FAQs

  • When the pandemic began early in 2020, teaching in person was not possible. Because the growth and development of children couldn’t wait, I wrote a book that would empower parents and caregivers to provide a simple, step-by-step music learning process for their children. I have shared iterations of the manuscript as they became available with parents and caregivers during the entire writing process.

  • Music for the Developing Brain: A Simple, At-Home Program

    A pencil and marker

    3 x 5-inch index cards

    Internet access

    Eventually, a small, portable electronic keyboard or a piano

    Optional: an envelope big enough for the cards or a large paper clip

  • This music learning process can last up to five years or possibly longer, depending on a child’s individual abilities and experience, including repetition.

  • Do them as often as you can. Progress may be slower, but any progress is helpful!

  • There is no guarantee for who or what a child can become; however, this music learning process can enhance both the structure and function of the developing brain.

  • One way is to associate activities with another normal daily event, like brushing teeth, washing hands, getting dressed, changing diapers, etc. Another is to use the reminder on your phone.

  • Go to my website, http://drjanebader.com/chapter-videos. There is a playlist for each chapter on my YouTube channel.

If you have a question not listed here, please contact me at jane@drjanejbader.com.

Hearing Protection


It is extremely important to be certain that the volume of music, especially the bass, is in a safe range to protect hearing. If you are planning to go to concerts or any other loud events, use ear muffs to protect the baby’s hearing (and ear plugs to protect yours). Absolutely nothing can totally replace the cells that die when any kind of sudden or sustained noise is too loud.

Keep in mind that the numbers on a decibel meter are not linear. A reading of 70 dB is 10 times as many as 60 dB, not 10 plus.

These free apps measure decibels to help all of you to stay safe. Remember that available apps can come and go, so if any of these have been replaced, simply search for “decibel meter app.”

App Store:

• Decibel Meter Sound Detector
• Decibel X:dB Sound Level Meter
• Decibel : sound level meter
• Decibel Meter - Sound Detector
• NIOSH Sound Level Meter

Google Play:

• Sound Meter by Abc Apps
• Sound Meter - Decibel by melon soft
• Sound Meter by Splend Apps
• Sound Meter by Smart Tools co.
• Sound meter: SPL & dB meter by KTW Apps

Suggested Reading

  • Altenmüller, Eckart, Stanley Finger, and Francois Boller, eds. Music, Neurology, and Neuroscience: Historical Connections and Perspectives. Elsevier, 2015.

  • Anvari, Sima H., Laurel Trainor, Jennifer Woodside, and Betty Ann Levy. “Relations Among Musical Skills, Phonological Processing, and Early Reading Ability in Preschool Children.” Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 83, no. 2 (October 2002): 111-130. 

  • Bader, Jane Jones. “Sequencing Aural Skills in Elementary Piano Literature.” DMA diss., University of South Carolina, 2001.

  • Bahnson, Frederic. Better Than Destiny: Practical Science for Creating the Life You Want. Austin, TX: Lioncrest Publishing, 2021.

  • Baker, Mitzi. "Music Moves Brain To Pay Attention, Stanford Study Finds." news release, Stanford School of Medicine, http://med.stanford.edu/news_releases/2007/july/music.html 16 (2007). 

  • Bevill, Kim. Top Ten Things: The Neuroscience on Sex Differences, Music, Gaming and More. n.p.: Balboa Press, 2021.

  • Bilhartz, Terry, Rick Bruhn, and Judith Olson. “The Effect of Early Music Training on Child Cognitive Development.” Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 20, no. 4 (1999): 615-636.

  • Blanchard, Keith. Reverberation: Do Everything Better with Music. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2023.

  • Bloom, Benjamin. Developing Talent in Young People. New York: Ballantine Books, 1985.

  • Bugaj, Katarzyna, and Brenda Brenner. “The Effects of Music Instruction on Cognitive Development and Reading Skills—An Overview.” Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education 189 (2011): 89-104.

  • Burnett, William, and David J. Evans. Designing Your Life. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2016.

  • Butzlaff, Ron. “Can Music Be Used to Teach Reading?” Journal of Aesthetic Education 34, no. 3/4 (2000): 167-78.

  • Camp, Max W. Developing Piano Performance: A Teaching Philosophy. Chapel Hill, NC: Hinshaw Music, 1981, p. 57.

  • Camp, Max W. Teaching Piano: The Synthesis of Mind, Ear and Body. Los Angeles, CA: Alfred Publishing Co., Inc., 1992, p.55.

  • Cassidy, Jane W., and Donald R. Speer. “Music Terminology: A Transfer from Knowledge to Practical Use.” Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education 106 (Fall,1990): 11-21.

  • Chao-Fernández, Rocío, Sara Román-García, and Aurelio Chao-Fernández. "Art, Science and Magic: Music and Math the Classroom." In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Technological Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality, pp. 1-5. 2017.

