Why do babies need music class?
Music education has been linked to the development of the creative, social-emotional, and cognitive skills of children. For years, scientists and music educators have been investigating the importance of music education for the development of children’s reading abilities, math skills, and creativity. Even though the research is still developing and the conclusions are preliminary, the benefits of being exposed to music from an early age are, nevertheless, permanent.
Music at Crescendo
Children learn more and faster in the first three years than they will learn for the rest of their lives - Alisson Gopnik - The Philosophical Baby
While we appreciate and respect the non-musical benefits of being exposed to music, at Crescendo, we focus on the importance of early childhood music for the musical development of young children as we believe that everyone has the right to be the musician they were born to be, whether in the future they want to do it for fun or professionally. In other words, in this program the music making and musical development are not stepping-stones to other leanings, but the goal. Musical understanding opens children’s minds to new possibilities of self-expression and teaches them how to explore a skill that is so often forgotten: musicality.
All children are born musical; all they need is the right stimulus to develop their musicality. Children can certainly study music later in their lives - that is also very important (music is a life long learning skill). However, when children are in contact with music from an early age, their musical skills are developed in the same way that they develop everything else in early childhood: by exposure and through play. In that context, music becomes another “language” in their early vocabulary. Once acquired, using or not that language in the future becomes a choice.
“When you are exposed to music from an early age, you can became a professional musician, have music as your hobby or be an informed audience member, it is your choice! Either way, you will have forever the gift of expressing yourself through music.”
The classes are planned separately for each age group in order to guarantee that they are developmentally appropriate, playful, and engaging. A few of the skills we work to develop are: singing in tune and active listening (understanding what they are listening to) as well as understanding beat and rhythm, high and low, loud and soft and more advanced music comparatives. Those concepts are first internalized through engaging games and songs and only labeled when the children are fully confident in expressing them. And the best part: all early childhood music classes are with children and parents so you can share your music with each other.