Information about Our Songs for Skills Music
Music is universal in that it has the capacity to reach all children. The accessible and interactive nature of music makes it a fun and effective teaching tool, and studies have shown that this is especially true concerning children on the autism spectrum and with other special needs. According to Barbara Crowe, past President of the National Association for Music Therapy, "Music can make the difference between withdrawal and awareness, between isolation and interaction”. Indeed, lyrical melodies, rhythms and harmonies can elicit a response in children that stimulates learning, promotes responsiveness, encourages communication and fosters growth. When used to empower and evoke connectedness in young learners, music is truly transformative.
Children worldwide learn through music and the lyrics can stay in their heads and hearts for a long time. There are few teaching tools in the marketplace that are designed for the special needs community and can be equally effective for children with and without special needs. We have created a library of Songs for Skills which teach skills to an inclusive audience. Working with experts in the field, we produced songs that will be effective teaching tools. Our songs are written to engage children with their catchy lyrics, fun music, and young children singing the songs.
The songs in our A Day in the Life of a Child album, our first inclusive album, help teach social skills, motor skills and various activities of daily living. The music and lyrics of these songs were written with the guidance of speech and music therapists. Some songs are written for children with auditory sensitivity to help integrate and normalize particular noises that could elicit discomfort. Other songs facilitate the many facets of language development and communication. Several of these songs are recorded at various tempos or with a call and response format so as to be interactive and accessible to a wide variety of needs. Our goal is to provide children of all abilities with music that engages and transforms the way they understand themselves, others and the world around them. The number of these children and families who have benefited from this album from our Songs for Skills library is staggering.
Our second album in the Songs for Skills library teaches water safety and basic swimming skills. With drowning being the leading cause of death for typical children up to the age of 4 and for children with autism up to the age of 14 (and second leading cause for typical children through age 14), we felt passionate that this album must be produced. We have seen how effective our songs have been as teaching tools and are confident that lives can be saved by these songs. Not only is drowning the leading cause of death in young children, but statistics show that for each death, there are 5 emergency room admissions often resulting in brain related injuries. Water safety is a concern for all children; however, children with autism have an even greater risk to injury and possible drowning due to their propensity to wander and interest in water. Magical Music for Life has been working closely with instructors who specialize in teaching young children with special needs to swim in its production of this album to teach children and remind parents of water safety skills and basic swimming techniques. These songs have catchy repetitive phrases and choruses that will easily stick in a child’s head and act as a reminder of important safety tips.
We are thrilled to be able to offer these Songs for Skills as free downloads due to many generous donations and grants from foundations, private organizations, individuals and Magical Music's TUNES IN TIMES SQUARE sing-a-thon fundraiser.
Go to Our Music - A Day in the Life of a Child to check out and download this free album.
Go to Our Music - Water Safety to check out and download the preview of songs for this album.
Learn more about our Special Needs music and Water Safety music.
If our songs make a difference for your child or a child you know, we hope that you will share this music with family and friends. Please consider making a donation to help us continue our mission to create music for all children.
MMFL is committed to continue to create songs to serve the many needs of children who learn differently. If you have any suggestions for songs or you would like to offer feedback, please contact us at info@magicalmusic.org.