One of the first things that children begin learning is music. We sing to them when they are babies to encourage them to fall asleep soundly and there is nothing more comforting than a sweet song when your child is not feeling well.
Children have a natural knack for learning rhythm and melody and music can be very captivating to them. However, music can be used for so much more than entertainment. In fact, studies now show that music has the power to teach literacy and numeracy as well.
Literacy
Research, in regards to literacy and music, dates back to the early 1950s when it was first discovered that children score higher on phonological awareness tasks if they also have high scores on pitch tasks. This means that children who are able to distinguish between pitches …show more content…
For example, they may have their students write down the sounds that the music is making so that they can make a connection between the music and literacy.
Numeracy
Music has also been shown to help kids improve math skills as well because it is very analytical. Not only does it help you to think more critically, but it also encourages kids to do more than one thing at a time.
With music, kids are being asked to read the notes so that they can follow the right tune, sing the words that are on the page as well as follow the pattern that is being demonstrated by the specific notes on the page. In many instances, they are also being asked to follow a conductor in order to stay on track.
In order to understand music, one must understand fractions. This can be very beneficial when kids are looking to learn math and is a way to get them more excited about learning the most crucial aspects of a difficult and sometimes boring subject. For kids who struggle in numeracy, introducing music to the learning process can be something that helps them to understand it