  • Collins, Anita. “Neuroscience Meets Music Education: Exploring the Implications of Neural Processing Models on Music Education Practice.” International Journal of Music Education 31, no.2 (2013): 217-231.

  • Condello, Robert Anthony. Effects of Sequencing on Meaningful Learning. Hofstra University, 1975.

  • Cook, Stephen. “Through The Eyes Of a Child: Pianistic Paths For The Smallest Learners.” American Music Teacher 66, no.6 (2017): 10-13.

  • Cranmore, Jeff, and Jeanne Tunks. “Brain Research on the Study of Music and Mathematics: A Meta-Synthesis.” Journal of Mathematics Education 8, no. 2 (2015): 139-157.

  • Ellenberger, Carl. Theme and Variations: Musical Notes by a Neurologist. n.p.: Promusica Press, 2019.

  • Fernandez, Sabrina. "Music and Brain Development." Pediatric Annals 47, no. 8 (2018): e306-e308.

  • Flowers, Patricia J. “The Effect of Instruction in Vocabulary and Listening on Nonmusicians’ Descriptions of Changes in Music.” Journal of Research in Music Education 31, no. 3 (1983): 179-189.

  • Flowers, Patricia J. “Music Vocabulary of First-Grade Children: Words Listed for Instruction and their Actual Use.” Journal of Research in Music Education 46, no. 1 (1998): 5-15.

  • Fort, Marty. The Ultimate Guide to Music Lessons: For Parents, Students, or Anyone Who’s Ready to Play Music! Little Rock, AR: Expert Press, 2018.

  • Gamble, Denise Kath. A Study of the Effects of Two Types of Tonal Pattern Instruction on the Audiational and Performance Skills of First-Year Clarinet Students. Temple University, 1989.

  • Ullman, M. “Music and Language Are Processed by The Same Brain Systems.” Neuroimage Georgetown University Medical Center (2007). Accessed March 21, 2021. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/07092712110.htm.

  • Granier-Deferre, Carolyn, Sophie Bassereau, Aurélie Ribeiro, Anne-Yvonne Jacquet, and Anthony J. DeCasper. “A Melodic Contour Repeatedly Experienced by Human Near-Term Fetuses Elicits a Profound Cardiac Reaction One Month after Birth.” PLoS One 6, no. 2 (2011): e17304.

  • Grutzmacher, Patricia Ann. “The Effect of Tonal Pattern Training on the Aural Perception, Reading Recognition, and Melodic Sightreading Achievement of First-Year Instrumental Music Students.” Journal of Research in Music Education 35 (1987): 171-181.

  • Hair, Harriet I. “Discrimination of Tonal Direction on Verbal and Nonverbal Tasks by First Grade Children.” Journal of Research in Music Education 25 (1977): 197-210.

  • Hallam, Susan. “The Power of Music: Its Impact on the Intellectual, Social and Personal Development of Children and Young People.” International Journal of Music Education 28, no. 3 (2010): 269-289.

  • Hamilton, Tara Julia, Julieanne Doai, Andrew Milne, Vicky Saisanas, Andrea Calilhanna, Courtney Hilton, Micah Goldwater, and Richard Cohn. "Teaching Mathematics with Music: A Pilot Study." In 2018 IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE), pp. 927-931. IEEE, 2018.

  • Hannon, Erin E., and Laurel J. Trainor. “Music Acquisition: Effects of Enculturation and Formal Training on Development.” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 11, no. 11 (2007), 466-472.

  • Helding, Lynn. The Musician’s MInd: Teaching, Learning, and Performance in the Age of Brain Science. Washington, DC: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2020.

  • Hepper, Peter G. “An Examination of Fetal Learning Before and After Birth.” The Irish Journal of Psychology 12, no. 2 (1991): 95-107.

  • Hersch, Sarah Smith. Music Educator Shinichi Suzuki: His Teacher Development Program and Studio Teaching. University of Minnesota, 1995.

  • Hodges, Donald A. "Implication of Music and Brain Research: This introductory article offers an overview of neuromusical research and articulates some basic premises derived from this research." Music Educators Journal 87, no. 2 (2000): 17-22.

  • Hodges, Donald A. “The Child Musician’s Brain.” The Child as Musician: A Handbook of Musical Development (2015): 52-66.

  • Houser, Larry Lee. Toward a Theory of Sequencing: Study (2, 3)-1: An Exploration of the Effects of Three Instructional Sequences on Achievement of Selected Instructional Objectives in Conversion of Units in the Metric System of Measure. The Pennsylvania State University, 1974.

