DEVELOPMENTAL MUSIC APTITUDE: A STATE OF CHANGE
It is much easier, more successful, and a lot more fun for all to nurture a child's basic music aptitude (potential for basic music competence) when the window for learning is fully open. Researchers have identified this time as the period of developmental music aptitude. This means simply that the level of aptitude is in a state of change. It is therefore vulnerable to positive or negative influence through both instruction and environment.
The most typical negative influence on developmental music aptitude is simple neglect. Without sufficient stimulation, a child's inborn potential for musical growth will actually atrophy. The most vulnerable time is before the age of five, corresponding in most children to their period of primary music development.
Music aptitude remains changeable (for better or worse) until approximately age nine. After age nine, environmental events will have little or no effect upon raising, lowering, or sustaining the level of musical aptitude (although they can of course, greatly affect the level of musical acheivement). That is, each individual child's aptitude level seems to crystallize or become fixed. This means that, although one may continue to learn music the rest of his life, he is limited by the potential of this fixed level. Furthurmore, it becomes very difficult for students past the age of nine to complete their journey through primary music development, if they have not already done so. Consequently, it is very difficult for these students to achieve in music at all, unless they are highly motivated and are in the hands of skilled teachers who understand the remedial nature of the situation.
An Analogy:
The challenges of good gardening correspond closely with both potential and limitations of the period of developmental music aptitude. A seed has all the potential to form an adult plant. Some of those seeds grow into healthier and better adapted plants than others. Some varieties of seed will grow and mature faster than others. But all viable seeds of a particular species have the ability to generate an adult plant, which is identifiable as a memeber of the species.
Critical to the success of this growth, however, is the quality of the plant's environment, as determined by soil conditions and weather. Sufficient moisture, nutrients, temperature, and light must be available without undue threats from other plants, insects, disease, or other hazards. Furthermore, the availability and proportion of these nutrients and conditions is most critical during the early stages of growth. If certain nutrients or conditions are not available, then, the plant's early growth will be minimalized, and flowering or fruiting at maturity will be limited, even though the adult plant may be perfectly healthy.
A similar relationship exists between the "seed" of your child's basic aptitude at birth and its subsequent development. Although the potential of the aptitude may be great, unless it is appropriately nurtured as a "seedling," this potential will not be fully realized. Although short periods of inadequate conditions can be remedied, a general neglect in the critical early stage will result in diminished aptitude, which no amount of subsequent care can change.
Article from Music and Your Child, written by Lili M. Levinowitz Ph. D, Professor of Music Education at Rowan University
There are 9 collections of music in the Music Together program. The take home CD's and songbooks introduce children to a variety of music, including songs in different meters and keys. The Music Together program includes: original, traditional and multicultural music, including at least one song in Spanish. The selections are designed to appeal to both adults and children. There is a diverse group of singers on the CD's and the voices are meant to represent a family, with a variety of children, a mom or aunt, a dad or uncle and a grandma. The songs are pitched in keys that children naturally sing in, and in class, songs are always sung in the keys from the recordings.Additional Resources
Read NAPS study about early childhood music and parent/child bonding.
Learn about Edwin Gordon's research.
Read study about effects of preschool music on young children.
Learn more about Music Together and listen to some recordings, or buy instruments.
