In part 1 of this blogpost series, I’m going to talk about why we need to bring musical creativity into the baby room. In part 2, I’ll share some reflective prompts that will help you to reflect on what you’re currently doing and what you might do next. So if you’re already convinced that you know exactly why musical creativity matters so much, feel free to jump ahead to part 2 and get going with the practical reflections.
So here’s the main thing: music matters in the baby room because music makes us human, and baby rooms are all about wallowing in our human-ness – in our humanity. A great baby room works every single day with all of the things that make us human. Think about it – attachment, connection, love, safety and security, emotional expression, communication, curiosity, creativity, kindness – these are the ingredients of the baby room. And music! Because music is a cultural universal – that means that there isn’t a place in the world where you will go and fail to find music.
Humans have been making music for as long as we’ve been using stone tools – the sounds of these stone tools were the first music we made. Evolutionary scientists guess that the action of hitting and pounding led us to rhythm.
The origins of music and language are intertwined although we don’t completely know what that relationship is – whether music came first, whether language came first, or whether they developed alongside one another.
We also know that babies come into the world hungry for music and rhythm. Think about how naturally it comes when we’re holding to a newborn to rock them and sing to them. Think about the soothing effect that this rhythm has on their nervous system. And does that ever go away? Right now as I write I’m listening to some instrumental music to help me focus; I can’t help but move in time to the music. It’s speaking to a part of me that’s much deeper than my thoughts; it’s speaking to my body and my heart. So music speaks to our deepest selves and that’s why it is such a bridge between the baby and the adult, even the baby in utero will respond to music.
When it comes to music in the baby room, we need it to support settling in, emotional security and connection between babies and educators. When a baby is settling in, it is so helpful to know what music they listen to at home; is there a particular song they love to dance to with mum? Is there a song grandad puts on while he rocks baby to sleep? These are points of connection between home and nursery. And I’m not talking about nursery rhymes here – they might be nursery rhymes, but there’s a good chance that babies are hearing lot more than that at home. At home, we play babies the music that we love a lot of the time, and they come along for the ride. They end up loving such a wide repertoire of music as a result and we can absolutely embrace that in the baby room – more on this in part 2.
Music in the baby room is also great for creating a particular atmosphere. You can think about the atmosphere you want to create for a particular part of the day or transition and find the music that works for that. Want some time where the babies are alert, curious and exploring? Find the music that speaks to that energy. Need some chill time where everybody’s nervous system has a chance to come down a notch? Find the music to help with that. Want to create a party atmosphere and give everyone a chance to shake out some of their physical energy and ‘leftover affect’ (a great term from Erik Erikson to talk about all the emotions that build up over the day)? Put on a party playlist and have a dance!
Music is a form of communication. A lot of the time we tell ourselves that we are focusing on music in order to help with language and communication. But the reality is more than this – music IS communication. It’s a form of communication that enables us to express our strongest emotions and share them with others. When babies are offered a musically rich environment, they are given the tools to make themselves heard and the tools to connect with others. And it’s not about the sounds they then make or the words they come to learn through the lyrics of the song (though this will happen); it’s about the music itself. Music is powerful – you know that. Because I bet you have music you play when you need to pep yourself up; I bet you have music that you put on when you need to wallow in sadness or anger or despair. Right?
To sum up – music makes us human and in the baby room, we’re interested in what makes us human. So let’s get ready to explore music and welcome it in all its wonderful variation: follow this thread in part 2.