This Grandma should have titled this post, “From Utero to Death, Music is Our Friend.” In the last decade or so, we see images of pregnant women singing and playing music to their bellies.
We know that dancing and singing with our baby and toddler grandchildren is the most fun, as well as good for them.
However, the “sweet spot” in our grandchildren’s development for music training in terms of producing long-lasting positive effects in motor skill and sensory perception is age 6 to 8, according to a new study reported by Amy Ellis Nutt, in The Washington Post, February 7, 2015. She says, in her article, “New study takes note of music’s benefits: Taking lessons at an early age helps brain’s health later,” learning to play an instrument in youth helps older people retain listening skills, according to a new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.”
We know that finding time in our grandchildren’s busy lives to take music lessons is a chore. And getting them to practice is a chore for the parents of our grandchildren. The mother of our oldest grandchildren has a great attitude about music lessons and practice. She has them take lessons now, started when they were age 6 as she is so smart, but does not worry if they do not practice enough or practice at all. She believes that at some point the lessons may spark a greater interest in their own desire to become proficient or the benefit of the lessons and music knowledge is enough.
It now seems that she is right on many levels. She has taken the stress out of being a parent trying to get children to practice. She has provided a foundation that the new study at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Health Sciences in Toronto says will serve the grandchildren well for their lifetime. Ms. Nutt writes:
“The ability to recognize and comprehend speech diminishes with age even without measurable hearing loss, but in the experiment those who had experience playing an instrument were 20 percent faster in identifying random speech sounds than the nonmusicians, suggesting that music training protects against certain age-related cognitive declines.”
“Musical activities are an engaging form of cognitive brain training,” said lead author Gavin Bidelman, now at the University of Memphis, in a news release.”
“In our study we were able to predict how well older people classify or identify speech,” he said. “We saw a brain-behavior response that was two to three times better in the older musicians compared to non-musician peers.”
“In other words, old musicians’ brains provide a much more detailed, clean and accurate depiction of the speech signal, which is likely why they are much more sensitive and better at understanding speech.”
So, is it too late to start if the grandchild is past age 8? No.
“Bidelman and his team concluded that engaging in formal music training before the age of 14 and continuing for at least a decade produced the most positive changes in the brain.”
“While the study did not look at learning a musical instrument later in life, the results add to a growing body of evidence that suggests learning to play an instrument at any age is beneficial to brain health.”
Another study quoted by Ms. Nutt shows that, if we can just get the grandchildren to find the time to practice there are even more benefits to them as children:
“Earlier this year researchers at the University of Vermont found that the more a child trains on an instrument the better he or she is in attention, management of anxiety and emotional balance.”
So, grandmas everywhere, consider music lessons as a gift for your grandchildren. Do not stress and do not allow the parents to stress about practice. After all, the study says “experience” not “expertise” for a benefit through life and to us as we age.
Joy,
Mema
Comments