In America, there are many kids with musical talents and it’s no wonder 13% of children want to be a musician when they grow up, we all wanted that! This is twice as many as wanted to be president. Playing music and being part of the musical community is something to aspire towards.
Nurturing your child’s musical talent can help them in all areas of learning when they are at school. From learning a musical instrument, to encouraging them to use upturned pots and pans as an improvised drum kit, there are so many different ways to help musically gifted toddlers embrace music.
Talented Young Musicians Should Learn a Musical Instrument
Learning to read music and play an instrument is incredibly beneficial for children. It actually helps their brains to develop differently. There is a neurological difference between children that learn an instrument, and those that don’t.
They are able to process sounds and physical actions differently, and their brain responds to stimuli quicker, helping with learning in all subject areas, not just music. This increase in cognitive function can help them in school. Invest in an acoustic guitar, piano, or even a recorder, and arrange some lessons for your child. You will be making an investment in their future.
Play The Best Kids Music Available
Fortunately, children have no sense of what is cool, or in fashion when it comes to music. They don’t care if it is the latest album by the Pussycat Dolls, or whether it is The Planets Suite by Holst – wouldn’t it be lovely if everyone was like this? All very young children understand is that the music has a melody and beat – for them the style of music is irrelevant.
Nurture this joy by playing them as many types of music as you can. Put on Country when you’re cooking, or Bach in the bath. Some calming classical piano before bedtime can do the world of good too when you are settling them down to sleep.
Teaching Children to Sing is a Must
Even before they can speak parents know that learning songs for toddlers is important. Young children enjoy the sounds that their voices make, they babble, coo and laugh. They experiment with pitch, tone and timbre. Encouraging your children to sing will help enormously with their musical education. Signing them up to a children’s choir will improve their singing, but also has social benefits too. Singing with other people helps you to feel accepted and part of a valued community. Singing is a natural antidepressant too – it will help your child to simply feel happy.
When you are at home or in the car, sing along with the radio, and encourage your child to join in with you. Investing in a small karaoke machine is a good idea – children love singing into a microphone, and hearing what their voice sounds like. They will also like the imaginative aspect of pretending to be another singer, or even a cartoon character, such as Elsa from Frozen.
Nurturing your child’s musical talent will help them to grow emotionally. Children have a natural fascination and enjoyment in music, and you can help bring this to life.