Physical Health and Music in the Early Years

Last month we looked at the effect that music can have on mental health in the early years, and this month, we thought we’d have a look at the effect that music can have on physical health.

The NHS constantly considers the health of the population to try plan the best use of their resources. They found that there are 5 major conditions that affect the population, and that if treated in time, do not become life-threatening emergencies. Areas that have a history of escalating quickly are maternity care (particularly in ethnic minorities), severe mental health, chronic respiratory disease, cancer diagnosis, and hypertension – the leading cause of heart attack and stroke (Core20PLUS5: An Approach to Reducing Inequalities, 2021). Along with medication, medical professionals have also started to consider the effects of music on these conditions.

Music is being used increasingly in medical situations, with more researchers studying the reasons for the calming effect that it has on so many people in such poor states of health. Music therapy usually involves a one-to-one session with a specialist qualified in different musical techniques and medical knowledge. Music medicine involves health care professionals that “prescribe” listening to specific songs for a set time, or play music during appointments for scans or invasive procedures. (In between these two are “music interventionists”: musicians with an interest in health care or specific health conditions, that provide music to improve health and wellbeing.)

Researchers have found that specific music techniques directly affect the brain:

• copying a beat on your body (body percussion)
• tapping on instruments, and
• learning to play a favourite song

Using these three activities, they found:

• reduced signs of stress, including blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and pain (do Amaral et al., 2016);
• less medication was required, better parent-child relationships developed (Dombrowska-Pali et al., 2018)and
• new parts of the brain grew in people with traumatic brain injuries (Sihvonen et al., 2022), specifically the areas involving executive function, which has been linked to school readiness and resilience, amongst other skills.

Not only are these music techniques fun and easy activities to learn in childhood, they have the added bonus of improving the health of the adults caring for children, too! Here are a few examples of songs that may be used, with ideas on how to use them:

Cobbler Cobbler

Cobbler, cobbler, mend my shoe
Get it done by half past two
Half past two is much too late
Get it done by half past eight

This is a fantastic song to master singing in tune as well as keeping the beat using body percussion. Keep the beat by tapping the syllables / rhythm of the words on knees. Extension: tap on knees of person next to you, check that you are both matching the beat!

Aiken Drum

There was a man lived in the moon
Lived in the moon, lived in the moon
There was a man lived in the moon
And his name was Aiken Drum

And he played upon a ladle
A ladle, a ladle
And he played upon a ladle
And his name was Aiken Drum

This is a great song to develop while playing a drum or other instruments that you can tap or beat (even claves/rhythm sticks)! In settings with only one drum, the first person takes a turn to tap two lines/a verse then pass it on. In settings with more drums/instruments, those with instruments become the “band”, while the rest of the group walks/dances to the beat, then swap over at the change of verse. Extension: ask children for ideas for new verses, e.g.:

And his coat was made of smelly cheese,
smelly cheese, smelly cheese
And his coat was made of smelly cheese,
and his name was Aiken Drum

And his shoes were made of pizza pies,
pizza pies, pizza pies
And his shoes were made of pizza pies,
and his name was Aiken Drum

And his hat was a big dustbin lid,
dustbin lid, dustbin lid
And his hat was a big dustbin lid
and his name was Aiken Drum