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The Importance of Music in Early

Childhood
by Lili M. Levinowitz
General Music Today, Fall 1998

Lili M. Levinowitz is a professor of music education at Rowan University of

New Jersey, Glassboro.
 The media's
popularization of
findings from studies
indicating a causal link
between music
training and spatial
reasoning in young
children (Rauscher et
al. 1993, 1997) has
caught the attention
of many and spurred
interest in the
inclusion of music in early childhood education. Curriculum models that
substantiate this point of view are credible; however, music educators
need to remind decision makers about other valid reasons for teaching
music in the early childhood curriculum. The purpose of this article is to
survey some of the work in music education that validates the inclusion of
music for its own sake in models for early childhood learning.

Music is a way of knowing. According to Harvard psychologist Howard

Gardner (1983), music intelligence is equal in importance to logical -
mathematical intelligence, linguistic intelligence, spatial intelligence,
bodily - kinesthetic intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, and
intrapersonal intelligence. According to Thomas Armstrong (1994,5),
"Intelligence is galvanized by participation in some kind of culturally
valued activity and that the individual's growth in such an activity follows
a developmental pattern; each activity has its own time arising in early
childhood."

Making music is as much a basic life skill as walking or talking. Peery and
Peery (1987) suggest that it is desirable for children to be exposed to,
trained in, And enculturated with music for its own sake. That is, it is a
birthright for all people to be able to sing in tune and march to a beat
(Levinowitz and Guilmartin, 1989, 1992, 1996). To ensure a comprehensive
learning experience, music must be included in early childhood.
Practically speaking, the argument that music education is a frill finds no
objective support.

The importance of music instruction for music development during the

early years of childhood has been widely investigated since World War II.
The Pillsbury studies (1937 - 1958) (Moorhead and Pond, 1977) provided
the first glimpse into preschool children's musical lives and informed us
about the nature of their spontaneous music behavior. Characteristic
music performances of young children provide a window through which
music psychologists and educators can understand the sequence of the
child's developing music skills.

Early Childhood Development

Generally, we have learned that children from birth to approximately age
six do not express music like adults. Early childhood, a period of rapid
change and development, is the most critical period in a child's musical
growth and has been identified in the literature as the "music babble"
stage (Moog, 1976; Gordon, 1988) or primary music development
(Levinowitz and Guilmartin, 1989, 1992, 1996). Even the youngest infant is
wired to receive music and discriminate among differences in frequency,
melody, and stimuli (Bridger, 1961; Trehub et al, 1990; Standley and
Madsen, 1990; Zentner and Kagan, 1996).

The years from birth through age six are critical for learning how to
unscramble the aural images of music and to develop mental
representations for organizing the music of the culture (Holahan, 1987;
Davidson, 1985). This process is similar to that which unfolds for language
during the "language babble" stage. The body of knowledge acquired
through research thus far supports the notion that, like language
development, young children develop musically through a predictable
sequence to basic music competence, which includes singing in tune and
marching to a beat (Levinowitz and Guilmartin, 1989, 1992, 1996).
Consider this analogy; in cable television, visual images are readily
available for any channel; however, to see them you need a cable box to
unscramble the images. During primary music development, children
create a "box" or mental representation to unscramble the aural images
of music. This multifaceted, complex mental representation is known is
"audiation". Audiation is paramount in importance because it is basic to all
types of musical thinking. Without audiation, no musical growth can take
place.

Early childhood is also the time when children learn about their world
primarily through the magical process of play. The substance of play in
very young children is usually comprised of the environmental objects
and experiences to which they have been exposed. If the music
environment is sufficiently rich, there will be a continuous and ever richer
spiral of exposure to new musical elements followed by the child's playful
experimentation with these elements.

Edwin Gordon has identified early childhood as the period of

developmental music aptitude (1988). During these years, music potential
or aptitude, which is based on the complex construct of audiation, is in a
state of change. Because of this state of change, the child's musical
aptitude is vulnerable to positive or negative influences through both
instruction and environment. Without sufficient stimulation and
exposure, a child has little with which to experiment and learn through his
or her musical play. The most typical negative influence on
developmental music aptitude is simply neglect. Hence, the inborn
potential for musical growth may actually atrophy.