  • Hyde, Krista L., Jason Lerch, Andrea Norton, Marie Forgeard, Ellen Winner, Alan C. Evans, and Gottfried Schlaug. “Musical Training Shapes Structural Brain Development.” Journal of Neuroscience 29, no. 10 (2009): 3019-3025.

  • Johansson, Barbro B. “Music, Age, Performance, and Excellence: A Neuroscientific Approach.” Psychomusicology: A Journal of Research in Music Cognition 18, no. 1-2 (2002): 46.

  • Johansson, Barbro B. “Music and Brain Plasticity.” European Review 14, no. 1 (2006), 49-64. 

  • Kells, Deanne. “The Impact of Music on Mathematics Achievement.” Accessed January 6, 2022. http://www.microtonemusic.net/About_Microtone_Music/Expert_Research/Benefits_of_Kindermusik/ImpactOfMusicOnMath.pdf

  • Küpana, M. Nevra. "Social Emotional Learning and Music Education." SED-Sanat Eğitimi Dergisi 3, no. 1 (2015): 75-88.

  • Leipold, Simon, Carina Klein, and Lutz Jancke. “Musical Expertise Shapes Functional and Structural Brains Network Independent of Absolute Pitch Ability.” Journal of Neuroscience 41, no. 11 (2021): 2496-2511.

  • Levitin, Daniel. This is your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession. New York: Plume/Penguin, 2007.

  • Mannone, Maria, and Luca Turchet. "Shall We (Math and) Dance?" In Mathematics and Computation in Music: 7th International Conference, MCM 2019, Madrid, Spain, June 18-21, 2019, Proceedings 7 (pp. 84-97). Springer International Publishing.

  • Marcus, Gary. Guitar Zero: The New Musicians and the Science of Learning. London: Penguin Press, 2012.

  • Marzano, Robert J. and Daisy E. Arredondo. “Restructuring Schools Through the Teaching of Thinking Skills.” Educational Leadership, 43, no. 8 (1986): 20-26.

  • McPherson, Gary E., Peter Miksza, and Paul Evans. “Self-Regulated Learning in Music Practice and Performance.” In Handbook of Self-Regulation of Learning and Performance, pp. 181-193. Routledge, 2017.

  • Miendlarzewska, Ewa, and Wiebke J. Frost. “How Musical Training Affects Cognitive Development: Rhythm, Reward, and Other Modulating Variables.” Frontiers in Neuroscience 7 (2014): 279.

  • Moreno, Sylvain, Ellen Bialystok, Raluca Barac, E. Glenn Schellenberg, Nicholas, J. Cepeda, and Tom Chau. “Short-Term Music Training Enhances Verbal Intelligence and Executive Function.“ Psychological Science 22, no. 11 (2011): 1425-1433.

  • Nazzi, Thierry, Caroline Floccia, and Josiane Bertoncini. “Discrimination of Pitch Contours by Neonates.” Infant Behavior and Development 21, no. 4 (1998): 779-784.

  • Nyberg, Lars, Reza Habib, Anthony R. McIntosh, and Endel Tulving. “Reactivation of Encoding-Related Brain Activity during Memory Retrieval.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 97, no. 20 (2000): 11120-11124.

  • Patel, Aniruddh D. Music, Language, and the Brain. 1st ed. Oxford University Press, 2010.

  • Peretz, Isabelle, and Robert Zatorre. “Brain Organization for Music Processing.” Annual Review of Psychology 56, no. 1 (2005): 89-114. 

  • Peretz, Isabelle, and Robert J. Zatorre, eds. The Cognitive Neuroscience of Music. Oxford University Press, 2003.

  • Phillips-Silver, Jessica. "On the Meaning of Movement in Music, Development and the Brain." Contemporary Music Review 28, no. 3 (2009): 293-314.

  • Robinson, Jerry W. and T. James Crawford. “Fundamental Considerations in Sequencing and Teaching Basic Typing Applications.” Balance Sheet 60, no. 1 (1978): 4-7.

  • Rodriguez, Carlos X. “Children’s Perception, Production, and Description of Musical Expression.” Journal of Research in Music Education 46, no. 1 (1998): 48-61.

  • Sacks, Oliver. Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain. New York: Vintage Books, 2008.

  • Schlaug, Gottfried, Andrea Norton, Katie Overy, and Ellen Winner. “Effects of Music Training on the Child's Brain and Cognitive Development.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1060, no. 1 (2006): 219-230. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1360.015

  • Schlaug, Gottfried, Lutz Jäncke, Yanxiong Huang, Jochen F. Staiger, and Helmuth Steinmetz. “Increased Corpus Callosum Size in Musicians.” Neuropsychologia 33, no. 8 (1995): 1047-1055.

  • Scott-Kassner, Carol. "Developing Teachers for Early Childhood Programs: Research about the Impact of Music on Brain Development Highlights the Need to Prepare Teachers to Provide Effective Music Instruction in Day-Care Preschool Settings." Music Educators Journal 86, no. 1 (1999): 19-25.

