Music Development 101: Developmentally appropriate music-making for kids

Written by Dan Finkel

Let me give it to you straight – I’ve seen a bunch of musical “toys” out there, many of them making ridiculous claims about the musical learning they will provide for your child, as if shaking a little plastic thing filled with beads when they’re nine months old will turn them into Mozart or John Lennon.  As parents we are frequently given the message that the early years are crucial if you want your child to be an excellent musician (or athlete, or student, or whatever), and these toys are marketed directly to our fears that we will somehow miss the window and doom our children to permanent musical mediocrity.  Guess what?  The truth is much simpler, and a whole lot more positive (as it often is).  Here are a few simple guidelines for fanning the pre-existing musical spark found in every human child, organized by age.

1.  Pre-natal – 3 months old:

Evidence is mounting that in the last 3 months of pregnancy the fetus can hear a range of outside sounds from inside the womb.  They are probably very tuned in to the tones of their mother’s speech (itself a musical sound), but can also hear some aspects of ambient music.  There is no evidence that playing music to a fetus has any impact on later musical ability, but at least you know that they can hear it!  There is also lots of evidence that lullabies, which are a universal feature of humans in every single culture we know about, are wonderful for soothing crying babies, and soothing jangled parent nerves.  You don’t have to have a good voice, or sing on key, or even know any words – holding an infant and humming to them is good for both of you, and singing with your kids is great at every stage of development.  Infants may already show some musical preferences – just try out your own favorites and see what they respond to.  In general, for this or any other age, slower tunes with simpler compositions will help with getting ready for sleep (as opposed to upbeat rock or complex jazz).

2.  4 months-1 year:

This is a wide range, so of course 1 year-olds have interests that 4 month-olds do not.  However, a few simple things to keep in mind will help engage you and your child musically.  First, if the sound of any given toy or object annoys you, get rid of it – there is no need to add to the list of ways your infant can push your buttons by giving them battery toys that infuriate you (by literally pushing buttons).  Try to include a few musical objects made from naturally occurring materials like wood, or even metal (as long as it is safe) rather than plastic – these tend to make sounds with more interesting harmonic overtones, allowing your child’s brain to do a little more work in processing the sound.  Kids in this age range (and on up until about 3 years old) are mostly percussionists – very few will be interested in playing melodies, making those little toy pianos kind of silly.  Here are couple of items that kids in this range can play with, and of course they will always be just as happy banging on pots and pans:

3-6 months

9-12 months

3. 18 months – 2 years:

Kids this age will start to be able to sing songs, getting the general features of rising or falling tones and some aspects of rhythm into sync (no pun intended).  At this point it is appropriate to introduce some toys that let them explore notes and the relationships between them (though they will still probably want to bang on things much more often than not – keep those drums, shakers, and pots and pans handy).  A few suggestions for this age might include a cheap guitar you don’t care about (you can get these for less than $15 dollars on craigslist or ebay, and some of them will even be on the small side), a child’s harmonica (here plastic may actually be preferable for safety’s sake, though it would be pretty hard to hurt yourself with a metal one), and a child’s xylophone (again, wood is preferable).

4. 2 1/2 – 4 years old:

Finally – this stage is where musical things are really going to get fun.  Kids this age can begin to keep a beat pretty accurately, can do more singing on key (or close), can recognize and remember familiar music quickly, and will start to be more and more interested in dancing when they hear music they like.  Don’t be shy – take this opportunity to dance with someone with no social consequences or ramifications whatsoever!  Don’t worry if your child doesn’t look quite right when they dance at this age – the motor skills we use to move our entire bodies to music aren’t wired up yet in their brains, so they will usually start out just moving their shoulders, feet, hips, and hands one body part at a time (often with surprisingly good rhythm, however).  By the time they reach the end of this stage they will start to be more coordinated.  As for playing music, these guys are ready for anything!  I recommend looking into percussion packs using a few principles.  First, variety is good.  Second, (again) try to limit the plastic – it just doesn’t sound as good!  Third – go cross-cultural – many other cultures have amazing instruments that you can discover with your kids.  This has the advantage of being new and interesting for you, too, and also increases the likelihood that they will not be made of plastic.  If you feel ambitious, this could also be an entry into exploring other aspects of the culture (like their music, for example!) with your child.  I’ve included one link to such a pack (pricey, but fair trade and eco-friendly, and presumably would last a long time) below:

http://www.greenhome.com/products/kids/toys/109797/

5. 5 – 6 years old:

Once your kids are in the 5-6 age range, if you want to encourage them to pursue music, they are old enough now to begin lessons.  I would recommend piano, primarily because it has both treble and bass clef, and is ideal for learning music theory.  Even if you don’t continue with lessons at this or any other age, we are all still musicians if we want to be!  Keep on banging on pots and pans with your kids, singing, listening to music, and going to see it performed live (the best!) in whatever venues and styles make you happy!

If your child has a musical toy that they love,

please share it in a comment!

Dan is currently pursuing a PhD in Anthropology at UConn, studying human evolution and behavior as they relate to music, religion, and social cognition.  He has been an educator in a number of settings, including Outdoor Educator, Adult Educator, High School Science Instructor, and most recently Parent (which is probably more of a student role than a teacher role, to be honest).  Dan has several passions: his family, science, outdoor education, and music.  He is an amateur musician (bass) and a life-long fan of many types of music.