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Toys for Skill Development - Music Appreciation

Why Should You Encourage Your Baby to Appreciate Music?

Music is a wonderful way of expressing emotion and to help infants develop an appreciation of music is a wonderful introduction to the human society.

Think about the composers you may have heard of like Mozart, who was composing when he was three years old and think about the potential musical ear your baby may have.

That's not to say that infants should be encouraged to compose at three like Mozart but just to be able to shake a bell or hit a drum can give immense pleasure to a growing child.

How do Babies Begin to Appreciate Music?

From the moment your baby comes home, he will be able to hear the world around him but he will be unable to distinguish background and foreground noise. Young babies show an appreciation of their mother's voice in the first week of life and by three months will be looking to see where sounds are coming from.

The first few weeks can be quite traumatic for a newborn if sound is not kept to a minimum. By all means have music on or the TV, but keep noise in moderation - the more noises there are around baby the harder it will be for him to distinguish one from another.

Early exposure to a variety of sounds and noises helps children to develop an appreciation for music. Children will learn that calm sounds can help them to concentrate and feel at peace with the world whereas rock music can stimulate the heart and get the adrenalin going. Different musical moods result in different behaviours. On saying that sometimes there's a need for heavy rock music when an essay deadline is imminent to inspire and create the energy necessary to get it written!

How Can You Help Your Baby to Begin to Appreciate Music?

Introducing different musical sounds and styles of music helps baby to understand that there are different rhythms in the world. There's something really touching about seeing a toddler enjoying a musical rhythm using his entire body. An appreciation of music has been linked to helping children develop their hand to eye and foot to eye coordination – think of footballers learning to ballet dance!

Different musical genres and themes can also introduce baby to the world and perhaps lead to more tolerance around global diversity in the long term.

What Types of Toy Can You Buy to Help Your Baby to Appreciate Music?

Toys to Develop Music Appreciation – DVDs and Videos

Babies do enjoy listening to classical music from composers like Mozart, Bach, Strauss and Satie – there is something about the cadence that babies like.

The Baby Einstein company deliberately introduced a range of DVDs and videos to fill a perceived gap between musical appreciation and art. The DVDs are filled with beautiful classical music and are a joy to watch.

Babies are exposed to a range of colourful characters and scenes accompanied by the music. Babies as young as three months old can learn to appreciate the different musical sounds.

Toys to Develop Music Appreciation – Musical Toys

Music can take on a more active role as well.

The Tiny Love “Developlay Activity Centre” has a beautiful piece of music that baby can choose to listen to in its entire composition or, by using the buttons, can hear individual instruments.

Leapfrog's “Discovery Ball” plays 26 different musical melodies and baby can select the music he wants to hear. It's designed to encourage baby to learn the alphabet.

The Baby Grand Piano from Fisher Prices Laugh and Learn Range is certainly a grand way to explore music, learning and imaginative fun!

Like all toys in the Laugh and Learn range, it has two different modes of play - music and learning. Babies will not only enjoy creating concerts, but will learn about numbers, counting, opposites, colours, tempo, pitch, music styles, and more!

Leapfrog's “See & Learn Piano” is also a popular choice for babies interested in musical discovery. The “See & Learn Piano” helps baby to experience instrument sounds, shapes and colours.

With various musical options to choose from baby can hear the different timbres of the different instruments. It plays over 20 tunes including “London Bridge”, “Oh Susanna” and “Frere Jaques”. The Leapfrog “See & Learn Piano” is great for babies over six months.

The Early Learning Centre has a range of musical instruments that can be played by babies who are supervised. Babies enjoy playing with drums, triangles, bells, maracas and tambourines. The Early Learning Centre also produces a wonderful “Baby Rainmaker” filled with colourful beads that will intrigue baby as they play.

Developing Musical Appreciation Skills – Other Hints and Tips

Everyday can also be turned into percussion instruments too – safely closed jars can be filled with rice or pebbles.

There are also music classes that you can take baby to so he can listen to all sorts of music in a safe, learning environment. Classes like “Music with Mummy” and “Jolly Babies” are held around the country and give you and baby the chance to experience different sounds and the chance for baby to play percussion instruments before you buy them.

Baby Signing Classes also encourage babies to appreciate music by singing and signing along to nursery rhymes. And Baby Yoga classes use music to help relax baby and mummy as well as offering some physical exercise and fun.

Introducing music to baby at a young age is a good idea no matter what music you choose. Choose the blues, jazz, rock, classical, opera or pop - from the cot mobile to the playmat to nursery rhyme lullaby books, bringing music to baby can be a wonderful way for the whole family to appreciate something amazing together.

To find out more about what to look out for when choosing and buying nursery toys visit our How to Choose and Buy a Baby Toy for Different Ages section and our Brands section.

To find out more about the different types of nursery toy that are available for each age group visit our Types of Nursery Toy section.

To find out more about the different online baby and nursery toy shops and stores visit our Top Sites section.

You can also find out more in our How to Play with Baby section.