Beyond The Mozart Effect
By FIONA SINCLAIR
Published in Early Years Educator, Sept.2010
An unexpected partnership between Children’s Centres and a Lancashire orchestra is using Mozart and Tchaikovsky to change children’s lives in Burnley, Lancashire.
The Mozart-effect caused a ripple of excitement in the 1990s, and a tidal wave of Early Years resources featuring classical music ensued. Yet countless neurological and behavioural research projects have simply failed to find conclusive proof that “Mozart makes you smarter.”
This was tacitly acknowledged by recent refunds offered by Disney for their “Baby Einstein” products. Lawyers threatened Disney with a class-action lawsuit for unfair and deceptive practices, based on evidence which shows that television is potentially harmful for very young children.
However, despite exaggerated claims that watching hours of the video would make your child a genius, there was a positive side - they filled homes with the world’s most beautiful classical music and encouraged millions of children to enjoy Mozart and Bach.
Our understanding of the benefits of music education has progressed beyond the Mozart-effect. Modern research has proved that in fact music is one of the most effective educational tools and can help improve almost every developmental outcome in early learning.
My own first memories are from age 10 months, bopping around the living room to ABBA’s Dancing Queen and being sung to sleep by my mother. I was fortunate to have keen amateur musicians for parents and I was exposed to live and recorded music daily. I began piano lessons at 5, violin at 6, later graduated with a degree in music and worked as a professional viola player, performing the great Classical works with some of the UK’s major orchestras.
I now hold the position of General Manager of a special cultural entity, the Lancashire Sinfonietta - an exceptional chamber orchestra of about 80 Lancashire-born musicians who are committed to using their talents for the benefit of local communities.
The orchestra is unique in having a specific community remit alongside its cultural one. Lancashire County Council, who established the orchestra 14 years ago, have been reaping the benefits of this unusual resource in several ways beyond the musical and critical acclaim achieved by its talented members. The orchestra defines itself as being a “community resource, which happens to be an orchestra” and takes its educational role very seriously.
About 4 years ago, some of the musicians gave a lunchtime recital in a church in Preston. After introducing them to the audience, I went to the back to take my seat, only to find the pews blocked by several pushchairs with small infants snuggled inside. The impressionistic Ravel quartet was on the programme, and as I anxiously peered into one of the prams to check all was well, I noticed that during each voicing of a particular phrase by the cello, one of the babies was turning his head in the direction of the sound source and the phrase seemed to captivate his attention.
As I realised that the babies had settled - one sleeping, one gurgling happily and one actively following the musical proceedings - I desperately wanted to know why these brave parents had risked the embarrassment of disrupting a recital in full flow to expose such young children to live music.
All said their babies responded to recorded music at home. One wanted to instill a love of music in her child, as she had enjoyed performing in her youth. Another had noticed his child stopped crying when music was played, and classical music seemed to be the favourite. All remarked that their children reacted strongly to music and were willing to risk outbursts at a concert to gain live exposure for them.
At the time, as a happy coincidence, babies had been produced by several members of the Lancashire Sinfonietta, each musician offering a different insight into the effect of music on their own infants. We put our heads together, trawled through reams of academic research, consulted other Early Years practitioners and then came up with “Mini-Mozart” - our first concert for babies, 0-18 months.
Classic FM agreed to jointly sponsor the project with Lancashire County Council and Children’s Centres were brought on board with the support of Lancashire Early Years and Childcare Service.
The most important thing was that the experience, unlike Baby Einstein, was not passive. Three elements informed the content - the concerts needed to be stimulating, interactive and sustainable.
A whole host of tiny props were gathered together, all of which were simple and could easily be recreated at home, such as soft felt stars, crinkly cellophane leaves, floaty scarves and tiny shakers. These were divided into four boxes, each representing the Four Seasons (tribute to Vivaldi’s violin masterpiece) and were tactile and aurally/ visually stimulating.
The musicians were trained to identify the significance of the reactions of the babies. They learned how specific musical activities enhance skills such as coordination, language, social development, and most importantly nurture a closer relationship between parent and child.
With practical advice on what could be recreated at home, game sheets, CDs and advice were created and composer, James Manson, commissioned to write a portfolio of original music and arrangements.
