Children learn to speak when they are two years old, right? No, in fact, even in utero. Children are listening but to speech, to the cadence in our voice. The highs, the lows, the emotions. And children learn to read and write in kindergarten, right? Preschool maybe? No again! Even in their first months of life, they are sponges, picking up language faster in their first two years of life then anytime afterwards. They are listening to the stories you read, watching you flip the pages as they learn the concepts of print and that those squiggly lines and symbols mean something.
It is the same with the language of music. In the first couple years of life, infants hear the soothing vibrations on your chest as they hear you sing while you rock them to sleep. They coo and explore different sounds with their voice. They clap and bang things to explore the sounds they make. They move to the music we play. And if they see music in print, they learn that those notes and symbols mean something. Just like letters and words.
So why do we wait until children are in third or fourth grade to introduce them to music lessons? Would we wait until kids are in kindergarten to speak And read to them? To show them their first story or picture book when they're six? Why do we start them so young? Because the early years count!
The more languages children have to express themselves, the easier it will be for them to feel confident voicing their thoughts, being creative, and be able to process their emotions and thoughts. What do we do when we can't talk about things? Don't give your kids an excuse to drown their thoughts with whatever is at their disposal. Give them the arts as an alternative to words.
I end my little soap box spiel with a short video of a typical piano lesson I have with my daughter. Both my three and five year old love these lessons, and love music even more as a result. They often write their own songs, unafraid to tell their own stories through music, without the fear of it having to "sound right."
Hans Christian Anderson was right. Let their music or dance or art speak for them when their words cannot. Help them be heard.
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