Archive: Arts & Entertainment

We are musical beings.  We are all born with the potential to make beautiful music. In fact, 84% of us could one day play in a symphony orchestra if we get the right musical start in life.*   

Most children are born with the potential to sing in tune and move their bodies with accurate rhythm by age three or four if they are provided with the right musical experiences throughout their early childhood.  When families include music-making as part of their daily home life, children can easily fulfill that potential.

In our culture, however, children usually aren’t able to do this until age five, six, or even later. Music is no longer as central to our family and social lives as it once was.  If families experience music in the home these days, all too often it is only in the form of passive listening to recordings.

Making music with your child is important for your child’s musical development.  Even if you think your voice is best heard only in the shower, show your child that it isn’t about performance; it’s about the enjoyment. Not all of us have great musical skills, but we can teach our children to love music.  Children learn by playing and imitating.  If you have fun making music, your child will, too. 


Sing, play instruments, dance.  Expose them to a wide variety of music differing in tonality, rhythm and style.  Help them to hear the beauty in music of other cultures as well as our own.  Make it fun.  Use kitchen utensils and pots and pans if you don’t have instruments.  In fact, just about any object can be transformed into a musical instrument.  Let them explore and play and improvise. 

Draw and paint while listening to music; make up stories with background music.  Sing familiar songs and substitute words to fit your activities – “we are taking a bath, let’s all brush our teeth, we are riding in the car”, etc.  All these are ways to be creative with music-making at home.

Children under the age of five are little musical sponges. This is the time to take the potential with which they are born and develop it to its fullest. 

Make music with your children if you want to give them a good head start for a lifetime of musical enjoyment.  It’s never too early to begin.

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