Relation of Music and Montessori

The Montessori approach encourages the natural development of children with an education that supports the unique needs of each individual child at each developmental stage. The implementation of Montessori education revolves around five basic principles: respect for the child, the absorbent mind, sensitive periods, the prepared environment, and auto-education.

Music is an integral part of the Montessori classroom. It enables children to communicate and express themselves non-verbally; helps them enjoy music and feel happy; enhances their math skills, literacy, and overall brain development; and can even improve their academic performance.

1. Enhances children’s brain development

Montessori education emphasizes the importance of recognizing children’s sensitive periods and customizing instruction to coincide with these. It’s been found that for the first three years of a child’s life, music can be used to stimulate nerve connections between brain cells that play an important role in cognitive development.

2. Gives children non-verbal affective communication skills

Children are full of emotions yet unlike (most) adults, they may lack the skills to accurately and adequately express these emotions. Music gives them a tool to do this and can help children express emotions more productively than simply crying, yelling, and so forth. 

3. Boosts students’ spatial skills

There have been numerous studies linking music education and enhanced special reasoning skills and math scores. Music involves ratios, proportions, and patterns; so does, of course, math. It’s been found that playing music, as opposed to simply listening to it, has long-lasting positive effects. One study found that children who had six months of piano lessons improved their ability to do puzzles and other spatial tasks by almost 30%.

4. Helps children enjoy music and feel good

Music brings joy to adults and children alike. In fact, this feeling of joy may be related to dopamine: listening to music you love releases dopamine in your brain, and dopamine makes you feel good. It’s been found that babies as young as five months old react to happy music, and happy music causes people to breathe faster, which is a physical sign of happiness. Exposure to, learning about, and playing music gives children an early appreciation of music, and one that may very well stay with them their whole lives.

5. Improves children’s literacy

Taking music lessons can increase children’s listening skills, and because humans process sound the same way we process speech, music education can in turn improve the way children process language. Enhanced ability to process language can lead to improved literacy.

6. Improves academic achievement

Multiple studies have shown that music education is linked to academic achievement. For example, Dr. Nina Kraus from Northwestern University has found that music lessons caused gains in speech processing, and in turn reading. She’s also found that learning to play an instrument, as opposed to just taking music appreciation classes, can have an even greater effect on speech processing. Of the underprivileged students in her study who received music education, 90% went on to college, even though the neighborhood in which she conducted her study has a 50% high school dropout rate.

7. Helps engage children in learning

It’s been found that the arts, and music in particular, have a positive impact on students’ math, reading, writing, and self-esteem. The arts require thinking beyond simple formulas and patterns; they are about relationships, and the ability to navigate different kinds of relationships is vital in both the workforce and life. The arts also involve problem-solving and creativity, which are of course important in academic life and life in general.

Origin and intention of world music programming

Whether plucking a Japanese song on a violin string for the first time, dancing to the rhythms and melodies of a Peruvian song, singing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” in Italian language, or premiering African beats in a drum solo for an audience of their peers, our students spend a significant portion of every day honing their musical skills through a combination of specialist-led instruction and independent music play.

We are committed to developing global citizens with an appreciation and understanding of peoples and cultures from around the world and in our local community. Every two months, a new culture is integrated into the classroom and music curricula. Students learn about new cultures through community ambassador visits, singing songs in foreign languages, retelling folklore, and creating visual art inspired by our focus culture.

At Fiddlefox, we are passionate about bringing the music of the world to our student's fingertips. From the personal histories of our founders as professional musicians, we've always been an organization that puts music and cultural education first.

Publication of Fiddlefox books and materials

Fiddlefox brings world music into the lives of children.

Music is a central part of any school curriculum. However, many schools don’t have the budget or the expertise to have their own program. Even schools that have a great music program miss out on introducing children to music from around the world. There’s no curriculum for it, and so teachers are just doing the best they can…until now!

Created by award winning violinist, Christopher Vuk, and co-founder, Phil Berman, Fiddlefox provides classroom teachers and parents with a rich and engaging cultural music program that can be taught by musicians and non-musicians alike. Our easy to use curriculum provides teachers with a comprehensive stand alone program or supplemental content to what they are already reaching.

Teachers and students can listen to some of the incredibly diverse songs from Fiddlefox while singing in English and in the native tongue. Our colored rainbow bells and sheet music gives teachers and children the opportunity to play music together. And for those who are electronically inclined online streaming content, teacher resources, printables, and trainings are available online.

Fiddlefox follows the Elementary Music Standards from NAfME to provide teachers and center administrators with a framework to meet state standards, including:

• Improvise rhythmic and melodic ideas
• Demonstrate selected musical ideas for a simple improvisation
• Present the final version of personally created music to others
• Demonstrate understanding of musical structure
• Demonstrate how intent is conveyed through expressive qualities
• Perform music with expression and technical accuracy

Take a moment to explore our exciting Fiddlefox curriculum by clicking here.