My First Blog! Welcome & What to Expect!

Seasonal Rhythms & Turning Inward. Fall is often seen as a time of transition. In spring and summer, we feel pulled “outward” into the world.  It is a natural time for rigorous activity and exploration. As autumn arrives, many traditions and circles in psychology recognize a shift “inward” as we prepare for winter.  

Fall is a great season to refocus internally on yourself and your core family, to dive into art and music and perhaps finally make time for that project you’ve been putting off…

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For years I have been wanting to share what I’ve learned about music, children's development and how humanity’s well being is intrinsically intertwined in both.  Helping our children develop healthy bonding skills, self assuredness and awareness of others are some of our biggest and toughest jobs as parents.  Music is an incredible way to work on all of the above while having a great time and feeling good too!

Here’s some subject matter that I will dive deeper into the next few months!

Music = Happiness (Literally and Scientifically)

When you play music (or even if you are just in a collective musical environment) your body rewards you with these Happiness Hormones:

• Endorphins (pleasure, energy) 

• Dopamine (reward)

• Oxytocin (bonding) 

• Serotonin (mood stability)

• Plus lowered cortisol (less stress)

Together, at their peak they can create an ecstatic “group music high,” but even when they work in more subtle ways they can helps us feel grounded, connected to others, fulfilled and secure.

Connection is Everything, and Music is Connection

One of the main reasons we get these "happiness hormones" from playing music in groups is because our body uses our feelings and hormones to encourage social behavior. Why?! Because we are still wired the same way we were in the stone age where our survival was completely dependent on being part of a community (strength in numbers).  Before cities, large scale agriculture and certainly before computers, we were dependent on each other for safety and survival.

Therefore our nervous system still rewards us or punishes us with feeling “good/calm/secure” or “sad/anxious/lonely” depending on how connected we are with other people.  This is why isolation is one of the biggest contributors to depression.

Regardless of how far we advance, your baby is completely dependent on you, its core community.  It is therefore wired above all else to seek your connection.  The way I like to put it, your baby's number one survival skill is to be loved!  Music has been a gathering mechanism FOREVER, and the health benefits, both mental and physical, are astounding as a result.  It is a way for your child to widen its circle of connection on a regular basis, not just with you, but with others in class!  Once our child develops a security that it is loved, connected and therefore looked after, it has infinitely more capacity to thrive in the world.  

And More!

I also will dig deeply into why music is so beneficial for growth in areas like language and communication, memory, focus, as well as emotional, social and physical development. 

Along the way I will also give you advice and methods to make music accessible to your children to help them enjoy it more, learn it faster, and maximize all its benefits.  And in the process, you can help your child make real lasting musical progress (even as infants).

I am so excited to start this passion project.  See you at Blog Number 2!

All the best, always!

Ramblin Dan