The power of music & singing

Whilst watching a well-known detective series set in the Caribbean on Friday night, which happens to be my favourite, a reference was made to Anansii. This was a half man half spider character from Caribbean folklore. I suddenly had a vivid flashback to being at infant school in South East London and singing a song about this character. I’ve been humming it all day but, significantly, I also remember every word of the song. I sang this 35+ years ago!

This highlights the power, not just of music as a way into learning about other cultures, but of the power of incorporating song into learning in general. As a teacher, and now a dyslexia specialist, we cannot underestimate the ability of using as many of the senses as we can to embed ideas and knowledge into the brains of young learners. It is another way in, which does not contain the same barriers as other literacy -based tasks. It can also develop language and support Developmental Language Disorder, which is another condition I have been learning about.