Essential skills that are developed when we listen to quality music

Posted on 5 September 2015

Listening is not just simply hearing a person talking or hearing a sound. Real listening is a skill and it needs to be developed. Babies begin to learn words and sounds because they hear it from their parents and environment. As they get older they hear more sounds and they learn more. This is why listening to quality music is important.

"Quality Music" can be different for everyone, but there are some studies that mention a specific type of music that is great for babies and kids when it comes to improving their listening skills.

Classical music, according to research looks to be the best genre to listen to if someone wants to develop their listening skills. Of course, listening to music already contributes to strengthening this skill, but Classical Music has been the most widely used type of music in these studies and it has proven to be very effective.

3 Listening Skills that are strengthened by listening to music

Active Listening is the first skill that we come to. Active listening means that we are fully engaged in the act of listening. There are several things we should be doing in order to be actively listening.

1. Eye Contact and facing the speaker is very important. This helps us focus on the speaker.
2. No talking on the part of the listener. We should also mention minimizing or eliminating other sounds that may distract us from listening.
3. Giving attention to the message of the words and also looking at the body language of the speaker.
4. Empathizing with the message is how we reply in active listening. This shows that we have understood the message and are responding.

Concentration is the next skill. The more you and your kids practice listening to the lyrics of a song or the arrangement of the instruments the more we are exercising our concentration. Concentrating helps us focus. Whether it is school, work, or play time concentrating on the activity in front of us will help ensure that we do our best.

Empathy is another important skill. When you empathize with someone you don't necessarily agree with them. Empathizing means that you are responding in an appropriate manner based on your understanding of what you heard.

All this talk seems to be quite technical and boring but we actually do this every time we communicate well with someone. When your child is actively listening to you they are doing their best to understand what you are saying. If we did this all the time then we would have a more harmonious life with everyone.

So please do listen to music with your kids. Listen to songs that you both like and sometimes listen to songs that you don't enjoy as much. Talk about the words, and the story or meaning behind them.

Listening to music to improve your listening skills doesn't always mean that you have to choose Classical Music, or a specific genre of music. The best way that babies and toddlers learn is through play so choose fun songs that you and your little one can listen to. The more we practice listening the better we will be at it.