The impact of those first sessions on musicians, participants and staff was considerable. Before the first “performance” the tension of 20 grumbling babies soon turned to a deafening wailing chorus. As soon as the music started, it was as if a charm cast a spell on the room. When the last bars of Pachelbel’s Canon went silent the crying started, as if cued by the conductor!
A phenomenon was born with Mini-Mozart. We’re certainly not claiming the charm works every time, but the music’s effect on the babies could clearly be witnessed time after time. The vibrations and sounds of the live instruments had an altogether different impact than the CDs and DVDs parents played at home. The musicians showed parents that their own singing voice was the most beautiful sound to their own baby and gained confidence. Families began to see the value in musical play and simple ways to incorporate it into daily life. And Lancashire’s babies were getting their first fully sensory musical experience with live professional musicians from one of the country’s top orchestras.
Around 200 concerts later, the demand was such that the orchestra was in desperate need of more sessions. Mini-Mozart was designed for babies up to 18 months but a generation of our babies were toddlers now and missing their music. Continuity was needed.
In January 2009, a successful bid was made to the National Lottery through Arts Council England, to develop a full Early Years music curriculum. £100,000 Grant for the Arts was awarded plus additional funding from the orchestra and Council. The project was sited in Burnley, Lancashire, which is an area within the top 10% on the national Multiple Index of Deprivation.
The overall ambitions of the project are not only to leave a legacy with permanent music programmes in place, but to develop a high quality Early Years music resource which can migrate to other areas of the County and beyond.
The curriculum for the programme is made up of six themed projects, each 5 weeks long. These structured workshop sessions are targeted at different age groups. The projects are progressive, leading one onto the next, and are planned within the four themes of Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). These are:
A unique child
Positive relationships
Enabling environments (emotional environment)
Learning and development
Sessions include activities and music relating to different children’s cultures. Full “lesson” plans have been devised with planned outcomes relating to the six areas of learning. A range of evaluation tools has been used in the project, with particular emphasis on colourful participatory appraisal methods.
For Children’s Centres, the benefits of hosting the programme are clear. The project helps to deliver services - health, Early Years education and family support - in new and unexpected ways. They offer opportunities to engage with families who do not usually access services. The events can be a great way to publicise the opening of a new centre or bring families in to learn more about what is on offer.
The increased number of fathers who come to the concerts is welcome and a target group for most Children’s Centres. Families where little English is spoken can fully engage with the session - music is a universal language which has meaning without words. Sessions help deliver services such as Stay and Play in a fresh and exciting way. They offer communities, some of which have little provision for accessible family activities, the peak experience of having professional musicians come to their neighbourhoods.
Children’s Centres are ideal partners for the Sound Playground project. The staff are vital in promoting the programme’s benefits to local families and ensure the sessions are run smoothly. Outreach workers from centres support families during the sessions. Staff training is provided so that they can develop musical skills which can be incorporated into their own care sessions.
Arts Council England are funding the project to provide exciting opportunities for pre-school children and their families in Burnley to be inspired through engaging with music. They support the project’s aim to help communities come together to learn, create and enjoy great art.
From the orchestra’s point of view, the biggest success lies in using our art to transform lives. Mini-Mozart and the Sound Playground show how orchestras can make classical music relevant and meaningful in people’s everyday lives. Musicians develop their skills from being remote, highly skilled performers in concert halls, to individuals who in effect become social workers and educators.
Almost all the Children’s Centres in Lancashire have now hosted Mini-Mozart sessions and projects from the Sound Playground are being rolled out across the County.
With one year until the project ends, there are already a lot of conclusions to draw from the initiative. Families are telling us about the impact on their children and home life, which include a greater appreciation of classical music and the live musical experience. Children are gaining new skills and behaviours with profound benefits on the children’s development – socially, emotionally and physically.
Families are building music into routines - the “Tidy Up Song” has proved to be a minor miracle to mums! Parents are singing more to their children, gaining confidence and in particular, developing stronger parent-child interactions. Another of the project’s aims to promote social cohesion between communities is also proving valuable. Participants from diverse communities are meeting other families, making friends and getting mums and dads out of the house.
The first sessions began in September 2009 and the programme will continue to develop until April 2011. The Sound Playground is a model community partnership where musicians and Early Years practitioners work together. Their music has the power to enhance and transform the lives of a generation of Burnley’s youngest children.
