Featured Mom: Deanna Ong – Early Childhood Music for Kids

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Do you think that every child has to learn music? I admit that I am an illiterate parent who loves listening to music but I don’t play any musical instruments. I love watching American Idol or GLEE and admire how wonderful the music is. My kids are learning music too and I still wonder how early childhood music can play a role in kids’ life. I view that many parents encourage their young children to learn music.

I have an opportunity to interview Deanna Ong from Atelier de Musique School in Penang. She has taken great efforts to answer my questions and presented me with more facts and information. I express my gratitude and I hope her answers will give a perspective for parents how important early childhood music education for young kids. Below is my email interview with her.

1. What are the benefits of music for kids’ development?

I feel I have to answer this in a general perspective first, because we are not just looking at how it helps them when they are growing up or ‘developing’ (in their first 9 years) but the benefits of music in them will carry on through their teenage years, adolescents, adult years and so on and how music does help a child to be successful later on in life (is not always visible but true)

Her answers are backed up by The National Association for Music Education, menc.org. From the general perspective, music can bring success in 4 aspects:

1. Success in Society

Music plays a significant role in our society. Music unites people and music brings joy to people. When the kids learn music, they will have greater understanding and appreciation of  the world around them. Music shapes ability and character in each individual and every nation.

2. Success in School and Learning

Music is to enrich child’s experiences in cognition, emotion, aesthetics, performance skills and individual capability. The skills that a child learns in music will be used for learning other things at school.

3. Success in Developing Intelligence

Playing a musical instrument improve brain sensitivity to speech sounds. This has connection with music and language. Learning music at young age can “fine-tune” the brain auditory system.

4. Success in Life

Music education in kids’ early life will trigger “success” in all aspects throughout their life. They will have critical analysis skill, the problem solving ability and a determination toward excellence.

Apart from general perspective, music for kids has 2 benefits: musical and non musical.

Musical benefits are to help in their success in learning an instrument later on.

For toddlers to preschoolers. In echoing pattern, they learn about hearing. In singing, they learn about tone and sound. In dancing and drumming, they learn about rhythm or beats in music.

For older kids. The process encompassed from babies’ aural learning – to when they are learning composition, dictation etc when they grow up.

Basically, kids learn music at their best when they are building on a strong foundation of listening skills and aural awareness.

Non musical benefits:

Rhythm and melody in music help develop memory, math skill, conceptualization and creativity. Music touches all areas of intellectual development.

2. I see music program is now tailored to very young kids. They even have music program for babies. Why do children need to learn music at early age?

We have different theories: Gardner, Mozart and Windows of Learning and they all provide the reasons why music shall start at early age.

According to Gardner, music develops the whole brain: left and right brain and learning music may develop  9 types of multiple intelligence in kids: linguistic, logical-math, kinesthetic, spatial, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalist, existential intelligence.

Mozart Music is tailored for young kids is to improve children language, movement, and emotional skills at home, school, and play. Mozart Music is also played for the unborn baby to stimulate the brain growth in the womb and to connect between a mom and her unborn baby.

Windows of Learning. When a child is in their developmental windows and receives the right stimulation, the child will learn effectively and easily. For example, the windows for learning fine motor skill ends at the age of 10.  If the child learns musical instrument before the age of 10, the child will be able to learn it easily. If the child learns the instrument after the age of 10, he needs more time and more practice to be proficient.

3. How to choose the right music program for our kids? How to gauge child’s interest in which musical instrument?

Choosing the right music program is vital to the success of music learning. Good programs should be based on meeting the developmental needs of children as they grow. The children are luckier in this era, that early childhood music programs  are ready available unlike our years 20/30 years back when we have to start at once with an instrument.

Having said this, a child’s music education should not begin with an instrument study unless he is 8/9 years of age. Thus younger children should begin with his/her instrument first which is the ‘body and voice’.  Music and movement activities that encourages singing, chanting, listening skills, feel of steady beats, rhythmic patterns, singing of tonal patterns, exploring of musical instruments, creative movements are important activities and what parents should look for in a program.

However, parents should also be very careful in choosing a program which layers a strong musical foundation meaning that the method should be based on research.  Importantly the method should be pedagogically sound so that the learning child should not feel frustrated along the way but having the feeling of success in his learning!

An example would be: A program with music and movement activities but move on to another different program is also not a good choice as the question of where the continuity of pedagogical method is.

Another important factor a parent should look for is ‘music literacy’. Be aware that your child might be learning music but in actual fact she is learning how to make sounds on the instruments by decoding the music notes and pressing the correct place at the instrument. When a child learns music this way, she is definitely not music literate! Music literate is able to ‘hear music with her eyes’ when reading a score or a piece of music and ‘see with her ears’! (Imagine how a score looks like).

Having said all these, I would like to post a question “Is gauging an instrument STILL important for a young beginner?”

As an educator, I would recommend Musikgarten program that leads to music literacy.  Another plus point of Musikgarten is that the program is based on Professor Edwin Gordon’s ‘Theory of Music Learning’.

4. What shall parents do when a child wants to quit in the middle of his music course?

With proper preparation for the child in music education, a parent need not worry that a child would quit learning an instrument! But it is also sad that in our ever modern society, music education is looked upon as an extra which is not important in our daily life! Moreover, with having so much to do at school, lack or practices and time often results in children feeling frustrated and therefore wanting to quit instrumental classes! So most of the time, it is the parents that contributes to the success or failure of the child!

It is my belief and opinion that a child should not be given the choice in the decision making to quit, unless the parents trust that the child is responsible for his/her doing so (that his quitting is the right decision).  But then the parent has also to ask himself if the child wants to quit school, will the parent give in?

About Deanna Ong and Atelier de Musique School:

She has been teaching music classes for more than 20 years and she is the owner of  Atelier de Musique School in Penang. Atelier de Musique School is a centre specializing in teaching music literacy. Atelier offer the full specs of Musikgarten (USA) program from babies to keyboard classes! Other courses include violin for children that compliments our MG program, individual piano and violin (ABRSM, trinity guildhall, LCM). Other services : educational music programs, music arrangements for groups, etc. You can visit Atelier de Musique Facebook Group or visit Atelier de Musique School at 3-2-11, desa mutiara, lorong delima 20, jalan Yeap Chor Ee, Gelugor, Penang.

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