Music for Infants

Why Music for Babies?
All answers adapted from the introduction to the Music Together Babies Song Collection.

We talk to babies and toddlers even before they can speak, so shouldn't we sing to them too? Singing to your child is like reading to her, feeding her, talking to her, swimming with her. You're sharing  an experience with her that brings joy and bonding. Exposure to musical experiences in early childhood starts your child on the road to singing in tune and keeping a steady beat. The brain in the first 5 years of life is wide open to absorbing the sounds and rhythms of music, but stages of synaptic pruning in the brain in middle childhood mean that music, just like language, is a use-it-or-lose-it skill.  Give your child the gift of music.

Q: How do I know that my baby is responding to music in her environment? What will he do?
A: Watch for your baby's response to music, especially as someone begins to sing or play. While listening, the baby may stop her usual movements or activity and seem to stare intently or freeze. When the music stops, the baby will often change activity again. Here are some of the ways babies respond to music:
* Feet stretch out or kick
* Eyes "brighten" or change focus
* Tongue moves in repetitive motion inside mouth
* Eyes look to the sound or movement sources
* Hands clench
* Hands wave wildly in the air
* Torso middle moves rhythmically
* Cooing sounds
* Smiles and giggles
* Squeals of delight
* Crying in the resting tone after the activity ends

Q: How can I validate and encourage my baby's response to the music?
A: Imitate him!  With a tiny one, you can imitate eyes widening, vocal babbling and cooing, wiggling fingers at waving arms, and singing the tones she babbles or cries on when the song is over.  Give her time when the music is over.  Infants often take 5 to 10 seconds after the music is over to make a responsive sound.  You can then respond by imitating her sounds.  You might get a musical conversation going!

Q: How can I help my infant develop tonally?
A: Your baby is likely to pay particular attention to your mouth when you sing, so exaggerate your mouth movements, especially when you are doing songs without words."

Babies love contrast and are particularly attentive to changes. So at home, juxtapose favorite fast activities next to slow ones, and loud ones next to quiet ones. When you perform a chant, use your high-pitched voice some of the time and your low- and medium-pitched voices other times. When you sing, vary the sound quality of your voice to offer contrasting dramatic interpretations.

At home, engage in lots of resting tone play - that is, fool around vocally on the home pitch of a song. Sing the resting tone quietly in each of the baby's ears, or sing the resting tone while you 'brrrrrr' your lips or sing the baby's name or anything else that would be fun.

Q: How can I help my infant develop rhythmically?
A: There are many different ways you can help your baby to feel the rhythm of the song or chant. You can hold your infant close as you move to the beat.  You can gently tap or stroke your baby on various parts of her body. Your can move your baby through space in time to the music by swinging her in your arms or in a swing.

Let your child see you dance while he rests on a blanket or in a seat.  You can show him different ways of walking, skipping, dancing on the microbeat or the macrobeat with small or large movements.  Wave a scarf above the baby as you sing or chant. Two parents may enjoy "flying" their infant towards each other until they are face to face.

For more ideas or to see the above tips in action, watch and listen to your Music Together teacher.

Q: Why is my baby's babbling important, and how can I support babbling outside of class?
A: Music Together lab schools have found that the introduction of sound play and games at an early age supports vocal development by increasing the frequency and variety of vocal expression. Parents and other primary caregivers can encourage their babies' singing voices as much as they do their early efforts at speech by responding to their child's vocal sound play.

All you really have to do to support your infant's babbling is to follow her lead! You might notice that your child likes to lie in bed making sounds to himself for long periods of time. This is his way of mastering the sounds he is hearing in his environment through play. The child's own "babble" is the perfect source of sounds to imitate when you are together.
If you can let go of words for a while, you can enter the wonderful world of sounding that your baby is exploring and actually communicate with him!

You will probably notice that your baby has some favorite sounds and that her preferences change as time goes on. You may also notice that she plays with some sounds for her own delight and uses others specifically to communicate, either with pets, objects, other children, or a parent. Most parents in our culture will communicate back to the child at these moments with words, perhaps in a sing-song voice known as "motherese" which mimics the child's higher range and inflection. But the communication is still in words. Instead of words, try to communicate back to you baby using the same kinds of sounds she is making. By communicating to her in the same mode or "language" of the moment, you acknowledge and validate your child's creations and extend the duration of her play.

In all cases, watch your baby for signs of disinterest, stress or fatigue and stop when your baby is ready. All of this vocal play serves to stimulate the creative process and motivate the child to further play, discovery and expression.