Music and Early Development

I think this is such a great question because it’s exactly what I’ve been thinking about since I started this course. I took my kids as toddlers to a couple different music classes in my area that were similar to Sprouting Melodies in format, but the main difference was that the teacher did not really give any insight into the children’s overall development and how their musical responses reflected that development. So, I would tell parents that my class is about supporting the child’s overall development with music and building relationships. We specifically use music to develop communication skills, to create or strengthen bonds between child and caregiver, to learn about ourselves and the world around us, and to learn to socialize and share with others. You can even use some of the techniques and songs you learn in class at home to continue supporting your child’s development.

This group is designed to promote child development through music, even though making music and joy is a large and important goal, we specifically design these interventions to target and encourage developmental milestones with music, while encouraging the intrinsic need for your child to make music. Also, because we are music therapists, we are aware of these milestones and what they look like in a musical context.

The biggest difference is that Sprouting Melodies is developmental-milestone based, rather than performance based. If a child decides not to musically participate within a session, that is based on a developmental milestone, rather than a behavior or performance anxiety. The music presented in Sprouting Melodies also differs from other music-learning based programs in that songs are meant to be generalized and used in non-musical settings.

One of the biggest differences is that Sprouting Melodies focuses on the child and their level of development/engagement where as other music groups can focus more on the music and learning the music. Children in our groups might end up learning the music we use, but that is not the main focus of what we are doing. We have a unique perspective in that we understand the developmental levels of young children and how we can influence/encourage development through the use of music.

This is a program that is using music and song to support all the developmental milestones of a child. Children are not coming in to learn to play on beat or learn how to play the xylophone, the ultimate goals are social/emotional, motor, cognitive etc. through music as a supportive and easily accessible medium. There is also a lot of focus on community and connection through the use of music. Songs are used to bring families and kids together, through a joint and individual experience that is manipulated and adapted to best support the development and growth of the child.

In my previous job, I was a music therapist in early childhood and became accustomed to explaining the difference between the music experiences I was bringing into the classroom vs what it would look like if a music educator was to facilitate these sessions. While learning musical ability can certainly be a secondary gain, that isn’t the main focus here. It’s to support the development of children, while also strengthening relationships between the kiddos and parents, care givers, and other children. As music therapists, we have the knowledge and skills to help facilitate these non-musical goals and milestones.