Musicing

We received a sweet new addition to our family this week, Audrey Elizabeth. As my wife was nursing the baby, she sang to her as she has done with our other three children. It’s no wonder that they naturally learn to match pitch and develop, without formal instruction, the ability to sing melodies. When our oldest was born, it was around the time that the ‘music makes you smarter’ idea was becoming popularized and we played quite a bit of classical music for him. For the others we didn’t play so much classical music and they seem to be just as bright as the first and just as ‘musical.’ It seems that singing and moving (rhythm-ing) with the kids is what really has an impact. And, it goes beyond the ability to sing–encompassing a much broader definition of being musical to include the ability to be musical in everyday life as a source of joy and a mode of human interaction.

I wonder about the elitism of encouraging parents to play classical music for children. Doesn’t it send the message that those who have listened to classical music since they were children are somehow smarter than children who listen to country music, for example? However, ‘exposure’ to classical music is related to social class. I’m sure that a research study could be devised that would show that, indeed, people who listened to classical music as children did better in school than other students. Of course, this would simply underscore the many social ‘advantages’ of the upper and middle classes that allow them to excel at the expense of others; it would have very little to do with what genre of music they listened to.

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