Cubic Quiz:
Cubic Frog® has it’s very own line of singalong learning songs because:
A) We are extreme music lovers, have our own office playlists, and say at least twice per day ‘HAVE YOU HEARD THIS!?’
B) Every single person who works at Cubic Frog® plays a musical instrument
C) Music is a scientifically proven essential part of brain development for children and adults
D) Making videos as colorful and wacky as the songs we write is an excellent challenge
E) Music is fun!
F) All of the above
The answer of course… F) All of the above!
And just to prove we’re not bluffing about how totally essential music is for children, here are Cubic Frog®’s 5 Amazing Ways Music Boosts Kid’s Learning and Development
1. Music Builds Fine Motor Skills
It doesn’t matter which instrument, any interaction with music makers has show to exercise fine motor muscles in incredibly beneficial ways. “Children who had three years or more musical instrument training performed better than those who didn’t learn an instrument in auditory discrimination abilities and fine motor skills.”
2. Music Boosts Vocabulary
Playing a musical instrument is both a physical and mental experience. Being able to translate written notes to physical movements is a powerful skill to master. For this reason children of all ages and all musical skill levels “tested better on vocabulary and nonverbal reasoning skills, which involve understanding and analyzing visual information, such as identifying relationships, similarities and differences between shapes and patterns.”
3. Music Makes People More Likely to Exercise and Exercise for Longer
And we’re not even talking about shaking it on the dance floor! Besides inspiring little ones to wiggle to the music, it turns out music can provide needed distraction for the act of exercising and make it possible to exercise for longer, at a more consistent and intense pace. “A 2012 study showed that cyclists who listened to music required 7% less oxygen to do the same work as those who cycled in silence.” Exercise a necessary elements to getting blood flowing and oxygenated in order to think our clearest.
4. Classical Music Improves Visual Attention
It turns out it’s harder to focus when there’s complete silence, or, people are more likely to become distracted when there’s silence and every interruption of this silence can be heard. “Stroke patients in one small study showed improved visual attention while listening to classical music. The study also tried white noise and silence to compare the results, and found that, like the driving study mentioned earlier, silence resulted in the worst scores.”
Playing background classical music gives the brain something to concentrate on as background noise, so the visual parts of the brain can remain more focused. This is a great trick for kids who might otherwise have a difficult time keeping their eyes and mind on one task, especially in the classroom.
5. Music is a Mood Changer
It turns out listening to music can actually lower your level of the stress hormone Cortisol. “Scientists at the University of Missouri have found that people can boost their mood simply by listening to upbeat music. ‘Our work provides support for what many people already do—listen to music to improve their moods.'”
5 Amazing Ways Music Boosts Kid’s Learning Information Sources:
https://blog.bufferapp.com/music-and-the-brain
http://www.healthline.com/health-news/mental-listening-to-music-lifts-or-reinforces-mood-051713#1
