Musician uses her ear to translate baby's cries

Yesterday I was telling the parents in my classes about early music education being a strong connection in the processing of language in adults. "Listen" to THIS:

Priscilla Dunstan was recently featured on the Oprah Winfrey show and talked about the language babies use to let you know they're hungry, uncomfortable, have lower gas, need to burp, or simply, are sleepy.You can watch the video here.

The musical connection: (via http://www.dunstanbaby.com/)"Already an exceptional violinist by the age five, [Priscilla] could hear a piece by Mozart once, then play it back in its entirety, note for note. Her father, Director of the Educational Testing Centre at the University of New South Wales, found that his young daughter had an eidetic memory - a rare photographic memory for sound."During her teenage years Priscilla toured throughout Europe and Australia as an accomplished concert violinist. Priscilla then spent more than 10 years exploring the world of opera, where her talent as a mezzo-soprano deepened her understanding of sound produced by the human voice."When Priscilla gave birth to her son Tomas, her instincts as a mother and musician led her to believe that a baby’s cries had to be something more than just random sounds. Noting combinations of sounds in a journal, Priscilla explored various settling techniques and observed Tom’s reactions. Eventually she was able to recognize patterns, and identify how specific cries had a distinct need attached to them."

Once you watch the video you will see that you too can tell the differences easily! Priscilla has taught us to listen on purpose! Don't we do that in every Kindermusik class from newborns to the Young Child classes!?

Thanks Molly McGinn! You are the very spirit of Kindermusik.

"http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200611/20061113/slide_20061113_350_101.jhtml