Music, Music Therapy and Child Development

Music is always been a part of life. It mirrors what we are and what we are experiencing in the present. The rhythm, melody, harmony, timber, tempo, nuance and intensity bring images to mind and provoke movement. Music is also a langage that we possess without ever having studied it. This language is accessible to all and helps us express ourselves and communicate.
This book is intended to make parents, educators and care-givers aware of how music and music therapy can benefit children. It deals with sound and musical awareness, while focussing on the place of music in the overall development of the human being, as well as music therapy, a creative approach that is accessible to children, regardless of their age, physical and intellectual condition, and cultural heritage.
It’s author has drawn heavily on research that describe the effect of music, from the point of view of psychology, neuropsychology, education, neuropedagogy and medecine; this research helps provide an understanding of the potential of the alliance between music and children.
Guylaine Vaillancourt is a music therapist and a nurse. She also assume different responsabilities in the Assocation québécoise de musicothérapie.