  • Scripp, Larry. “An Overview of Research on Music and Learning.” Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Academic and Social Development (2002): 132-136.

  • Speranza, Luisa, Salvatore Pulcrano, Carla Perrone-Capano, Umberto di Porzio, and Floriana Volpicelli. “Music Affects Functional Brain Connectivity and Is Effective in the Treatment of Neurological Disorders.“ Reviews in the Neurosciences 33, no. 7 (2022): 789-801.

  • Strait, Dana L., Jane Hornickel, and Nina Kraus. “Subcortical Processing of Speech Regularities Predicts Reading and Music Aptitude in Children.” Behavioral and Brain Functions 7 (2011): 1-11.

  • Sherman, Larry S., and Dennis Plies. Every Brain Needs Music: The Neuroscience of Making and Listening to Music. New York: Columbia University Press, 2023.

  • Sulzer, David. Music, Math, and Mind: The Physics and Neuroscience of Music. New York: Columbia University Press, 2021.

  • Svard, Lois. The Musical Brain: What Students, Teachers, and Performers Need to Know. Oxford University Press, 2023.

  • Teachout, David J. “The Impact of Music Education on a Child’s Growth and Development.” Sounds of Learning. Carlsbad, CA: International Foundation for Music Research (2005).

  • Thaut, Michael H. Rhythm, Music, and the Brain: Scientific Foundations and Clinical Applications. Taylor & Francis, 2013.

  • Thaut, Michael H., and Donald A. Hodges, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Music and the Brain. Oxford University Press, 2019.

  • Topham, Tim. No Book Beginners. Melbourne, Australia: Top Music Pty Ltd, 2023.

  • Trainor, Laurel J., Céline Marie, David Gerry, Elaine Whiskin, and Andrea Unrau. “Becoming Musically Enculturated: Effects of Music Classes for Infants on Brain and Behavior.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1252, no. 1 (2012): 129-138.

  • Van Der Schyff, Dylan, Andrea Schiavio, and David J. Elliott. Musical Bodies, Musical Minds: Inactive Cognitive Science and the Meaning of Human Musicality. MIT Press, 2022.

  • Virtala, Paula, Minna Huotilainen, Eino Partanen, Vineta Vellman, and Mari Tervaniemi. “Newborn Infants’ Auditory System Is Sensitive to Western Music Chord Categories.” Frontiers in Psychology 4 (2013): 492.

  • Wheeler, Mark E., Steven E. Petersen, and Randy L. Buckner. “Memory’s Echo: Vivid Remembering Reactivates Sensory-Specific Cortex.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences  97, no. 20 (2000): 11125-11129.

  • White-Schwoch, Travis, Kali Woodruff Carr, Samira Anderson, Dana L. Strait, and Nina Kraus. “Older Adults Benefit from Music Training Early in Life: Biological Evidence for Long-Term Training-Driven Plasticity.” Journal of Neuroscience 33, no. 45 (2013): 17667-17674

  • Williamson, Victoria. You Are The Music: How Music Reveals What It Means To Be Human. London: Icon Books Ltd, 2014.

  • Winkler, István, Gábor P. Háden, Olivia Ladinig, István Sziller, and Henkjan Joning. “Newborn Infants Detect the Beat in Music.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106, no. 7 (2009): 2468-2471.

  • Zatorre, Robert. From Perception to Pleasure: The Neuroscience of Music and Why We Love It. Oxford University Press, 2023.

  • Zimmerman, Emily, and Amir Lahav. “The Multisensory Brain and Its Ability to Learn Music.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1252, no. 1 (2012), 179-184.

  • Zimmerman, Marilyn P. “Musical Characteristics of Children.” Washington, DC: Music Educators National Conference, 1971.

  • Zuk, Jennifer, Christopher Benjamin, Arnold Kenyon, and Nadine Gaab. “Behavioral and Neural Correlates of Executive Functioning in Musicians and Non-Musicians.” PLoS One 9, no.6 (2014): e99868.

Additional Websites

  • The Southeastern Piano Festival is a week of events with outstanding professional and student performers. Most of the daytime performances are free and tickets are reasonably priced.

  • The Concert Truck is a mobile, movable performance venue that can literally go anywhere a truck can be parked. The performers partner with local organizations and sponsors to bring professional performers to locations serving marginalized communities.

  • These books can help you plan how to have a happy and successful life while being fulfilled:
    Designing your Life: How to Build a Well-Lived, Joyful Life by William Burnett & David J.Evans
    Better than Destiny: Practical Science for Creating the Life You Want by Frederic Bahnson

  • Music Teachers National Association contains referrals for teachers by location. Go to “Find a Teacher”