How Classical Music Shapes Childhood Memory and Emotional Growth

Days are growing longer and bright sunshine paves the way for the summer season. Summer is a time for children to take a break from school and enjoy days filled with laughter and fun. Some of the summer memories for children include immersing themselves in classical music for cognitive development and emotional growth.

While other genres of music, such as pop or cartoon songs, can be engaging for young children, classical music evokes a different kind of listening experience. It has the power to shape children’s emotional landscape, assist with language development, and profoundly affect their memory.

Photo by Sophie Lavoie on Unsplash

The Brain and Musical Memory

Music stimulates different parts of the brain than other activities. Neuroscientists have found that music exposure in children enhances memory formation, particularly when it is paired with emotional resonance. This happens because the limbic system, which is responsible for processing emotions, works with the hippocampus in the brain, responsible for storing memory.

Children may not be able to recall specific details, but they often can remember how they feel. In a study at USC’s Brain and Creativity Institute (BCI), it was found that there is a link between classical music training and improved brain function for children, so listening to classical music helps children remember how they felt in a similar memory while listening to the same music. Incorporating classical music training can help develop other skills, such as empathy, multitasking, and social connections.

Another study by Petr Janata conducted at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain indicates that listening to music strongly activates the medial prefrontal cortex of the brain (MPFC). This part of the brain is crucial for memory, emotion, and self-reflection, especially during childhood years.

The Role of Music Instruction

Exposure to classical music is powerful, but children who engage with it through playing and practice can find even more benefits. Learning to play a classical instrument builds focus, resilience, and discipline. It can be most helpful when guided by a thoughtful, involved teacher.

“For families seeking screen-free enrichment, local programs like Music To Your Home’s piano lessons on the Upper West Side provide music offerings with in-depth personalised instruction tailored to each learner’s pace,” says Vincent Reina, an educator and co-founder of Music To Your Home (MTYH) who incorporates classical music appreciation within school curriculums. “There’s a level of attentiveness in one-on-one lessons that helps students grow not just musically, but emotionally.”

Other music instructors at Music To Your Home report that summer often brings a more noticeable shift in students’ receptivity. Since they are freed from any academic pressures, children approach their music studies with fresh curiosity and frequently make leaps in technique and expression. Personalized music instruction can support emotional regulation, particularly in cases where learning in student-led and relational.

Classical Music for Empathy and Expressiveness

From lullabies to symphonies, music has long served as a means to evoke and express emotions. Classical compositions have a more complex structure with dynamic swells and subtle patterns, so children are provided a more unique spectrum of emotion to explore. Classical music can provide a space for children to feel deeply, so when listening to songs like Debussy’s Clair de Lune, they hear more than just notes; they learn a language that helps to ground them.

Claude Debussy: Suite Bergamasque – III. Clair de lune (Alexis Weissenberg, piano)

An article in Frontiers in Psychology found that exposure to expressive classical music helped children as young as five to identify complex emotions. The music serves as an anchor in helping with emotional understanding and fostering self-awareness.

Classical Music Strengthens Social-Emotional Intelligence

Listening to classical music for children also helps strengthen social-emotional intelligence. Attentive listening enables them to recognise cues such as crescendos, tension, and release. It can be of great importance in being able to identify these things during human interactions.

Part of identity development happens when children become musically aware. So as kids, when they listen to classical music that has higher emotional complexity, they begin to understand that feelings aren’t one-sided. They learn that sadness can have more than one part, being soft or angry, and happiness can be gentle or overwhelming. It’s a way to translate how they understand themselves and others insightfully.

Integrating Classical Music into Summer Soundtracks

Incorporating classical music within summer routines doesn’t have to be complicated for parents. It can begin with some intentional listening and just continue with some consistency. Some ideas you can look into may include:

Morning Moods:

Begin the day with light, joyful pieces like Mozart’s Eine kleine Nachtmusik or Haydn’s symphonies. These energize without overstimulating.

Mozart: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

Midday Wind-Downs:

Use music as a quiet interlude after outdoor play—Erik Satie’s Gymnopédies or Schubert’s Impromptus can help settle the nervous system.

Erik Satie: Gymnopédies & Gnossiennes

Schubert: Complete Impromptus, Moments Musicaux & Klavierstücke

Evening Reflections:

Let peaceful compositions frame around your children’s bedtime. Brahms’ Lullaby is an obvious choice, but so are quieter movements from larger works, like the Adagio from Beethoven’s Pathétique Sonata.

Johannes Brahms – Lullaby

Yundi Li Plays Beethoven: Adagio Cantabile (from Sonata Pathétique No. 8, op. 13)

Create a summer soundtrack playlist with your child, finding classical tunes that they like. Include a mix of classical pieces with other tunes, and have them assign a memory to each song. It will help them to deepen their thoughts and turn their listening into more active reflection.

It’s natural nowadays to think of classical music as outdated or irrelevant, especially when flashy, fast-paced media surrounds your kids. However, it is precisely this contrast that makes classical music all the more vital today. In a world of instant gratification, classical listening teaches more patience, depth, and reflection.

Parents and caregivers don’t have to force it. Simply making classical music available and accessible is enough; you can also research where classical music is being used, such as in commercials. Whether through informal playlists, structured lessons, or live performances in the park, the goal is to create a landscape where music lives not just in the background, but in the heart.

The Soundtrack That Lingers

As adults, it may be difficult to remember all the aspects of our perfect summer day, but we often remember the sound. Feeling the slight breeze or listening to the rustle of the trees. The consistent back-and-forth creak of the porch swing. And maybe sometimes, the echo of Bach floating through an open window.

For the child whose summer was scored by music, those memories won’t just be nostalgic. They’ll be instructive. They’ll carry emotional vocabulary, resilience, and calm into adulthood. And perhaps most importantly, they’ll remind them of who they were—and who they’re becoming.

Because the soundtrack of summer doesn’t fade, it resonates.

Nicole is a passionate music teacher specialising in guitar and piano instruction. With a strong foundation in music theory, she brings both technical expertise and heartfelt creativity to every lesson. Whether she’s guiding beginners or helping advanced students refine their skills, Nicole’s approach is patient, encouraging, and tailored to each individual’s journey. When she’s not immersed in music, you’ll find her caring for animals—her second great love—where she devotes her time and energy to their well-being with the same compassion she brings to her teaching.