Singin’ Out the Stress

7 May

Cortisol is a hormone that, when optimized, helps regulate the immune system, blood pressure, and insulin levels. However, when levels are too high, it can have the opposite effect (high blood pressure, blood sugar imbalances, immune system suppression). In children, prolonged elevated cortisol levels can cause brain cells to die and can reduce the number of neurological connections created in brain. Who wants that?

Recent studies have shown that singing can shift this cortisol stress response.

  • A study conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto (Shenfield, Trehub & Nakata), showed that when a mother sings to her baby for 10 minutes,  the level of cortisol in child’s body is optimized–whether elevated or depressed, the level comes back to equilibrium. An added benefit? The cortisol optimization lasts for 19 to 22 minutes after the singing stops.
  • In a study of adult singers, Dianna Kenny (a professor of psychology) and Sinan Ali (a biological scientist) measured the cortisol levels in choir singers before and after a one-hour rehearsal. They found an approximate 40% reduction in cortisol levels in the singers.

So, perhaps we should be singing all the time–for ourselves and for our children. OK…maybe not ALL the time. I won’t be singing my pizza delivery order to the guy on the phone, for example. But if I did, would it de-stress him, too? I’ll spend some stress-free time thinking on that for a little while as I sing a song to myself.

Sources:
http://pom.sagepub.com/content/31/4/365.abstract

http://www.caoa.org.au/index.php/chorus-news/benefits-of-singing

 

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Two Minutes of Baby Singing

30 Apr

STORY FROM A MOM

In the first week of my Babies class, I pointed out how much the babies were singing (cooing and ahh-ing on pitches all over the place), and I showed the grown-ups how to reinforce this singing by echoing the babies’ sounds back to them. One mom went home that night and listened for the baby-singing she might hear at home. Every time her 7-month-old baby cooed or toned, the mom sang those sounds right back to her. Most of the time, the baby just looked at the mom when she sang back, but at one point, this coo-and-echo game expanded into two full minutes of “musical conversation.” It went something like this:

Baby: “Aahhhh”     Mom: “Aahhhh”  (on baby’s pitch)
Baby: “Ooohhh”     Mom: “Ooohhh”  (on baby’s pitch)
Baby: “Yayaya”      Mom: “Yayaya”  (on baby’s pitch)

Well…you get the picture. We reinforce early “words” (language sounds) all the time, and this reinforcement has a profound impact on language development. We do this intuitively because we just know it works. By reinforcing early singing, this mom is supporting her baby’s music development in the same way that she supports language development, and it’s such a gift to her baby.

Listen for your baby’s (or toddler’s, or older child’s) singing. (You might think it’s just talking, but I bet it’s also singing!) Whatever sounds you hear, echo them back–both the syllable and the pitch. The more you echo, the more they’ll sing again, and again, and again. You might even end up with your own two minutes of singing.

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Shakers on a Plane

27 Mar

STORY FROM A MOM

One of my Music Together families just came back from a trip to Eastern Europe, where they visited family in their homeland. They were worried about their one-year-old daughter feeling out of place in a foreign country with a foreign language, so they brought a treasure trove of things from home to keep her grounded in the familiar. Included in this “home bag” were the Music Together CDs and songbook, egg shakers, baby maracas, and a little drum. The mom shared with me that they kept the long airplane trip manageable by singing and wiggling to Music Together songs in their seats (and shaking those shakers!). I can only imagine the looks and (hopefully) smiles they got from their airplane neighbors.

Once in Europe, the family held their own mini-Music Together classes throughout the trip, including extended family members. The mom said that the music helped the little girl feel more settled, and she developed a closer bond more quickly with the previously-unfamiliar family members because they shared in making HER music.

What an inspired idea this family had! The de-stressing nature of music made it a perfect choice to bring along on the journey, especially since the little girl’s Music Together routine is so joy inducing for her and for her parents. Anyone else contemplating a long trip this Spring or Summer? Might I suggest taking along some shakers for your plane, too? The folks across the aisle would likely much rather hear a family sing than a child scream, and everyone will be a little less stressed on the trip.

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“Mr. Rabbit” on YouTube

18 Feb

This is just too much fun not to share. Here’s a YouTube video of Caspar Babypants’s version of “Mr. Rabbit.” The animation is great. When you share it with your child, crank it and sing along (even though the lyrics are different than the ones we sing in class). It’s got a rockin’ groove that you’ll both love. Enjoy!

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Baby Sings Skin Care Jingle! (And Mom Notices…)

16 Feb

STORY FROM A MOM (in her own words)

“I was watching TV this morning and my baby was in the room. A commercial for some European skin care product came on, and they have this cute little song that’s all in ‘la-la’ ‘words’. Well, he just started singing along. Like, literally singing along. For once I can say that I knew he was singing the same notes! I think the little song only has a couple of notes, but mostly stays in one or two, and he was totally singing the major two and even saying ‘la’ as his little musical sound. It was so shocking that it actually got my attention. Something about the melody pleased him, and I think he really liked that I noticed and went back to play along with him, as if I understood his side of the ‘conversation’. It was very sweet and cool, and without you teaching us that in MT, I don’t think I’d have noticed and had that moment…I love that you teach us so much about the way our kids play with music and are learning it like its own language at such a young age. Just like when he said, ‘Momma,’ the first time and I latched onto that and reinforced it, I know now to do the same with his musical language.”

Wow. Thank you, Momma.

(Hey…I found the commercial. Those “la-la”s are pretty catchy! This is not a product endorsement, by any means, but in case you’re interested in hearing the jingle, here it is…)

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“It’s not about being perfect…”

14 Feb

At the Grammy Awards this past Sunday, the band Foo Fighters won the awards for Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song, and a few others. The lead singer, Dave Grohl, said something incredible during an acceptance speech: “The human element of making music it’s what’s most important…It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about sounding absolutely correct. It’s not about what goes on in a computer. It’s about what goes on in here [pointing to his heart] and it’s about what goes on in here [pointing to his head].”

The music industry, and its ever-more refining production techniques, have resulted in a proliferation of recorded music that no human can really, truly sound like. When “regular” people listen to that music–and compare the music they make to that recorded product–they come away thinking that only people who sing or play like the recording have the right to make music. And, since that “music” is created by a team of technicians, computers, and other equipment, the truth is that no one person can ever sound like the recording. It’s an impossible standard that leaves the millions of musical people in this world feeling like they aren’t musical at all.

Baloney! “It’s not about being perfect…It’s about what goes on in [your heart] and it’s about what goes on in [your head].” If we can impart to our children the core belief that the music they make is valuable in it’s own right, exactly as it is–without alterations or corrections or auto-tuning (please, no auto-tuning)–then we will have given them the power to express their musical selves, the freedom to enjoy the music around them, and the armor to deflect the cultural expectations of unachieveable perfection. Now, that’s something that’s pretty close to perfect, if you ask me.

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The Musical Pacifier

13 Feb

CAUGHT IN CLASS

Over the past couple of weeks, I have noticed four babies/toddlers sucking pacifiers in rhythm to the music we’re making in class. There’s a lot of cultural pressure in our society for parents to “un-plug” children with pacifiers, so I try to reassure grownups that it is OK for their little ones to keep pacifiers (or nursing moments, or thumb-sucking) during music time. But, sometimes those parents and caregivers need extra reinforcement. Well, here it is: For pre-verbal children, pacifiers are great in music class! As we sing and move to the beat around these little ones, our music stimulates their brains and bodies. And since these children clearly have a natural need to suck, a key way that they join in is through their mouths. And, doesn’t this make sense? When we grownups sing, our mouths are totally in action, so the pacifier-children participate with their mouths, in their way. I’m lucky that I know what to look for, because when I see a pacifier bouncing up and down to the microbeat or hear a baby humming the resting tone of the song we’re singing, I get a little thrill. And you can get that thrill, too! The next time your child has a pacifier in class and you’re worried that she can’t participate if she’s “plugged up,” take a breath and look for pacifier-beats, or lean in close to hear a pacifier-hum. Then, relax and know that your child’s music isn’t being plugged up at all.

Want more on this subject? Check out one of my previous posts on pacifiers in music class. 

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