Just as all children are born with the potential to learn to speak and
understand their native language, all children are born with the potential
to learn to perform and understand their culture's music. When a child
has developed a mental representation of his or her culture's music, the
inner reality (audiation) should enable the outer performance to be more
accurate. By first grade, many children develop the ability to perform the
music of their culture with accuracy. However, many children do not.

Understanding and Performance

The research conducted by Geringer (1983) and Apfelsradt 1984) suggests
that understanding the culture's music and the ability to perform
accurately are not necessarily related. Being able to perform music
accurately may be attributed to two factors. The first is audiation, which
involves acquisition of sound and the processing of it. The other is the
performer's technical acquaintance with his or her singing and movement
"instruments," which are largely kinesthetic (Weikart, 1987; Bertaux, 1989).
Therefore, in addition to developing the mental representation or
audiation of music, the early childhood years are also critical for
developing the ability to engage in music through singing and moving.

Our profession has frequently studied vocal development. From that

work, we have come to understand that using the singing voice is a
learned, complex skill (Phillips, 1992). To be developed properly, it must
begin in the early childhood years. If singing is not properly developed,
the ability to perform music vocally will not coincide with the ability to
think tonally. The vocal range is remarkably wide from birth. Infants can
imitate and experiment with their vocal instruments: and even match
pitch as early as three to four months of age. Purposeful singing can begin
at around twelve months. At this time, adults can recognize snippets of
songs to which youngsters have been exposed. Through continued
exposure to spoken chant, songs, and vocal play, young children can
develop the use of their singing voices during the remaining early
childhood years.

If the environment has supported vocal development, most children will

enter kindergarten with some use of their singing voices. Unfortunately, a
recent study (Levinowitz et al. 1998) shows a decrease in students' skill in
using their singing voices over the past two decades. In fact, less than half
of kindergarten-age children were able to differentiate between their
singing and speaking voices when performing a familiar song. It seems
that this may be the result of missing the key time to develop the singing
voice during early childhood through playful activities and thoughtful
adult guidance.

Both contemporary research and the traditions of many cultures have

demonstrated a profound connection between rhythm and movement.
The study of rhythm can be thought of as the study of all aspects of flow
of music through time. We experience rhythm as the flow of our
movement through space. From the developmental perspective, children
must experience rhythm in their bodies before they can successfully
audiate rhythm in their minds. The early childhood years are crucial for
using the body to respond as a musical instrument in many ways to many
different kinds of music. Real musical instruments, like tools, can then
become simply extensions or amplifications of the body's ability to be
musically expressive.

Phyliss Weikart, a pioneer in movement pedagogy, has noted that many

school-age children cannot walk to the beat of music, perform simple
motor patterns, or label how their bodies have moved (1987). She
suggests that children can gain this experience in naturally occurring
situations during infancy and early childhood, especially if adults
recognize the importance of early gross motor development and of
language interaction about rhythm and movement with young children.
Furthermore, other motor theorists' research supports the importance of
movement in early childhood. They have found that most fundamental
motor patterns emerge before the age of five and are merely stabilized
beyond that age (Gilbert, 1979).

Adult Involvement
Parents, care givers, and teachers can do a great deal to provide the
necessary stimulation through music experiences to nurture the young
child's music abilities. In fact, the importance of environmental factors in
music development is supported by the case studies undertaken by
Kelley and Sutton-Smith (1987). They studied three first-born females
from their births to two years later who were reared in families with three
contrasting musical backgrounds. One set of parents was professional
musicians, another set was musically oriented but not practicing
professional musicians, and the third set was not musically oriented - and
hence made fewer musical choices in their child-rearing practices. The
differences between the family that was not musically oriented and the
other two families were startling in that the two children who experienced
richer musical environments were considerably more developed in their
music behaviors.

Teachers and researchers have gleaned information from their

professional experience suggesting that early childhood development in
general and successful educational programs in particular can be
attributed to the partnership between the young child and his or her
significant others. Similarly, it seems that this philosophy could be applied
practically to early childhood music education. Forming collaborations
among the adults who care for our nation's youngest children and
understanding the learning processes specific to early childhood will
foster music abilities and contribute significantly to the overall growth and
development of the child.

