The ColorSoundation approach is built on the core beliefs that all children have the ability to hear, understand, play, and create music. ColorSoundation uses a structured and systematic method that incorporates exposure to a broad range of music genres, as well as an emphasis on listening, singing, and exploring a variety of instruments by utilizing technology and a fun and engaging character story. Students will reach a greater understanding of music by first focusing on developing the “ear” along with a “singing voice”, then concentrating on the fundamentals of music notation and rhythm. Over time, this foundation will be applied to the study of instruments, to singing and even to musical composition and arranging. The method has been in practice for over a decade, the graduates are provided with a broad skill set and appreciation that allows them to enjoy both music and learning.

Evidence shows that music training, such as ColorSoundation, rather than passive listening, has a huge impact on brain development. There are many benefits linked to early music education and academic achievement. Young children taking music lessons showed dramatic improvement in their verbal intelligence. Elementary school students in higher quality music education programs had 20% improvement in standardized tests of English and Math. Students who receive music education are proven to have higher IQ scores, show better working memory abilities, and are more creative.

1. Sylvain Moreno et al, Musical Training Influences Linguistic Abilities in Eightyear-old Children: More Evidence for Brain Plasticity, Cerebral Cortex, (Volume 19, Issue 3, 2009)
2. C.M. Johnson and J.E. Memmott, Examination of Relationships between Participants in School Music Programs of Differing Quality and Standardized Test Results, Journal of Research in Music Education (Winter 2006), Volume 54, Number 4
3. E. Glenn Schellenberg, Music Lessons Enhance IQ (Psychological Science, 15)
4. E.M. George, D. Coch, Music training and working memory: An ERP study, J. Neuropsychologia, Vol. 49, issue 5, April 2011
5. Gottfried Schlaug, The Brain of Musicians – A Model for Functional and Structural Adaptation

Music has become apart of our every day lives. Whether we receive music training or we hear it on the radio, it surrounds us. Music can drastically affect our mood, can improve creativity, can shape our personality, can improve motor and reasoning skills, can be used as therapy, and can even help us exercise!

Daniel Levitin wrote in his book “This is Your Brain on Music”, “Whenever humans come together for any reason, music is there. Weddings, funerals, graduation from college, men marching off to war, stadium sporting events, a night on the town, prayer, a romantic dinner, mothers rocking their infants to sleep and college students studying with music as a background….” He continues to note that…music is and was [always] part of the fabric of everyday life. Only relatively recently in our own culture, five hundred years or so ago, did a distinction arise that cut society in two, forming separate classes of music performers and music listeners. Throughout most of the world and for most of human history, music making was as natural an activity as breathing and walking, and everyone participated. Concert halls, dedicated to the performance of music, arose only in the last several centuries. Understanding why we like music and what draws us to it is therefore a window on the essence of human nature….”.

https://blog.bufferapp.com/music-and-the-brain

http://thoughteconomics.com/the-role-of-music-in-human-culture/

Mary Okino, Assistant Dean of UCLA’s School of Engineering, and her husband, Ron Sugano, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer at UCLA, are the parents of Brady Sugano, age 7, who has been attending the Conservatory of Performing Arts for three years and is a private piano student there. Says Okino, “We think the ColorSoundation system is really great, and we definitely would recommend it to other parents. It’s great exposure for young children to music—something that they don’t always get enough of from their regular classrooms in public school. Learning music through ColorSoundation has been a great embellishment for Brady, and it taps into the artistic part of his brain. Brady also loves to participate in the Conservatory’s annual recital programs, and performing for elderly residents at senior centers. These live appearances have given him great confidence and self-­esteem. By performing in front of large crowds, he has learned how his talents can benefit others through the value of community service. These are accomplishments that will become important to him later in life.”

Paul Huff and his wife Tammy, owners of two Kids ‘R’ Kids preschools located in West Frisco, Texas, says, “ColorSoundation is the only program we’ve seen in 10 years of searching that can inspire and engage young children to enjoy learning music so early in their lives. When we launched our schools, we were concerned initially that we needed to get kids between the ages of 3 and 5 interested in math and science, to give them a solid foundation within our curriculum. The 180 children in our schools who are taught ColorSoundation have fully embraced the process and have a great time in class. We are convinced that, as they get older, they will look more favorably to learning science and math as a result of this early exposure to pitch, musical notation, and the reproduction of various sounds.”