Babies and Music

Kindermusik Village: Notes from Cock-a-doodle-MOO!

"Musical awareness is observable very early in life. [Howard Gardner, educational theorist who developed the theory of Multiple Intelligences] states that it emerges the earliest of all the different kinds of intelligence. The Papouseks, highly respected developmental researchers from West Germany, report that infants as young as two months can match the pitch, intensity, and melodic contour of the other's songs, and at four months infants can match the rhythmic structures as well. These researchers feel that infants are even more
predisposed to these aspects of music than to speech (Papousek, 1982)."

"Theories of Child Development and Musical Ability," by Sally Rogers from
Music and Child Development, ed., Franz L. Roehmann and Frank R., Wilson, pp. 2-3.

Your Baby's Musical Life

You may have already noticed that your baby is listening attentively to music. He may react to different types
of music in different ways. He may become alert, move excitedly, relax, or even doze off depending on the nature of the music. By filling the spaces of Baby's day with music we are teaching him the many roles that music can play throughout his life. Music can help him relax, cope with feelings, celebrate, create, and express beyond verbal capabilities.

Musical Variety in Kindermusik Village

Kindermusik Village introduces a great variety of music, representing diverse cultures, styles, and tonalities, as well as varied instrumentation and voice types. Cock-a-doodle-MOO! features Cantonese Lullaby, a soothing, traditional Chinese song; Hey Diddle Diddle, a simple, traditional English rhyme and song; Ritsch, Ratsch, a lively Swedish folk song, and Armenian Lullaby, a relaxing song in the minor mode. Not only will your baby enjoy reacting to these different styles of music emotionally and physically, but intellectually it is
important that your baby experience this music. We tend to appreciate and enjoy listening to music that is familiar.  By exposing your baby to a broad selection of music at an early age, you will help him have a rich "repertoire" of familiar sounds and styles that will make more music accessible and interesting to him throughout his life.

Music at Home

Allegro! Andante. Adagio.

Pick a song and sing it to baby slowly and then quickly. See if you can tell from Baby's response
which tempo he prefers. Which do you prefer?

Dance!

Play Skip to My Lou and dance with Baby using fast, pointed movements. Then play Little Boy Blue and slow dance with her. Try continuous, sweeping motions.

What Time Is It?

Play different types of music for different times of the day. Perhaps you could play Simple Gifts when it is time for a nap, and then play The Merry Farmer when it is time for active play.

A Musical Treasure Hunt

Explore everyday objects with Baby to see what sounds they make when you strike them with a spoon or shake them. Does there seem to be an object or sound that Baby is particularly interested in or finds humorous? Did you find something that you never expected to be musical?

"Children must receive musical instruction as naturally as food, and with as much pleasure as they derive from a ball game...and this must happen from the beginning of their lives."  -Leonard Bernstein