Little Apps for Little Composers

In 2012, a UK survey commissioned by Disney uncovered that 75% of parents who owned ‘app-capable’ devices shared them with their children, and that, “…37% considered apps to be an ‘integral’ part of their family life.”

It’s no secret that introducing children to music at a young age offers numerous benefits. Many studies carried out over the past decade conclude that children who learn to play an instrument benefit from improved language-related skills, along with increased emotional and cognitive processing skills.

With the prominent rise of mobile devices being used in schools and the household, not to mention the hundreds (if not thousands) of children’s apps on the market, how can parents and teachers fully take advantage of this unique approach to learning?

One of the biggest challenges with musical education among children is that parents may not have the prior music knowledge required to introduce the basic elements to them. This means that many children don’t begin their musical training until the ages of five or six, after they’ve started school.

What Can Music Teachers Do?

Teachers can start developing educational programs based around these apps, which will allow them to take on more students at a younger age. This makes individual music lessons a much more viable option for kids, even as young as three, since it provides an easy entry point to kick-start their musical education; which is a huge plus for everyone.

With an increasing number of children being introduced to mobile technology each year, music-based apps have made the learning experience for kids more accessible than ever.

At a minimum, suggesting app-based learning into their playtime schedule of students’ younger siblings, they can begin to grasp key concepts that will encourage further musical development later on in life and potentially make them ready for music lessons sooner.

About the author: Ernst Renner is the founder of www.LittleComposers.com, which make apps designed for children to learn on their own. Their apps are made by music teachers with 20+ years of teaching experience. Little Composers apps are available on all touch-screen devices (including iOS9), laptops, and desktop computers. Learn more about their educational music apps by clicking here.

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