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Beating Time to Success!

Clapping our hands to the beat of a song seems such a simple skill. But recent research suggests that it is actually rather complex and can have considerable influence over a child’s development. The ability to identify the pulse in a piece of music, and keep time with it, has become known as ‘beat competency’. It seems the more proficient we become at clapping along to a favourite tune, the more both our physical and intellectual abilities can improve and this is particularly true for children!

The ability to respond to a beat is important for all rhythmic movement. That beat might come from an external source, such as music, or it could be an internal rhythm we create ourselves. Obviously, dancing becomes pretty tricky if you can’t maintain a regular beat! But running, and even walking, is done more effectively if you can get into a constant rhythm. Many of us like listening to music at the gym whilst running on the treadmill or working out on the rowing machine, but it doesn’t just alleviate the boredom. It makes your actions easier by encouraging your muscles to move with a rhythmic swing, allowing all your limbs to work in harmony together without conscious thought. It is partly this rhythm that contributes to the feeling of being ‘in the zone’ when exercising. For children, who are still learning basic gross motor skills, a sense of rhythm really helps them to master simple movements such as walking, jumping, running, skipping and dancing.

At the same time, fine motor movements are much quicker when they start to develop their own rhythmic flow. Sawing a plank of wood, kneading bread, cutting with scissors – these are all done most effectively when performed at a steady tempo. Even scribbling on a piece of paper is easiest when we move the pencil in a regular fashion. These small, precise actions are really difficult for children to perfect as they tend to be all fingers and thumbs! However they often become more proficient as they learn to move their hands and fingers to a steady beat. 

So, the more we can encourage children to identify and move to a beat, the more they will be able to develop good motor skills. But the amazing power of being able to keep a rhythm going doesn’t end there. It seems there is also a surprising correlation between academic success and beat competency. Whilst numerous studies over the past few decades have suggested that music can stimulate the brain (often described as the Mozart Effect) a link has recently been discovered between our ability to identify a regular pulse in music and our intellectual capabilities! (The research carried out by High/Scope Educational Research Foundation (Timing in Child Development, Kuhlman & Schweinhart, 1999)

It seems the ability to feel a rhythm is crucial to learning the pattern of language and therefore improves children’s speech and writing skills. It might be for this reason that some people who suffer from a stutter find that singing or talking with a steady beat helps over come this. Research also showed that children who were good at reading tended to be better at keeping a beat.(BBC News, Tuesday, 23 July, 2002, ‘Poor rhythm 'at heart of dyslexia', http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2144790.stm ) Similarly, being able to tune into musical patterns seems to stimulate children’s mathematical understanding, which is also often pattern based. So powerful is beat competency that studies into the phenomenon have suggested that children who were good at keeping time to music actually performed better in all their subjects at school – not just literacy and numeracy. There may even be some benefit in developing a sense of rhythm in children with dyslexia. (BBC News, Tuesday, 23 July, 2002, ‘Poor rhythm 'at heart of dyslexia', http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2144790.stm ) 

So there are lots of reasons for helping our children develop this important skill. Helen Harrington, founder of MAD Academy which provides music and movement classes for preschool children and which actively promotes beat competency, explains: “Most children acquire a basic sense of rhythm as they grow, however, beat competency is something which can be nurtured and improved. Given the significant benefits to their physical and intellectual capabilities we should be seeking every opportunity to develop this skill in youngsters.” 

But what can we do at home to ensure children become beat competent? Well, nature lends a helping hand to begin with by providing all babies with the rhythm of their mothers heart beat to listen to and it seems we instinctively continue this influence by rocking our newborns to lilting lullabies. Once babies begin to gain control over their movements, just encouraging them to clap along to their favourite song will help them get used to hearing the beat, especially if you clap along too. When playing with percussion instruments start playing a clear beat and see if your child can follow your lead. Many children’s nursery rhymes are written with a strong rhythm primarily because this helps them to learn language, so when reading them out loud to your children, really stress the pulse within the verses. However, giving children the opportunity to feel the rhythm rather than just listen to it is much more effective. So, put on some music and get them on their feet - jumping, hopping, skipping, marching, dancing. Join in with them, accentuating your own moves to show them how to pick out the pulse – you might even improve your own beat competency at the same time! 

By Rebecca Eddy, MAD Academy

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