For Educators of Young Children. Here Is A Great Book For Your Library.

Good Read: Healing at the Speed of Sound

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Kindermusik International

Don Campbell has been a long-standing friend ofKindermusik International and has a widespread fan base among Kindermusik educators. After The Mozart Effect was published in 1997, Don shared his passion and discoveries with Kindermusik educators at the 1999 Kindermusik Convention in Minneapolis. To say his message resonated with our educators is an understatement!

His new book, co-authored with Alex Doman, Healing at the Speed of Sound, boldly underlines what forms the basis of Kindermusik’s passion for incorporating music and movement more fully into the lives of children and their families. Music is powerful. The abundance of research that now supports the hypotheses of the 90’s lends credence to the long-lasting and far-reaching benefits of music – for children AND adults. This book helps you understand how sound affects health and healing, reduces stress, and stimulates cognitive process and memory. Add the fun, joy, and social benefits of a Kindermusik class and you know it’s true… A good beginning with Kindermusik never ends.

As this interview with the author on Salon.com covers, the book shows us that music has great benefits for all. “Music has been shown to improve children with learning disabilities, help elders feel more connected to the world, and even get people into better shape. It provides children with a “hook” for the brain’s memory centers, allowing them to retain more information, and it can play huge roles in modifying our moods.

The author discusses why music is so important for young children’s brains from a neurological perspective, sharing:

The more participation there is with music early on — through singing and movement — the more it simultaneously activates multiple levels of the brain. If you look at the corpus callosum [of someone who plays music] there are more connections made between right and left sides. A child who is moving, dancing and singing learns coordination between their eye, ear and sound early on. And [the experience of participating in music education] helps integrate the social, the emotional and the real context of what we’re learning. There are studies that show children who play music have higher SAT scores, that learning to control rhythm and tempo not only help them get along with others but plants seeds for similar advantages when we get much older.