, repeat variation and back to first verse) You can hear this in all kinds of songs, Blues, Classical, Rock, Pop, percussion, it is everywhere if you start noticing, and it can become your building blocks to talk about virtually any music and notice its magic being built one phrase at a time.

The second great principle to listen for is tension, release. That might be done with dissonance (tension) and then harmony (release) or with tension being caused by confusion (variation) and release being the return (repeat of an earlier phrase). Blues music has a universal 12 bar pattern that is the base, and it harmonically establishes the base harmony, then shifts to a new harmony, (tension) shifts again (more tension) and returns to the base key. It is a wheel of theme and variations, tension and release and that is how it hooks and rehooks us. Most ethnic rhythms are the same in creating a pattern and then surprising you with a variation.

Hope this was good food for thought, they are simple tools but so basic you will find these elements everywhere. It is tough to write about these things, but once you start to look for them, you will find them in virtually everything you listen to, and it will give you new appreciation and tools to talk about and create with with your children on this life long journey of music making and appreciation. More later.

[Luana]

Hi Chris,
Great tips.   
I am aware of the benefits of music and saw its effects on my older son.
As I also have a toddler with Down Syndrome (she is three and non-verbal at the moment but loves music) I would like to know if you have any experience with DS kids. Would it be needed a different approach or you would use the same as for any other kid? What instrument would you go with and at what age.
Thanks,
Luana

[michelleclk]

Hi All(",)! My baby is two months old. May i know what sort of music is suitable for my baby ?
 

[bella]

hi chris , thank you so much for your tips . i know i can learn a lot from you . i have absolutely no music experience and i cannot sing , my husband can , i kind of squeak when i sing , i cannot follow rythm , i don't know if i can do something about it or if it can be taught , but i wanted my babies to grow loving and appreciating music , so from birth i played different music cds , we live in very remote area no toddler music , no music classes , so i am always on the look to dvds that both me and my babies can learn from . i got some baby and me music dvds from australia and those were great , we listened , danced , and played with the music , using various instruments scarves,...
i like to do more . how to teach my child to play aan instrument if i myself cannot , this is when i found soft way to mozart through this group , i thought maybe i can start by learning myself and play for my kid . but even the task of choosing the right digital keyboard to use with this program is hard . i have no cle what is good instrument , good keyboard, do i really need to spend a fortune for a start ?? i was looking at some yamaha , or casio , there are some with 61 keys some with more  , some with lighning keys some no ,... they can range from 100 pounds to 1000 pounds . what can be considered good one to start with at home to foster love for music and learn some playing ???
also i am looking at a specific program : themes to remember which got postive reviews from homeschooler .
of course for a person who doesnt have music background and is desperate to teach her kids they all look wonderful , but i often found myself buying something to be disappointed after .
 can you look at those programs and advice if they are good or not . i am hoping with themes to remember , i can be more consistent and organized in including music in our daily life , great variety , information for me to learn from and pass along to the kids .

we read a lot about the benefit of music but we really like some practical advice on how to do it .
cannot wait to read your reply
viv

[bella]

i also signed up but didn't get any ebook .
viv

[Ouroboros1]

Viv, check in your spam folder.  Sometimes the email can get shipped there depending on how strict your email filtering is.

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