When my children were young, we insisted that they pick up a musical instrument, any instrument. With a piano, organ, and guitars in the house, this wasn’t too difficult. Kristin and Karen decided that playing with the school band was more fun than playing alone, and they learned to play clarinets.
Once in awhile at least, parents get things right. New research by Nina Kraus and her colleagues shows that people who had studied music for 6 years before the age of 12 did a much better job at picking out three Mandarin speech tones, even though none had studied Mandarin previously.
I have always thought that children exposed to music on a regular basis were able to transfer skills, such as rhythm, to their speaking and reading. I was sorry to see the old upright pianos leave the elementary classrooms. Singing with your teacher had been such a regular part of our school day (okay, I’m a boomer, so this is a long time ago). Hopefully, these new insights into the benefits of music will help get art back in the classroom. While we’re at it, how about keeping the PE teachers, too?
2 Comments
R.Nickles · December 1, 2007 at 9:36 pm
It’s fascinating that people who had studied music were able to pick out different speech tones. My siblings and I were also told we had to stick to piano lessons when we were younger, and I appreciate it so much now! I don’t think I could’ve said the same thing years ago though… =) I’ve read different studies here and there about how studying music or playing instruments can help with various things like concentration or improving memory, and I think that’s wonderful. I love that I have such an appreciation for music now, too… maybe I’ll have to do the same thing for my own kids one day. =)
psychology schools » Don’t quit those piano lessons…. · March 31, 2007 at 8:18 am
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