On February 7th, there was a special on PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer that focused on
MUSIC AND THE BRAIN As I watched this special on PBS NEWS HOUR I was delighted by how much Daniel Levitan's research corroborates the Music Together
® teaching philosophy.
I often say to my families, "every child is born with the aptitude to learn music." Levitan calls this a "music module" that each child is born with. However, although each child is born with the wiring, it will rust away if left unstimulated. This is why early child music experiences are so essential. In Music Together classes, I remind my families that children don't need to hear watered-down music. The arrangements on the Music Together CD are of diverse tonalities and varied time signatures to give children a rich musical experience. Moreover, our teachers who are fabulous musicians themselves, complement the class with their harmony singing, and guitar and keyboard arrangements. They choose play-along music from around the world so that each week we jam to funk, blues, jazz, bossanova, samba, salsa, and more! Levetin agrees of the importance of this exposure, "If you're born listening to Chinese opera, your brain is going to become wired to the rules of that musical form. If you're born listening to Pakistani music, Indian music, Indian ragas, your brain will become wired to those. Our brain is plastic, and malleable, and able to wire itself up to whatever language we hear, to learn those rules." I'm reminded of this "malleability" in class when children repeat complex rhythm patterns with ease, whilst parents sometimes have difficulty. Early exposure to these less common tonalities and rhythms helps children's musical vocabulary grow.
Our lessons are organized to include changes in dynamics, tempo, and articulation. I also encourage parents to incorporate contrast in their musical play at home. Presenting something along side it's opposite allows children to understand the unique qualities of each element. In class, children's eyes widen when we sing loudly, and then suddenly get soft, or they giggle in surprise when we sing a verse very slow, and then much faster. There is a distinct reason why these contrasts are so enriching. "Levitin says there's an area of the brain, in the pre-frontal cortex, specifically dedicated to comparing what we hear with our expectations of learned patterns of music. That's the reason we can be surprised, pained or delighted when those expectations are tampered with."
How wonderful to know that the Music Together teaching method coincides with current research. Our expert teachers incorporate parent education moments into their lessons so that families can learn about their child's music development in class each week. Our classes are known to be as educational as they are pure fun!
