Musicians are Smarter?

As the Huffington Post reports:

Researchers tested the mental abilities of senior citizens and discovered that musicians performed better at a number of tests. In particular, musicians excelled at visual memory tasks. While musicians had similar verbal capabilities to non-musicians, the musicians’ ability to memorize new words was markedly better, too. Perhaps most importantly, the musicians’ IQ scores were higher overall than those who spent their lives listening to music rather than performing it.


Kindermusik just posted on this blog about how 6 year olds taking music lessons were shown to have enhanced IQs. This study shows that the benefit to intelligence and IQ lasts throughout life, well into the senior years. That leads to another very important point that I read. The research proved that the younger the musician was when he or she started playing an instrument, the sharper the mind in old age. Now, that doesn’t mean starting your toddler at piano lessons at age 2 is right either (there is an appropriate age for proper music instruction to start). But, it does mean that doing age-appropriate musical activities with your children from a very young age may actually help raise your child’s IQ and intelligence.

Learning by Contrast

Children enjoy learning within the context of contrast, as it is one of the primary tasks of their preschool years. Understanding contrasting concepts (i.e., loud and soft, fast and slow, high and low) is a significant aspect of cognitive development. The capacity to learn relationships between ideas and then apply the learned information in other situations is highly related to a child’s success in school. (Johnson-Martin, Attermeier, and Hacker, 1990)

Tips for parents: Play the Contrast Game. Sing a line from a song or say a line from a favorite little rhyme or chant in a high voice. Ask your child what she heard. Was it high or low? Then invite her to copy you in her low voice. Repeat this with other musical contrasts like fast and slow, loud and soft, or long and short. You can also switch and let your child be the leader. (This is a great game for the car, while you’re getting supper ready, or while you’re waiting in line at the store!)

Young Child 1

“Not every child understands from the same learning approach. There are several different approaches for each child. It’s finding the way to teach the material to the child that’s key…”*



This week’s class offered a diverse array of musical experiences—from aurally identifying percussion instruments to playing instruments on a musical cue, from listening to sounds of nature to visually recognizing a new music notation symbol, and from singing songs to playing movement games. Through various learning modes, several musical concepts were introduced and learned. Each Kindermusik classroom is likely to include children with different learning styles. For example, some children learn best when a concept is introduced visually, some through aural introduction, and some through movement. Each and every Kindermusik class incorporates several learning modes, making learning accessible to each and every child!

I love You Baby!

Here’s a little activity from Kindermusik that you can do to bond with your baby and help with baby’s digestion, circulation, and even mood!

Position your baby on his back. Beginning with your hands at the top of your baby’s chest, slowly move your hands outward and down, in the shape of a heart, to gently warm up his mid-body. Sing or hum Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or another favorite lullaby as you continue to move your hands slowly outward and down. This type of loving touch stimulates healthy levels of stress hormone in your baby’s brain and aids his digestion and circulation.Plus he will love to hear your voice singing to him and the eye to eye contact.