Music Therapy Month Series: Music Therapy and Early Childhood

Music is prevelant in the life of a young child (and rightfully so!) This post will address how and why music therapy works for children ages birth-5 years.

In order to delineate music therapy from other ways young children experience and learn music, a quick definition:

Music therapy is an intentional and developmentally appropriate use of music by a music therapist to address a variety of goals.

These goals will vary based on the individual or the group. Often, early childhood music therapy focuses on meeting developmental milestones. These include communication, social/emotional, sensori-motor and cognitive skills.

Why is music therapy so successful in early childhood?

• Children are inherently musical. Did you know that even infants can "coo" on the tonic or dominant pitch (1^st and 5^th notes in a scale, respectively)?
• Music therapy is multi-modal: this means it is not only something one listens to, but can move to see and feel. ( and in the case of infants, possibly taste as well!)
• Music is motivating and engaging. Music permeates an environment—it is difficult to shut one’s ears the way one can shut his or her eyes! Music is energizing and can encourage motor skills and development. Alternatively, music can be calming and comforting as well.
• Young children learn through play. Music therapy is naturally playful and therefore a developmentally appropriate way to reinforce and increase cognitive skills.
• Even before a child can speak, music can provide a path of communication. Music can be the commonality that helps that child relate to others. Music making is a social event and can support and increase appropriate interactions with caregivers and peers.

MTEC provides individual and group sessions for young children—these children include "typically developing" chidren, children with disabilities and children considered “at-risk.”

MTEC is proud to be a part of Toddler Rock at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! Toddler Rock is a pre-literacy program that serves children from underserved areas of Cleveland. Check out more information about this program here.