Researchers have long-age discovered the link between music and reading. Both music and language are processed in the same areas of the brain – the temporal and frontal lobes. In the temporal lobe, music and language are processed for meaning. In the frontal lobes, music and language are processed in terms of harmony. As humans learn either music or language, they begin to understand that there is meaning in the sounds and there are certain rules dictating how the sounds are put together.
In the 20th century, Shin’ichi Suzuki revolutionized music education by developing a new method based on the way that children learn language. The Suzuki Method is now widely accepted and used for teaching music. Yet, the reverse situation has not taken such strong hold: few educators are using music to help students learn to read.
A 1998 report from Saunders, Getnick, Holahan shows that preschool-aged children can learn vocabulary by listening to songs over and over throughout an extended duration of time. For example, as a the children sing “Row Row Row Your Boat”, in school every day, they will eventually come to understand the words as well as the music.
This seems like an obvious enough statement; of course children will learn if they repeat something over a long period of time! Yet, the reason why children learn language in tandem with music is not so obvious. The research team surmised that it is the multi-sensory actions which make song such an effective method of teaching language. As the children sing, they are building up their ability to concentrate, memorize, and comprehend abstract ideas. When it comes to teaching reading, educators can take advantage of music to help students learn.
One of the core principles of music is that there is an underlying harmony at work. In a similar way, language also has a harmony at work: the structure of language. Children learn this language harmony when they learn to speak. Through listening, they learn when to make pauses in speech, when to make emphasis, and so forth. Since reading is a different mode of learning than listening, children can lose sight of the harmony of language. By incorporating the harmony of language into the reading process, children can have a much easier time learning to read.
Combining music into reading education is very simple and can be very effective. Instead of just reading a nursery rhyme, for example, a teacher can set the rhyme to music. Narrative songs or ballads can be chosen to encourage reading. Studies show that the children will first comprehend the rhythm of the songs. As they continue to listen to the song or musicalized story, they will begin to realize that the words have meaning and are put together in a careful structure.
As the children advance in their reading education, they can learn to break words into syllables, such as by clapping a beat for each syllable. “Bingo” is an example of a popular kids’ song which uses music to teach children parts of songs.
Before teachers can effectively integrate music into reading education, it is important that they understand how similar the process of learning music and language are. By breaking down the learning music and language into corresponding parts, music can be effectively brought into the classroom to create a dynamic, fun, and incredibly effective learning system.