Brain Development and Music

Brain development and music has become a great point of interest since many baby music cds have been promoted in the market place today. Many of the marketers of these cds promise to raise the IQ of your baby.

Sounds from music, speech and the environment are all healthy ingredients for auditory development. Simply listening to Mozart however to raise your baby's IQ is now a myth.

Exposing your baby to many types of music is better for brain development and developing a good sense of pitch is critical to brain development in a baby's first year.

Brain development and music should perhaps be reworded as brain development and sounds. A variety of sounds is important - one at a time. Raw material such as music, voices, household noises such as a kettle and dishwasher are good sources of differing sounds.

Constant background music however or machinery does make sound distinction hard for babies. Lots of noise and confusion can really inhibit brain development so try to monitor background noise levels such as the television.

Babies who live with a lot of confusing background noise often have trouble at school later in life listening for information or listening in conversations.

What should parents do to promote brain development and music?

	Sing simple repetitive nursery rhymes;
	Sing songs and loving words;
	Read books to your baby;
	Take them to plays, musicals, puppet shows and cultural experiences at age appropriate times.

Melody (which is processed in the right brain) helps promote creativity in many babies. Listening to Mozart (even though it doesn't raise IQ alone), may help brain development in particular.

Experiment with different types of melody in your home. Once your baby is older, more formal musical training and instructions helps develop the left side of the brain, developing analytical skills.

Musical experience before the age of seven is very important for early brain development. Ensure preschoolers have listening experiences with varieties of good music, singing, rhythmic body movement and chances to make music with instruments (even with pots, pans and spoons).

There is very little need to rush children into skill-and-practice lessons before the age of seven years, when the brain refines its ability to combine sequences from different senses. Intensive music lessons is advisable to wait until after reading instruction is successfully underway.

Mozart Music and Smart Babies

There is much speculation that listening to Mozart's music will make a baby smarter. The Governor of Georgia, USA spent a huge amount of money to investigate its positive effects on brain development and spatial and mathematical skills.

They tested numerous groups of preschool age children in various musical situations (including one group listening to Mozart music). The resulting findings after six months was that the preschool group who had been given private piano lessons (which involved being taught pitch intervals, basic finger techniques, two hand coordination, musical notation and playing from memory) showed the most significant improvement in spatial-temporal tasks.

It is thought that piano playing is ideal for right brain development.

Although this study is astounding, theorists agree it is still too early to say whether musical training is beneficial before the age of seven.

Brainy Bambino suggests that by simply exposing your baby and infants to many different experiences where they can enjoy "making music" in fun and enjoyable situations will benefit early brain development.