Music Education in the Montessori Early Childhood Environment

Dr. Montessori determined that young children experience a sensitive period for music development between the ages of 2 and 6 years old. There are many benefits to developing a child’s musical ability. In addition to fostering a love of music and the arts, developing musical abilities builds skills related to math and language. It has been shown that music development helps children build pattern recognition and spatial reasoning, both of which are important math skills. Current research also shows that music skills share neural pathways with language development. Building music skills helps develop auditory abilities and phonological awareness, which are necessary for reading development. As well, children who are actively involved with music from an early age are more likely to speak clearly and develop a strong vocabulary. Speech functions are also improved though music. For instance, singing has been known to aid children who have speech impediments such as stuttering.