Jacappella | Musical Development | For babies toddlers pre-schoolers and mums

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Jacappella Musical Development for Babies-Toddlers

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If you are looking for a fun way to give your little one a great educational start in life, then early childhood music classes are the answer.

Begin Early

It is never too early to begin! Recently, there has been an explosion of research into the benefits of exposing babies and toddlers to music. Scientists now know that all children are born with musical ability. Even before birth there’s evidence to suggest that the developing foetus can hear and process sound and even associate sounds with emotions.

Musical Milestones

In the first three months, babies will react and show preferences for music played to them in the womb. In these early months, babies are particularly attuned to the human voice and higher pitched voices. From 2 months, babies will coo and make vowel sounds and these will be shaped by their mother’s voice. There are elements of pitch and rhythm evident in babies’ cooing and research has shown that the greater amount of maternal singing and musical stimulation, the earlier babies babble. By 6 months, babies reflect elements of their maternal language and culture in their babbling and at twelve months, babies begin more advanced vocalising with tuneful singing possible.

Babies have a natural sense of rhythm and will kick their legs animatedly when played music with a strong beat. This is the ideal time to capitalise on this. Between 12 and 18 months, encouraging children to move to music aids co-ordination and control of the body. Playing percussion instruments develops fine motor skills and hand eye co-ordination. For 3 to 5 years olds music aids memory and is great preparation for school. Children are naturally musically creative as their early babbling becomes chanted rhymes and then improvised extended songs of their own. With early exposure to a wide range of nursery rhymes, songs and classical music, children will have their own mental library of musical experiences to draw on.

Jacappella

Speech and music share certain processing systems in the brain, so music making will have a positive effect on language and later, reading. Jacqui Phillips, founder of Jacappella, is currently researching an MA in the Psychology of Music in Education and is fascinated by the effect music has on young children. “Music making and listening can have immense benefits and children are extremely receptive to musically creative learning. The brain is just waiting to be stimulated by music to encourage the formation and connections of new neural pathways. Making music is such a powerful way of hard wiring the brain to improve speech, reading and problem solving skills and co-ordination. We have been teaching our songs and games for fifteen years and we find rapid development and progress amongst our little budding musicians. We see children “light up” through the weekly stimulation of our classes.”

Whatever the reason for joining a music class, from encouraging brain development, to increasing confidence and social skills to simply having fun, there’s no doubt that the brain is naturally receptive to musical stimulation and the earlier that takes place, the better.

For more information on Jacappella or any aspect of early childhood musical education email [email protected] or go to www.jacappella.co.uk