References
Apfelstadt, J. "Effects of Melodic Perception Instruction on Pitch Discrimination and Vocal
Accuracy of Kindergarten Children." Journal of Research in Music Education 86 (1984):10-17.

Armstrong, T. The Foundations of the Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books,
1994.

Bertaux, B. "Teaching Children of All Ages to Use the Singing Voice, and How to Work with Out
of Tune Singers." in Readings in Music Learning Theory, edited by D.L. Walters and C.C. Taggart,
92-104. Chicago: G.I.A., 1989.

Bridger, W.H. "Sensory Habituation and Discrimination in the Human Neonate." American
Journal of Psychiatry, 117 (1961): 991-996.

Davidson, L. "Preschool Children's Tonal Knowledge: Antecedents of Scale," in The Young Child
and Music, edited by J. Boswell, 25-40. Reston: MENC, 1985.

Gardner, H. Frames of Mind. New York: Basic Books, 1983.

Geringer, J.M. "The Relationship of Pitch-matching and Pitch Discrimination Abilities of Preschool
and Fourth-grade Students." Journal of Research in Music Education, 31:2 (1983): 93-100.

Gilbert, J.P. "Assessment of Motoric Skill Development in Young Children: Test Construction and
Evaluation Procedures." Psychology of Music, 7:2 (1979): 21-25.

Gordon, E.E. Learning Sequences in Music: Skill, Content, and Patterns. Chicago: G.I.A., 1988.

Greenberg, M. "The Development and Evaluation of a Preschool Music Curriculum for Preschool
and Headstart Children." Psychology of Music, 2:1 (1974): 34-38.

Holahan, J.M. "The Development of Music Syntax: Some Observations of Music Babble in Young
Children," in Music and Child Development, edited by J.C. Peery, I.W. Peery, and T.W. Draper.
New York: Springer-Verlag 1987.

Kalmar, M. "The Effects of Music Education on the Acquisition of Some Attribute-concepts in

Preschool Children" [special supplement, XIIth International Research Seminar in Music
Education]. Canadian Music Educator, 30:2 (1989): 51-59.

"The Effects of Music Education Based on Kodaly's Directives in Nursery School Children from a
Psychologist's Point of View." Psychology of Music [ISME IX Research Seminar], 1982.

Kelley and Sutton-Smith. "A Study of Infant Musical Productivity," in Music and Child
Development, edited by J.C. Peery, I.W. Peery, and T.W. Draper. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1987.

Levinowitz, L.M., P. Barnes, S. Guerrini, M. Clement, P. D'April, and M.J. Morey. "Measuring Singing
Voice Development in the Elementary General Music Classroom." Journal of Research in Music
Education, 46:1 (1988): 35-48.

K.K. Guilmartin. Music and Your Child: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers. Princeton, NJ: Music
and Movement Center, 1989, 1992, and 1996.

Moog, H. The Musical Experience of the Preschool Child. London: B. Schlott, 1976. (Original work
published in German, 1968).

Peery, J.C., I.C. Peery and T.W. Draper. Music and Child Development. New York: Springer-Verlag,
1987.

Phillips, K.H. Teaching Kids to Sing. New York: Schirmer, 1992.

Rauscher, F.H., L.S. Shaw, L.J. Levine, E.L. Wright, W.R. Dennis, and R.L. Newcomb (1997). "Music
Training Causes Long-term Enhancement or Preschool Children's Spatial-temporal Reasoning."
Neurological Research, 19 (February, 1997).

G.L. Shaw, and K.N. Ky. "Music and Spatial Task Performance." Nature, 365 (1993): 611.

Standley, J.M. and C.K. Madsen. "Comparison of Infant Preferences and Responses to Auditory
Stimuli: Music, Mother, and Other Female Voice." Journal of Music Therapy, 26:4 (1990).

Trehub, S.E., L.A. Thorpe, and I.J. Trainor. "Infant's Perception of Good and Bad Melodies."
Psychomusicology, 9:1 (1990): 5-19.

Weikart, P.S. Round the Circle. Ypsilanti, Michigan: High/Scope Press, 1987.

Zentner, M. and J. Kagan. "Perception of Music by Infants." Nature: 383 (1996).

© 1998 by MENC: The National Association for Music Education.

Reprinted with permission and the understanding that appearance on this
website does not imply endorsement.
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