The Pomeranian Philharmonic presents a series of concerts entitled "From the belly to a tot’s ear" dedicated to expectant mothers, infants and small children up to 2 years of age as well as a series of concerts entitled "In the land of the musical teddy" addressed to children at the age of 2 to 6 (check concert dates).
The inauguration of the series "From the belly to a tot’s ear" took place on 25 May 2008 at 12.00 – for infants, small children up to 2 years of age and expectant mothers, and at 13.00 – for children at the ages 2-6 years.
Concerts for such special audience as infants and small children up to the age of 2.5 are undoubtedly an innovative undertaking. The Pomorska Philharmonic Orchestra encourages parents to introduce music to a child’s life from the very birth. Scientific research shows that ear for music is developed as early as in the prenatal period and the optimal period of its development lasts to around 9 years of age. Subsequently, this ability is developed mainly through education. Music instruction, in particular signing and playing instruments improve substantially educational results achieved by children and teenagers. Hence, the idea of concerts dedicated to the youngest involving professional performance and methodological attention inside the building of the I. J. Paderewski Philharmonic Concert Hall.
"You might be astonished with the fast development of your child. Everyday it learns new things in various fields. Scientific researches confirm that the best period for learning encompasses the first years of life. Observations of development of “gifted children” and research conducted on persons with extraordinary abilities in various fields have led to the conclusion that every human being could develop their abilities in a specific field up to a level that is above average if they started their learning early enough, if appropriate methods were used and if instruction took place on a daily basis and was accompanied by support and interest from their immediate family important to them. This is the case as far as speech is concerned. Each child that develops normally acquires speaking ability in the first two years of its life. It is capable of mastering even the most difficult language and, in some cases, two or even three languages simultaneously without confusing them. Psychologists assume that a human being is born with an innate ability to learn speech. Music psychologists who conduct research on musical development of humans claim that each human being is also born with an inherent ability to learn the language of music. Much like speech, a child can sense music as early as in the foetal period and it is already at that stage that it responds to music and is able to learn it. The language of music is particularly intriguing for an infant as music, compared to speech, is characterised by a more dynamic scale, higher range of sound pitch, richer cadence and tone colours, more organised structure (recurrence) and, above all, is capable of invoking various moods and emotions. Music and singing express what speech is not capable of. And we have this ability to understand musical sense and emotions at our disposal. However, it can be developed, much the same as speech, only through assistance from other people – in a musical dialogue with persons close to us emotionally. Then, music becomes a source of joint experience and shared feelings. The world of tones may be therefore a significant field of new experiences for an infant capable of expanding its cognitive abilities.Particularly important in the child’s musical development is singing for a child and with a child. The research in the field has proved that children who are sung for babble more, learn to speak more quickly, are more cheerful, receive more interaction with adults, have better concentration abilities. Their responses to music indicate that they are happier. However, signing and music not only add to harmonious development of human beings. They constitute a value in themselves and therefore they are worth being preoccupied with. Pregnancy is characterised by opposing feelings. On the one hand, the feeling of physical discomfort, changeable moods, fear of labour pains. On the other hand, the sense of happiness and great joy of waiting for a beloved little creature. You try to comply with the doctor’s recommendations concerning proper nutrition, sleep, rest and exercises. For your child’s and your own good. We, on the other hand, would like to encourage you to DAY-TO-DAY CONTACT WITH MUSIC. Psychologists dealing with musical development of humans know more and more about the effect of music in the earliest stages of life. In the last decades, science has provided tools and techniques enabling research into the child’s development in the prenatal period and right after birth. The results are astonishing. A HUMAN STARTS TO ACT, FEEL AND LEARN AS EARLY AS IN THE PRENATAL PERIOD! It changes the existing views on the ability to learn and early education. We know more and more about the favourable influence of music on creating emotional bonds between a mother and her unborn child. Neural and sensory organs of a human being are fully developed and function efficiently already before its birth. The sense of hearing develops between 16 and 20 week of the foetal life. In week 20, the mechanism of hearing is already developed in the same way as in an adult. A child responds to sound by fastened heart beating and movements. The child can hear its mother’s body sounds and her voice. It can recognize various sounds reaching it from the environment, although their source may not be in the immediate vicinity. The experiments involving children show that the child recognizes a recording of its mother’s voice who is reading a story and can tell it from voices of other women reading the same story. A child who is several weeks of age remembers a musical piece presented to it for a certain time in its foetal life. Moreover, children prefer music where pauses are at the end and not in the middle of the phrase. Is it therefore possible to rear a child already in the prenatal phase and in the early childhood? Yes. Learning in the mother’s womb takes place irrespective of whether we plan it or not. The child senses energy stimuli which are stored by the brain and processed in memory together with emotional associations. Proper stimulation of the senses before and after birth increases the child’s ability potential. The stimulation of the sense of hearing in the prenatal phase through speaking and music is directly relative to future language and musical abilities. However, the effect of appropriately selected music on a foetus may result in yet other advantages, emotional in nature. It happens so because the mother’s emotional state is communicated to the child through the hormonal system. When a pregnant woman experiences positive feelings, is relaxed and has a sense of security, released “hormones of pleasure” (endomorphine) have the same effect on the child as they have on its mother. And conversely – stress related hormones (adrenaline) may, in extreme cases, cause emotional exhaustion of the child. Repetition of these experiences causes them to be biochemically “entered” in the nervous system and form a base for positive or negative emotional bonds between the mother and the child which may be observed in the child’s behaviour immediately after birth. We therefore recommend that future parents have contact with music – that they listen to appropriately selected music, sing and observe responses of their children.”
Dr hab. Barbara Kamińska, prof. AMFC
Director of the Interfaculty Department of Psychology of Music
Musical education of the child
should commence 9 months
before birth
.... MOTHERS
(Zoltán Kodály)
Music reaches such corners of soul
that are impenetrable for anything else
(Zoltán Kodály)
