Develop Attention Span of Your Child With Music. Part 7.

Visual Attention.

A baby learns to see only after he is born.  In the womb, the baby learns to blink, react to light, open and close his eyes.  In the conditions of limited space without access to sun rays, the baby does not feel the need to know how to look and see.

However, after the baby is born, his eyes become the most important stimulus for his motor skills development.  Vision helps muscles develop safely.

Vision and motor function of a person are interconnected. Babies born with visual limitations fall behind in their motor development.

A person’s muscles clamp in the state of danger in order to limit the risk of getting hurt.  This is a basic human reflex.  If a person approaches the edge of a cliff, he will slow down his steps and will eventually freeze.  If he starts approaching a foggy area while driving, he will remove extraneous sounds (radio and phone) and slow down until he reaches a full stop.

Muscles clamp during any activity related to poor visibility or inability to focus. Thus, a person with poor eyesight won’t drive a car without glasses or contact lenses.

The ability to see each key is an essential condition for organic development of piano technique.  It relies on the muscular system of the student’s hands and fingers. A gifted child, starting to learn music, is able to quickly remember the keys by their sound. That is why gifted children rarely have muscle clamps.