SUMMARY Research project commissioned by Youth Music. ktoyourbaby/youthmusicresearch. html

Regular weekly or bi weekly contact over a two year period between a musician and very young children (0-5) does impact on several areas of children's development ktoyourbaby/youthmusicresearch. html

 Data related to the development of communication skills and understanding has been analyzed and categorized. ktoyourbaby/youthmusicresearch. html

*speech development *following instructions *increasing vocabulary *increasing rhyming words and phrases *anticipating words and phrases *engaging in conversations *understanding stories ktoyourbaby/youthmusicresearch. html

 Children seem to find it easier to remember long strings of words, phrases and sentences when they are 'attached' to a tune.  They develop the ability to do this through song before they are able to do it in speech. Taken from baby/youthmusicresearch.html

 Children learn new words through learning the words to songs.  They learn action vocabulary through singing songs which have actions.  They learn positional vocabulary similarly, eg 'over', 'under', etc.  They develop descriptive vocabulary to help them to describe the sounds of the instruments and the music. ktoyourbaby/youthmusicresearch. html

 Singing rhyming phrases in songs helps the children develop an understanding of words that rhyme.  They can then be encouraged to swap rhyming words in familiar songs for fun.  The children were being actively encouraged to delight in the rhyming of the words and to anticipate what would come next. They progressed quickly with this particularly when the musicians made this aspect a focus of singing a song. ktoyourbaby/youthmusicresearch. html

 The children: ◦ got used to the expectations ◦ got used to following instructions. ◦ understood consequences of following/not following instructions ktoyourbaby/youthmusicresearch. html

 The repetitive structure/format of the music sessions and expectations were an important asset. ktoyourbaby/youthmusicresearch. html

 Listening and responding and taking turns to 'speak' in musical terms (sing, play or clap) their phrase or rhythm, helps to develop an understanding of how conversation works. ktoyourbaby/youthmusicresearch. html

 The turn taking within the music activities encouraged the children to become aware of others' musical responses and to join in musical conversations.  Very young children (up to two-years-old) were actually listening to what others were playing or singing and were prepared to wait for their turn, or to join in with the others. ktoyourbaby/youthmusicresearch. html

 Exercising of the mouth, tongue, teeth and lips through the breathing, blowing and voice percussion helped the children's control of their voices. ktoyourbaby/youthmusicresearch. html

 Many children naturally engage in this activity but this can quickly disappear if the activity is not valued.  The children responded by continuing to sing to themselves and show these 'story songs'. ktoyourbaby/youthmusicresearch. html