ABSTRACT
Music is an integral part of children’s lives. Children are attracted to communication by its musical features. This is made evident by studies indicating that children prefer infant-directed songs to infant-directed speech, and that infants move to music more than to speech. Music-making appears to have multiple benefits for young children’s social health and well-being. Music-making, and often specifically music training, has been linked to improvement of cognitive skills in children, but the route through which this takes place is under investigation. Music training has also been related to improvement in spatial abilities, literacy and numeracy skills. Music environments must provide a safe and supportive environment, which can enable children to experiment, engage in risk-taking and move beyond their levels of ability. The adult needs to be well-attuned to the child’s musical play, otherwise the adult’s responses could cause the play to stop or cause frustration to the children.
