Music is a powerful tool when dealing with emotions. Just as happy music puts us in a good mood and slow music can make us feel sad, the same is true for children.
Music has an impact on them that can provoke emotion and help them to express it. It can also teach them emotional skills. At our Rock and Roll Daycare center in Alexandria and throughout our various franchises, we strive to help children create a bond with music they are hearing and playing. It is our goal that it will help them express their emotions and teach them about emotional skills.
We’re going to explore these topics so that you can see the effect music can have on emotions.
How Music Can Help Children Express Emotions
By recognizing emotions through music, children can further develop their emotional intelligence. When children hear music they don’t just hear sound and rhythm, they can hear what certain emotions sound like.
As children interact with different music, it can help them get in touch with what they are feeling at the time. If they are playing music, it can be a way for them to express their emotions in whatever tune they choose. Happy feelings will emote bright and cheerful tunes while sadness will bring music that is more low-key.
Music serves as an outlet for emotions. Sometimes children have trouble expressing themselves in words. By singing or playing instruments, they can let out whatever they are feeling. Children can unleash their creativity and be inspired and uplifted through music. It can relax even the youngest of music lovers.This is one of the most important aspects of music and emotions.
How Music Sparks Different Emotions
When talking about music and emotions, it’s important to look at something called The Doctrine of Affects. This was widely accepted by late Baroque theorists and composers who believed that music could arouse specific emotions with the listener. The belief was that by using proper standard music devices, the composer could create a piece of music that produced a particular involuntary emotional response.
The power of music on emotions is fierce. Fast music can make us feel energetic while slower rhythms can provoke a calmer feeling. Music can also make us feel scared and tense depending on the beats. It doesn’t matter what age we are, the music we hear can make us feel different ways. Children pick up on these beats which impacts their emotions as well.
How Music Can Teach Emotional Skills
Music can not only serve as an outlet as we mentioned above but also teach kids what emotion is expressed through a certain kind of music. The lyrics to music can serve as a teaching tool to help children understand the emotions that are related to certain situations.
Musical games can also help children learn about emotions in a healthy way. They can learn about fear and safety in the simplest of lyrics. Even the old favorite, “It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old man is snoring. Went to bed, bumped his head, didn’t get up in the morning” can be a teaching tool when it comes to emotions. Finding these little teaching moments in music can be helpful in a child’s development.
Bring Music Into Your Home
At our Rock and Roll Daycare location in Alexandria, music is an integral part of our lessons. We also hope it is a big part of our students’ home life. That’s where you come in. By playing music for your children, you can also help them work through their emotions and see how they react. By using the lessons they learn at our center and incorporating them into what they’re learning at home, they are getting the most out of what they’re learning.
It takes a village to raise a child and if that village can be a musical one, all the better!
We want to know, do you use music in your home to help your children deal with their emotions? Share your stories in the comments below.
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