"Between Mozart and Bad Bunny": what music to choose for our children

Enriching children's cognitive development with music is fundamental for both experts. Gemma Canadell, director of the Educational Service at the Palau de la Música, and Pau Llonch, musician, economist, and member of Versemblant, a cooperative with an educational project based on music and art, discuss this topic in Rehearsal Room about what music to choose for boys and girls in the Palau videopodcast Between Mozart and Bad Bunny. Rehearsal Room For this occasion, they have chosen Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's KV 265 variations, probably one of the first pieces children hear at school.

Gemma Canadell is the mother of an 8-year-old girl, and Pau Llonch has two children, ages 5 and 2. Until now, their musical preferences have been guided by them. With their trained musical ears, the children are now beginning to choose. From Oques Grasses to Bohemian Rhapsody Regarding Queen, tastes vary.

"This is related to cognitive development and their hearing ability. The younger they are, the greater their hearing ability," explains Gemma. "As with Bohemian Rhapsody"It's a long, highly contrasting piece with moments of great musical richness."

"Children connect with music when they see adults truly moved by it: music is contagious through emotion, not by name," says Pau Llonch. It's transmitted like a... which happens with other family passions, like, for example, Barça."

Children's music

Until the age of 10, children should listen to all kinds of music. As music lovers, Gemma Canadell and Pau Llonch embrace the idea of ​​the widest possible variety, even avoiding children's music. "Their hearing capacity is far superior to ours, and that's good for their brains," says Gemma. The richer and more complex, the better. "Sometimes there's this misconception that because they're young, they should listen to simple, simple music. It's the opposite; the younger they are, the more complex the music should be." Pau Llonch agrees. "I think we need to offer the other perspective, less cognitive and more directive, or more emotional, which we always advocate for at the cooperative. In the end, it's good to talk to your child about what the song is about, but above all, it has to do with you being amazed by the music." The point is to "suggest, not force," emphasizes Gemma Canadell. It all comes down to fostering discernment in music. "One must know why something moves or impacts them, and this is a conversation we parents need to have with our children," emphasizes Gemma, who, as director of the Palau's Educational Service, is responsible for seeking out the emotional impact on children when they come to listen to music.

The transition to adolescence

Music is not just an educational or artistic tool, but a true social technique for managing emotions. That's why, as Pau Llonch explains, Versemblant uses rap to offer young people a critical perspective on the world. In the educational sphere, music and rap allow young people to construct their own narratives, without ever underestimating their emotional capacity. "Music is a social technique for feelings, helping us recognize, share, and manage our emotions."

Our greatest strength is that we are born with immense musical sensitivity, explains Gemma Canadell. "Our hearing develops in our mother's womb, and our first connection with the world is through sound." The problem, Pau points out, "is that there's a similar issue to that with mathematics." It all depends on how things are introduced and explained. "What should be prioritized is the vibration, not so much the cognition," he emphasizes. Learning a musical score should come later, and that's why musical listening is so important.

"Listening to music is very universal, and there are music lovers who enjoy it much more than those of us who are musicians," Gemma points out. That's why, "children's contact with music when they are young should be sensory," she insists.

The importance of music's role in schools is therefore also crucial. "It should be a universal right to offer a very diverse and well-thought-out musical menu," says Canadell. Hence, Pau Llonch laments the lack of this important "musical diet" in certain institutions. "The art of educating means doing so within the diversity of the arts, sciences, mathematics—everything—and the teacher must be an omnivorous person and must allow all kinds of music to reach the children." Everything happens, as Pau Llonch emphasizes, "by discovering new things."

A world in transformation

That's why new trends also represent new opportunities, even though Pau misses the old-school bands among young people. Gemma Canadell explains that music, like life, is constantly evolving. "Perhaps kids make less music, but they do other things, like creating music videos. Maybe they don't improvise on the guitar, but they grab some samplers and a few software programs and create amazing combinations."

Despite the music industry, likes, music platforms, and the "precariousness of the artistic sector" that Pau mentions, one thing seems clear: "The way music is made is changing, and so is the way we listen to it," concludes Gemma Canadell. All it takes is getting down to work. Or rather, listening.