Nursery World - EYFS Activities - neuro-musical networks: Musical minds

In a new music-based series, Boogie Mites’ Sue Newman considers how involvement in regular music-making from birth can boost brain development, health and happiness

Download a Boogie Mites tapping and drumming song, videos and suggestions for associated activities for free here

Neuroscientists talk about the ‘musician’s advantage’, since they are aware that playing and practising music develops neural networks across the whole brain.

Studies with 3- to 4-year-olds show us that for the brain to process the component parts of language, a huge number of messages need to fire around the brain and they use the same circuit of neural pathways that are developed through regular music practice in early years – developing melodic and rhythmic awareness through playing with pitch, tempo, dynamics, rhythm and keeping the beat with moving, singing, shaking, tapping and banging activities.

MUSIC IS LANGUAGE

Nina Kraus at Northwestern University in Illinois in the USA has found evidence that music and language skills are biologically linked. She says, ‘Rhythm is an integral part of both music and language, and the rhythm of spoken language is a crucial cue to understanding.

‘It may be that musical training – with its emphasis on rhythmic skills – can exercise the auditory-system, leading to less neural jitter and stronger sound-to-meaning associations that are so essential to learning to read.’

What’s more, research has shown that regular music practice not only enhances language skills but also the executive functions of the brain – planning, strategising, problem-solving, managing emotions, and pro-social and empathetic behaviour.

NEURAL NETWORKS

All of the following networks are connected to the three main cortices of the brain and all are seen to be activated by music practice:

Super sense network – making sense of language
Reward network – giving a sense of achievement and motivation, reinforcing positive learning experiences
Cognitive network – the engine room, figuring out how to do things, the steps or process
Perceptual network – predicting what comes next
Cognition network – figuring out what it all means, what we like or do not like
Emotional network – affecting mood, resilience emotions and empathy

ACTIVITY IDEAS

Amass a variety of hollow objects, as well as any drums you have, which the children can use as a drum – pans, tins, ceramic or metal plant pots, wooden boxes, etc, of varying sizes. Provide them with a range of sticks and wooden spoons and encourage them to experiment with sound.

You can vary the sounds created by exploring:

Pitch – is the note low or high? What makes low notes and what makes high ones? How do they sound together?
Tempo – fast or slow? What is a moderate tempo?
Dynamics – from loud to quiet and in-between.
Rhythm – try different patterns of sound over a steady beat.
Keeping the beat – play with one constant beat, with sound just being made ‘on the beat’.
Pulse – a waltz has a very different feeling from a marching song. You could take a piece of music or traditional nursery rhyme and use that as your pulse. Marching songs such as ‘Oh When the Saints Go Marching In’ tend to have four beats in a bar (1, 2, 3, 4, repeat), while waltzes have just three (1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3); for example, The Blue Danube by Strauss.
moving – try marching, jumping, dancing to the music
singing, clapping and stamping feet
Percussion – more complex instruments such as shakers can be added to the mix.
And don’t forget silence! You can try having one ‘conductor’ who points at groups of children to make noise on cue – and only on cue.

Remember that you are developing the key skills needed for language and literacy, and setting fireworks off in the children’s brains – as well as having fun.

You can sign up to download and trial a Boogie Mites tapping and drumming song and associated resources for free here

Nursery World readers can claim a 20% discount on Boogie Mites programmes for the duration of this series, from July to December 2022. Use BMNW20% discount at the checkout. Contact sue@boogiemites.co.uk for further information.

BOOGIE MITES CORE MUSIC PROGRAMMES

Boogie Mites runs three core programmes: