Why Is Music So Important for Preschoolers?
Music is a valuable activity that contributes immensely to the development of a child. Here is some of the research that shows why, presented as it has unfolded over the last 15 years.

1985 Gordon Shaw and fellow researchers present a new model of the brain's neuronal structure.
1989 Experiments in which musicians perform mental rehearsals of music indicate that music and other creative skills, such as mathematics and chess, may involve extremely precise firing patterns by billions of brain neurons (Leslie Brothers and Gordon Shaw in Models of Brain Function, edited by R. Cotterdill.)
1991 Gordon Shaw and a fellow researcher propose that music may be considered a "prelanguage" and that early music training may be useful in "exercising" the brain for certain higher cognitive functions. (Concepts in Neuroscience, Vol 2, No. 2, P. 229-258)
1992 At risk children who participated in an arts program that included music showed significant increases in overall self-concept. (N.H. Barry, Auburn University, 1992)
1993 Pilot study finds that preschool children given music training display significant improvement in spatial reasoning ability. Experiment with college students finds that after listening to a Mozart sonata, they experience a significant although temporary gain in spatial reasoning. (Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and Katherine Ky, Nature, vol 365, p. 611)
1994 A follow up study (Stage II) finds that after eight months of keyboard lessons, preschoolers demonstrated a 46% boost in their spatial reasoning IQ. This gain does not occur in those without music training. (Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw Linda Levine and Katherine Ky in a paper presented at the American Psychological Association, Los Angeles [August 1994])
1995 A follow up to the first Mozart study confirms that listening to Mozart improves spatial reasoning, and that this effect can increase with repeated testing over days. However, the effect may not occur when music lacks sufficient complexity. (Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and Katherine Ky, Neuroscience Letters, Vol. 185, p. 44-47.
1996 Students in two Rhode Island elementary schools given a sequential, skill-building music program showed a marked improvement in math skills. (Gardiner, Fox, Jeffry, and Knowles, as reported in Nature, May 23, 1996)
Preschoolers who took singing and keyboard lessons scored 80 per cent higher on object-assembly tests than students at the same preschool who did not have the music lessons. (Rauscher & Shaw, as reported in Symphony Sep.-Oct. 1996)
1997 Preschoolers who studied piano performed 34 per cent better in spatial and temporal reasoning ability than preschoolers who spent the same amount of time learning to use computers. (Rauscher, Shaw, as reported in Neurological Research, February 1997)
1998 Second graders who took piano lessons and played a math computer game performed significantly better on tests of fractions and proportional math than children who took English language instruction on the computer and played with the math software, and better than those who did not participate in either activity. (Study published in the March issue of the Journal of Neurological Research)
1999 Four to six year olds who participating in a Kindermusik for the Young Child Year 1 Pilot Program showed significant gains on tests that measured abstract reasoning abilities. The magnitude of improvement in abstract reasoning scores varied directly with the level of parent participation in the music curriculum-the more parent involvement, the greater the gains in the test scores. (Terry D. Bilhartz, Rick A. Bruhn, and Judith E. Olson, Sam Houston State University)
The value of musical activities for the intellectual development of children is in addition to the tremendous importance of early childhood musical experiences for the development of musical aptitude.

Edwin Gordon, a preeminent music educator and researcher, states that "Music aptitude is a product of both innate potential and early environmental experiences. . .regardless of the level of music aptitude with which children are born, they must have early formal and informal experiences in music in order to maintain that level of potential. Otherwise, the level of music aptitude they may be born with will never be fully realized in achievement. . . . (a child's) innate music aptitude, be it high or low, will diminish, possibly vanishing to almost nothing, without an early stimulating music environment." ( "All About Audiation and Music Aptitudes," Music Educators Journal, No. 41, Sep. 99)

Just as verbal language background begins to be formed very early in life, the listening vocabulary of music should begin to be formed before a child is 18 months old and not later than 3 years of age. By the time children enter school at age 5 or 6, the most important time for them to develop their music listening vocabularies has passed. This makes musical activities in the preschool years an extremely important foundation for every child's music education.

Resources: Books and Articles:
Good Music, Brighter Children by Sharlene Habermeyer, published by Prima Publishing, ISBN 0-7615-2150-X. I would recommend that every parent own this book. Habermeyer summarizes research and information on the benefits of musical activities and provides recommendations for music to share with your children. More importantly, she includes very practical ways to help guide your child's musical education and activities from preschool through high school. In addition to resources included throughout the book, a 44 page resource section provides suggestions for classical music to play for your children, music for your children to study by, music and children's books by topic, children's books about music, books based on folk songs that you can sing to your children, and more! (This is the book I would have written if I had the time. I was delighted to see it published!)
Keeping Mozart in Mind by Gordon Shaw. Published by Academic Press, ISBN 0-12-639290-0. Not an easy read, but if you are scientifically oriented, this is an excellent book written by the author of the groundbreaking studies into the effects of music activity on the brain. Shaw presents detailed information on the following topics (from the table of contents): "Higher Brain Function: Music, Mathematics, Chess"; "Structured Brain and Symmetry"; "Tests of Predictions in Human Behavior" (about his studies on the effect of music activities on spatial-temporal reasoning); "Tests from Brain Imaging and Animal Studies"; and "The Future of Music as a Window into Higher Brain Function."
The Mozart Effect by Don Campbell, published by Avon Books, ISBN 0-380-97418-5. This book discusses the power of music, not only in the lives of children, but also throughout adulthood. Especially good is the chapter called "Sound Beginnings" which is dedicated to the influence of music on the unborn child and young children. Campbell also shows how to use sound and music to stimulate learning and memory, strengthen listening abilities and enhance health.
The Mozart Effect for Children by Don Campbell, published byWilliam Morrow & Co, ISBN: 0380977826. This sequal to The Mozart Effect focuses specifically on music in the lives of children, from prenatal to mid-elementary school. The book includes a chapter devoted to each specific age with suggestions for music activities.

Resources: Songs and Activities
There is a growing collection of resources available. Here are a few suggestions as a place to begin. Note: some of these resources are available at Music4Kids at http://www.music4kidsonline.com
Videos by Music Rhapsody: Babies Make Music, Kids Make Music, and Kids Make Music, Too!
The Wee Sing series on cassettes are very good and available through most book stores.
Collections of traditional children's songs by John Feierabend:
The Book of Bounces
The Book of Wiggles and Tickles
The Book of Tapping and Clapping
The Book of Simple Songs and Circles
The Book of Lullabies
'Round and 'Round the Garden: Music in My First Year! (CD or Cassette also available)
'Ride Away on Your Horses: Music, Now I'm One! (CD or Cassette also available)
Frog in the Meadow: Music, Now I'm Two! (CD or Cassette also available)
Baby Massage by Peter Walker
Exercise Program for Young Children, 4 weeks - 4 years by Suzy Prudden

Resources: Picture Books to Sing With Children
Abiyoyo: Based on a South African Lullaby by Pete Seeger, Michael Hays (Illustrator)
America the Beautiful by Katharine Lee Bates, Neil Waldman (Illustrator)
The Cat Came Back by Bill Slavin
Hush, Little Baby by Shari Halpern (Illustrator)
I Know an Old Lady by G. Brian Karas (Illustrator)
Inch by Inch: The Garden Song by David Mallett, Ora Eitan (Illustrator)
It's Raining, It's Pouring by Kin Eagle, Rob Gilbert (Illustrator)
The Itsy Bitsy Spider by Iza Trapani
Mary Wore Her Red Dress, and Henry Wore His Green Sneakers by Merle Peek
My Favorite Things by Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers, James Warhola (Illustrator)
Old MacDonald Had a Farm by Holly Berry (Illustrator)
Peanut Butter and Jelly: A Play Rhyme by Nadine Bernard Westcott (Illustrator)
Roll Over! a Counting Song by Merle Peek (Illustrator)
Row, Row, Row Your Boat by Joanne Oppenheim, Kevin O'Malley (Illustrator)
She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain by Kathleen Bullock
The Star-Spangled Banner by Peter Spier (Illustrator)
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Pam Adams
What a Wonderful World by George David Weiss, Bob Thiele, Ashley Bryan (Illustrator)