When you think of music for children, what comes to mind? The first songs most parents sing to their babies are nursery rhymes like “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and “Wheels On The Bus.” While there’s nothing wrong with these tunes for pacifying and entertaining, there are some types of music that can benefit baby brain development.
Listening to compositions with rich harmonies and complex rhythms exercises the young mind. This musical style is called High Information Music and is the core feature of the Nuryl brain-training app.
Defining High Information Music
High-Information music (HIM) emphasizes detail and depth, specifically in the melody and rhythm. The term initially described complex styles like classical and jazz, but it can truly span many music genres. Here is Nuryl’s definition of High Information Music:
- Tonally rich music with highly complex harmonies moves rapidly to unexpected places by incorporating unusual melodic structures.
Based on this, not all music meets this definition, and frankly, some are just not high information enough. At least not for the Nuryl curriculum! Many composers did not set out to write with this concept in mind. Therefore, many pieces do not incorporate the high-note content and the unexpected changes necessary to keep your child’s brain cells firing.
Why is High Information Music so Important for Babies?
Music and intelligence go hand-in-hand. Parents have known this for generations and know that babies love music, too. Recent research by experts affirms that music does more than help them have fun – it boosts their intellectual capacity too!
It is widely known that a child’s first 2-3 years is one of intense brain growth. This is when the brain undergoes the Pruning process, where brain connections are created, those stimulated are kept intact, and those that are not are discarded. The point of Nuryl is to take advantage of this pruning window by stimulating the brain and its neural connections with music so that more of these connections remain active.
Simply put, the high information music we use is interesting, unpredictable and sometimes fast paced, although still maintaining strong melodies. The more a brain connection is stimulated, the stronger it becomes, and the stronger this foundation will be. It is this brain stimulation that will help your child develop a more organized thought process and be better prepared for learning.
Studies have shown that listening to music can help babies learn language skills, improve memory and attention span, and develop a stronger sense of self-awareness. It also helps foster social interaction with others. Below are links showing how music can help accelerate your baby’s brain development.
Choose Nuryl For Your Child!
As parents, we want to make sure our children are as successful as possible and this includes giving them the best start. It’s imperative to start their education early to help stimulate their brains and potentially build improved learning capabilities! For parents who want to enjoy this time with their child but do not know much about music or have the time to build playlists themselves, the Nuryl service is very convenient.
The playlists are already created for you and your child, each being 14-24 songs and more than an hour in length. We have over 300 pieces in the entire curriculum! These pieces combined with our mini-musical lessons, designed to introduce your child to the 24 different keys, make Nuryl a valuable head start to their musical education. We also have a lullaby playlist of 17 original songs aimed at soothing your child to sleep faster and to stay asleep longer.
Music As Therapy
Of course, as a parent or family member of a special needs child, we want to do everything we can to help them thrive in life. Therapies that use music are common for children with developmental issues and there have been many research studies showing promising and positive results. Musical therapy has also been used with preterm infants and research suggests that appropriately designed musical interventions may improve upon a newborn’s cardiac rhythms, feeding, and overall alertness.
The Nuryl curriculum can be a great source for music therapy!
One of the wonderful things about appropriately designed music-based therapies is a potentially positive outcome with relatively no/low risks. An infant’s brain is highly plastic, and able to change and heal in a way an adult brain simply can not, so now is the time to try whatever therapies you can find. It is important to talk with your child’s doctors about incorporating music therapy along with their other therapies at home.
What Volume Should I Play Music to My Baby?
If your child is in the womb and you are using headphones on your belly, you can keep the volume to a low conversational level. To get technical, this would be between 50-55 db, and will help to not startle the baby. This is a safe, modest noise level and is comparable to the following familiar sounds:
- A quiet office workplace
- A suburb neighborhood
- Moderate rainfall
Headphones on your belly are best since amniotic fluid is an efficient conductor of sound. However, you can use an external speaker or your phone itself, keeping in mind the volume recommendations above. There’s no need to set the volume at workout levels as if you are on the StairMaster trying to get motivated. Think like quiet music at an office.
After your baby is born, you can play your Nuryl playlists through your phone, PC/laptop, or a Bluetooth speaker, maintaining a comfortable sound level. And make sure to interact with them during this time. Tap the tempo on their skin or bounce them to the rhythm of the music. You can even sing along when you have memorized the melodies. This will keep your child engaged and thinking about the music!
High Information Music and Bonding Time
It’s the most natural thing in the world for a parent to bond with their child. There’s an almost magnetic pull when a dad or mom gets in proximity to their baby. Including high information music as the soundtrack for bonding time can enhance the experience while improving infant cognitive abilities. It’s a win-win!
As your child listens to our curriculum, engage with them by bouncing them on your leg or tapping fingers on their little body. Eventually, they will develop a memory for the songs they hear and may even light up when specific pieces come on!
The high information music keeps children interested in listening while also creating a wonderful bonding time between you both. And feel free to sing along because your child doesn’t care if you’re not the most talented singer. Your voice activates your their anterior prefrontal cortex and the left posterior temporal regions of the brain, which helps encourage their speech processing. And of course, the smile on their face as you sing to them will have you thinking you’re Ed Sheeran or Beyoncé!
Here are some testimonials from our Nuryl parents:
I truly believe that Nuryl is to credit with the progress that Matthius has made since he was born and we are so happy! After just a few months he seemed so much more attentive when Nuryl was playing.
In addition, he began simple speech around 8-9 months with words such as ball, cat, dog, and daddy. At month 10 he is able to communicate in simple sentences like the ball is red. We are extremely pleased with his progress!
– Jay Mahoney
We started Nuryl while I was pregnant, and I’m starting to recognize how advanced my child is compared to others her age. Being 17 months, she has been talking really well for a few months now. She knows all of the letters of the alphabet and examples of what each letter stands for. She annunciates really well for her age and has a very large word bank already.
Many moms of children her age are shocked when they meet her and ask me what my trick is. We are looking forward to continuing to use Nuryl as she grows and we would definitely recommend it to others!
–Alli Stamschror
Get Your Baby Started On A High Information Music Program TODAY!
Starting at five months prenatal, your child’s hearing is fully developed to hear sounds outside the womb, and this is when we recommend starting the Nuryl curriculum. The first two years of their life are a critical time for brain development, and while we recommend at least using Nuryl until they are 2 years old, many children continue listening for a few years after. Some even up to 6 years old!
So don’t wait – the sooner you get your child started on a steady diet of high information music, the more you can help advance their brain development, give them an educational edge, and get them prepared for all that life has to offer. These precious moments are too valuable to waste!
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