Music and Early Development

[Julie Palmieri]

As a music therapist, you know how music making contributes to overall early development. This connection between music and development is a unique feature of this training. We also know that there are many community programs in which young children are taught music skills.

How do you explain to parents the difference between what you do and what another music learning based program does?

[Lydia Westle]

I would explain that while many music groups tend to follow a curriculum, I am assessing the developmental needs / responses in the moment. Throughout the process, I would explain that I am always intentionally adapting the music experience on the spot to meet the individual, as well as group needs.

[Amy Calderon]

Yes that is true! There is typically a specific curriculum in community music groups.

[Maura Nicholson]

I would explain that though their child may likely develop some music skills during group, we are primarily focused on improving non-musical skills in our groups- and throughout the group, I would verbally recognize instances where children are using a non-musical skill that aides in their overall development. We are focused on helping the children develop and utilize functional skills that they can take with them outside of the group. We use music as the primary method to engage the children and help them to understand their place in the world.

[Camryn Gallagher]

When I’m explaining music therapy to parents, I tend to emphasize the fact that we’re using music to work towards non-musical goals. Creating an aesthetically pleasing musical product is not the goal – Music is just the tool that we use to reach goals in areas like communication, motor, socialization, etc. I also explain that music therapists often work under a specific clinical framework in a way that most other music learning-based programs don’t tend to consider. I personally was trained under a humanistic perspective which emphasizes choice making and following the child’s lead – which sometimes doesn’t lend well to a learning-based program that often has a set curriculum to follow. Music therapy recognizes that progress isn’t always perfectly linear. I love the quote that I’ve heard throughout this training that music is “by the child, not by the book.” A quality music therapy program is individualized and flexible to you and your child’s needs, not what a textbook would say your child “should” be doing at their chronological age.

[MacKenzie Lyons]

When talking to parents, I would explain that throughout the class I am assessing their child and what they are doing. By doing this I am able to adapt what I am presenting to meet the developmental needs of each child in the class. Other music learning based programs often follow a curriculum, but they don’t often stray from their plan. Also while we do use music as our main form of teaching, we are not expecting each child to master a musical skill. Instead we are looking at the development of functional skills such as interacting with peers, grasping objects, discovering their voice, developing their senses, and many more.

[Courtney McDonald]

I would briefly explain the difference between learning musical skills and using music in a therapeutic way to work on non-musical goals. I often use the example of the “ABC’s” song. It is music/song that helps young children learn an necessary skill that is non-musically based. I find that using simple examples often can set the stage for more in depth conversations. I also explain about the assessment of needs in the moment instead of following a set curriculum. Music therapy works developmentally focusing on the needs of the individual or the group rather than the leader trying to push through a curriculum that has to be met. Music is our vehicle to reach social, cognitive, communication, motor, etc. needs.

[Elmira Abasova]

Fortunately, there are no music programs for early development in my town. On the other hand, it might not be easy to convince some parents to participate in any group activity with such young children. In my case, I would tell the caregivers that we are not teaching professional musicians, and they don’t need to buy instruments and practice for hours at home (that’s what some people think when they hear about music). I would tell them it’s beneficial for a child’s general development, including physical, sensory, emotional, social, and musical. In other words, the child will acquire new (not necessarily musical) skills through age-appropriate, playful, and fun activities.

[Daniel DeLucia]

One thing about music and music therapy that i typically would say to people who are asking how we are different from say music teaching or other music based learning programs is that what we do is using music in a way that address each individual child’s developmental needs. As MacKenzie said, yes there is an aspect of some learning of musical skills, however that is not the primary focus. The primary focus is specifically assessing, treating, acknowledging and improving upon each child’s abilities and needs in order to encourage development overall. it’s important to acknowledge that learning how to engage in music and play music are different than learning specific musical skills (playing piano, singing, violin, understanding sheet music, etc.).

[Olivia Todd]

I would explain that in music therapy we use music as a way to address non-musical goals. While singing a song or shaking eggs is really fun, there are so many things going on in their child’s brain to make that egg start and stop, to grasp the egg, to move it all around. Like many people said, I like to point out little developments or educational points throughout the session to help explain/educate about music therapy and their child’s development.

[Kate Jihye Choi]

I had the exact same question from one of my clients a few months ago. I explained to the parents that in music therapy, we have different goals than another music learning-based group, non-musical goals. I help the child achieve the goals made by a multi-disciplinary team and the parents. It can be communication, social-emotional, cognitive, motor, or adaptive goals. Music is so motivating, especially for early childhood, that it can motivate them to walk, crawl, run, jump, make eye contact, interact, and speak more. And most of the time, music is more effective than verbal-only or verbal-gestural directions/commands.

[Amy Calderon]

Community programs are great, but their focus is typically on the activities themselves, not necessarily each individual child. A music therapist is trained in development and can make key observations in a child’s specific response to music. They can also guide parents in how to use music effectively at home that will help in their child’s development.

[Jessica Solimini]

I feel like from what I have learned both from taking this course and the work that I have witnessed at RMTS, that the primary difference is that music therapists are not necessarily teaching musical skills. They aren’t trying to teach someone how to play piano or sing. I field a lot of incoming calls that are inquiring about music “lessons”, and I have to explain that’s not what we offer. Music Therapists are using music to address goals outside of just music-making and looking at each person’s individual needs and how to use music to get them closer to their goals.

[Billie Junget]

The education is different for a music therapist vs. music teacher, especially in the ways you learn about kids. We are trained more in child development and can discuss how music supports the children in their development. We can tell parents about the differences in how we structure our sessions to address non musical goals by using music in comparison to instructing how to play a specific instrument or sing. All are welcome, no matter what level of musicianship you bring to group.

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