As tiny tots sing, tap and play in music class, experts say it boosts their brain development

Canada ·New Young children take part in a music class overseen by Michaela Tomiska, left, at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. Even toddlers can benefit from age-appropriate music classes, experts say. Not only can they set a foundation for learning an instrument, but intentional music learning also fires up areas of developing brains linked to attention, memory and language development.(Jessica Wong/CBC) After the Smart Start program was piloted in Toronto, as well as at the Vancouver Academy of Music and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music, it's gradually being rolled out more widely, including at some daycares and music schools in Vancouver, Regina and Calgary.(CBC) As tiny tots sing, tap and play in music class, experts say it boosts their brain development Play-based curriculum called Smart Start is catching on at daycares and music schools On a chilly, drizzly morning, toddlers and caregivers are all smiles inside a cosy room at Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music. They're singing songs, tapping rhythm sticks together and playing simple games with colourful balls and small toys - all taking the lead from a soft-spoken and nurturing instructor, Michaela Tomiska, who kindly but intentionally ushers them along with her sweet voice and gentle piano-playing. Syd Healey says his young son, Charlie, "just soaks it up like a sponge." The Toronto parent describes the once-a-week class as structured, research-based and thoughtful in approach, which has meant Charlie’s more engaged than with other activities they’ve tried: another music-themed class, gymnastics and soccer. Music classes for the very youngest children can set a foundation for them to one day pick up an instrument. But experts say engaging this age group with structured, intentional music learning also brings broader cognitive benefits: firing up areas of their developing brains linked to attention, memory and language development. In the conservatory's classes for tots, "there's a lot of different activities and it's changing quickly - and that works very well for him, so he's just always engaged at each moment, [while] in other classes he usually kind of drifts off," Healey said of his son. "He listens a lot better, and he's starting to pick up on a bit of the rhythm, like the beat." Music can teach fundamental skills Although naturally still reliant on caregivers in their first years of life, kids in this age range are already learning fundamental skills - like how to listen, communicate, pay attention, remember things or to switch between tasks. Doing it with music can help. With early music instruction, young children see “improvements in things like pre-reading ability ... attention to the sounds of language and even vocabulary size,” said Sean Hutchins, a neuroscientist and director of research at the Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM). WATCH | What toddlers can learn in structured, age-appropriate music classes: “Music cannot only train musical development but also linguistic and cognitive development," he said. Hutchins, who researches music training in early childhood, has worked for a decade to develop a play-based music curriculum called Smart Start....

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