Cultural Education from Infancy. Part 3: Music

You surely remember how you used to sing children’s songs over and over again to make a child laugh, teach it different movements, or make it sleep. Where parents sing, there is safety. People fleeing from danger do not sing, and even a tiny creature like a baby knows that. Have you laughed at yourself for not hitting a single right note? Experts agree that it does not matter. And children do not care either, despite the fact that they are born with an excellent ear for music. They catch the “tone” of the language. They gradually lose their perfect pitch, and over time also their ear for music, if it is not developed. Biologically speaking, the moment they learn the language of their tribe, the brain, which works on the principle – the unnecessary goes away, the necessary is further developed – will consider that perfect pitch is no longer a condition for survival. Maybe it would even complicate our lives, because the tones in our surroundings are very often not perfect. For those few individuals who do not experience this transformation, the rest of us are left with a bit of luck with better or worse musical ear that allows us to experience music and enjoy its beneficial effects.

The positive influence music has on us is not unknown. Each of us has favorite tones that chill down, inspire and motivate. There are various theories that consider classical music or meditation music as suitable for therapeutic purposes. And so we play Mozart or Bach to children, hoping to stimulate their brains in the right way. But just like their parents, kids also like different kinds of music, plus they mirror their parents as they observe what makes them feel good. This concept does not discriminate against any musical genres. However, an interesting finding is that listening to simple, pure tones allows the brain to better build an apparatus for better recognition of what is heard. Simply put, the brain arranges the notes in succession as if they were piano keys placed side by side. The better it knows individual tones, the better we can hear and pick up different tones and sounds in our speech.

When it misses some because they are “dusted” with an indefinite noise, it is especially difficult for children to recognize and repeat the words, which complicates further understanding, meaning and repetition. Music literally heals in such moments.

It is also a universal language, and learning music is really just as nourishing for the brain as learning a new language. Knowing the musical language creates a broad neural network that interacts in the future with everything we learn later. Thanks to the fact that we each have such unique and diverse neural networks, influenced by everything we have learned, by all the unique experiences in our lives, we are capable to achieve diverse and unique solutions to perhaps standard problems or decision-making tasks.

Here, too, it is beneficial to have a good foundation. When you learn the multiplication table well, the brain does not have to make so much effort when calculating more complicated tasks, it can focus on more complex operations and perceive the exercise in a more comprehensive manner. The basics of music allow for a deeper musical experience later, and the goal is not for each of us to be a top artist. Currently, the Ministry of Eductaion of the Slovak Republic sees artistic and leisure-time education as prevention against various pathological phenomena. Thus, the goal is to bring into the lives of us and our children as many tools as possible to cope with the difficulty of functioning in the inhospitable environment of the surrounding world.

Music brings together. I encountered it directly at the university where music was taught. A person alone with his or her musical instrument. From a certain point of view, this is true. But beyond that, most of us feel good about consuming, sharing, or creating music with others. Music is a tool of communication. International communication. Just as it is important for children to attend art schools where they learn the basics, it is equally important to experience music with children as being members of the society. As a society, we have an obligation to allow children to experience musical culture. As a society, we are obliged to take care of our musical culture, because yes, indeed, this is also one of the tools to deal with difficult situations.

 

Jana Javorská

 

The Kultúrny kyslík (Cultural Oxygen) project was supported from public funds by the Arts Council (Fond na podporu kultúry) as the main partner.