My belief in the importance of music for brain development and learning is well known. I, along with thousands of other Kindermusik teachers worldwide, have been known to “geek out” on this topic to anyone who will listen for years. Science is now catching up with what early childhood educators, musicians and moms have known for years, and the results are stunning. Not only does music matter, there is evidence that participating in music making can help maintain, even improve, brain functions in adults as well as children.
A recent article by Victoria Jaggard in San Diego, and published online by the National Geographic News provides an excellent summary of all the amazing ways making music can help with listening, language and brain function.
The article, Making Music Boosts Brain’s Language Skills, features the results of several prominent neuroscience researchers who are exploring the effects of music on the brain as part of their attempts to better understand our cognitive systems. Nina Kraus, director of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University in Illinois in just one of many neuroscientists who believe that:
musical training, whatever the age, should be universally encouraged, since it can play a key role in education, clinical therapies, and even in protective measures for keeping the brain sharp as people age.
“Plus,” she said, “it’s just inherently wonderful.”
Science can’t really measure the joy that music brings to life, but even the most analytical of researchers acknowledge that it is an important part of how music stimulates the brain. So come to a Kindermusik class, dust off your recorder, hum on the subway, sing in the car or start a family band! Its never too early for music on the brain and, as the research proves, its never too late either.
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