Cultural Emersion

The cultural area is where the sky is truly the limit in regards to music. There are countless examples one could conjure up, and imagine the many musical uses early man had for everyday materials.  What a wonderful avenue to introduce cultures around the world.  The many recordings available depicting the traditional music of each culture are readily available for teachers to add to their collection.  Also, musical recording of the various instruments from countries around the world provide the children with an auditory and visual representation.

It is important to include an equitable balance of multicultural materials in the classroom to ensure that each child’s heritage is represented, and all children are exposed to the heritage of other cultures. Today the ’holistic’ classroom is indeed similar to an early childhood classroom, with comparable philosophies and views on education.  Both methods draw and build upon what the child already knows, engaging the child since one learns best when passion and interaction are at play, and also addressing the needs of the ’whole’ child.  For example, learning begins with the ‘whole’, progresses through to analysis of the parts, and finishes full circle with the ‘whole’ picture. 

To demonstrate this concept of cultural emersion one only needs to envision a lesson introducing children to ‘Peter and the Wolf’ by Prokofiev, a musical tale for children.  The initial introduction is to hear the complete performance played, followed by adding visual representation.  This can be carried out in many ways, for example showing a picture story book of Peter and the Wolf while listening to the music will engage the visual senses.  Now it is time to break the music down into the individual parts and introduce each instrument.  As each character in the story is represented by an instrument playing the theme music the children are introduced to individual pictures of this instrument.  This is followed by showing pictures of each character in the story and matching the character with the instrument.  This means of instruction stimulates as many of the senses as possible while teaching the child.

                It is also possible for the children to perform a theatrical production of the story by acting character roles, and through association with the characters this too reinforces instrument recognition.  The children are now ready to expand upon the basic concepts and while returning to the ‘whole’ picture, discuss elements of music form such as rhythm, phrasing, timbre, etc.  The goal is to engage the child, stimulate his interest, work and build from her existing knowledge base, and provide meaning to all that is learned.

 

 

For more highlights this week

 

Music from Around the World

Music-enriched Early childhood Curriculum

 

Visit: www.musiclearningforkids.com

 

 

Setting up the ECE Classroom for Music

 

 

How to Arrange the Early Childhood Classroom for Music

 

All musical experiences must be developmentally appropriate for the child, i.e. they should match the child’s cognitive, physical and emotional development, and reflect a safe and trusting environment for exploration and learning.  An example of a developmentally inappropriate exercise is expecting a child to hop to a music beat, when the child’s motor development has not reached that stage, and the child has not mastered the task of clapping to the music beat. Each step of this learning is mastered and secured before moving on to the more complex.  Classrooms and curriculum are designed to enhance this style of learning while offering many different ways to learn.

 

The environment is arranged to accommodate the natural functions of childhood learning through the freedom of movement and activity.  The wide array of music and movement opportunities for the child supports this style of learning and provides the freedom to act in accordance with their innate musical tendencies.  Initially, the child is introduced to quality music and a repertoire of songs to sing is learned and developed for later building of musical techniques.  These songs are the basis for rhythmic exercises involving motor skills. 

 

The exercises include objects and materials normally encountered in everyday living experiences and are fundamental exercises that the child needs to master for survival and general living in the adult world.  The purpose of these activities is to help the child develop coordination, concentration, a sense of personal independence, and a sense of order.  Through the exercises of practical life the child develops the self-confidence and attention essential for mastery of the other more advanced areas of the classroom.

This area of the curriculum is a fun place to use music.  There are so many creative ways in which to add music, such as bottles filled with different levels of water which produce different sounds; shakers holding buttons, paper clips, or gravel; inverted flower pots transferred into colorful musical bells; a xylophone made up of progressively lengthening pencils; to various drum-like containers struck by hand or with mallets. 

Through repeated practice of controlled balance and movement the children can to the best of their ability create an absolute silence, whereby not causing the slightest sound or movement, not uttering a single sound, and not stroking an arm, or breathing heavily.  The child can now walk quietly, sit and move chairs without disturbing the peace.  She can learn through music how to greet a friend, which greeting to use with different children, parents, teachers, the elderly, and practice the art of patience and freedom of choice.  All offer the child exposure to music making through practical experience.  There are many books available describing how to make musical instruments and I have found that children really enjoy the bright colors and wide array of creative ideas offered. The main purpose of these activities is to help the child develop his ability to concentrate and to coordinate his musical movements.

Language: 

 

Just as the child’s sensitive period for learning language is from two to five years, the critical period for learning music is from three to five years.  The voice is educated according to the different pitches of sound, just as it becomes adapted to pronunciation in spoken language.   Development of language in an early childhood environment consists primarily of extending the child’s speaking ability to include functioning with written language also.  Written language development proceeds generally through the stages of a) listening skills/vocabulary; b) writing; c) pre-reading (word pronouncing and composing); and d) actual reading.  The subtle preparation for language is offered through a rich diet of songs, stories and poems, and incorporating music into the curriculum is easily accomplished by simply beginning with the repertoire of songs.  Songs can be sung in different languages, rhyme songs can be used to emphasize phonetic endings to words Vocabulary can be expanded by singing theme songs e.g. story telling through song.

 

For more highlights this week

 

Cultural Emersion

Music from Around the World

Music-enriched Early childhood Curriculum

 

Visit: www.musiclearningforkids.com

The Goal of Early Childhood Educators Is?

Highlights this Week

 

 

The Goal of Early Childhood Educators is?

How to arrange the Early childhood classroom for music

Cultural Emersion

Music from Around the World

Music-enriched Early childhood Curriculum

 

 

The Goal of Early Childhood Educators is?

 

            The goal of early childhood music educators is to provide experiences that will prepare the child for music learning, and it is possible for every educator to accomplish this goal and use music with the young child when provided with appropriate music training. 

An important aspect of the child’s learning is the inclusion of opportunities for social interaction.  When a child is interacting with others he learns skills that are crucial to further peer relations and teamwork.  Musical games provide many avenues for exploration and practice in the art of people skills and provide the added benefit of providing practice in problem solving skills.  Of further importance is motor development and play is an ideal vehicle to assist in the fine tuning of gross and fine motor muscle groups.  The use of real life activities encourages original thinking, and independent learning, while addressing the issues of values and feelings.

                Integrating Music and Movement into the early childhood curriculum becomes inevitable as movement and activity are natural functions of the child and the basis of the classroom environment.  It is my belief that the child who is ‘engaged’ enjoys learning, and music and movement provide the means to engaging the child.  Everything in the living world is active, and it is only through activity that life can be perfected. Self-motivation and engagement is the key to sound childhood learning, and exposure to experiences aid in developing the child’s intellect, physical, and psychological abilities.  Moving to music to interpret and compare the contrasting different rhythms assists in the development of gross motor skills for the child and provides ample opportunity for physical exploration.  Music is not longer a stimulus but becomes an inner guide of the child’s movements, which are now responding to its rhythms.  

The purpose of movement is to help the child to perfect himself, either through the voluntary muscular system, or mental capacity.  Its end purpose is always to leave the child not where he was, but to build and strengthen her personality, confidence, and self-esteem.  Children are very accustomed to movement through work.  Creative movement and music is an enjoyable way for young children to develop these physical skills while using their imaginations to expressively communicate through body movements.  All the senses are engaged when children explore and discover different aspects of movement, and these activities can be used to enhance most areas of learning.  Using her body to travel through space is very popular with the young child and contrasting actions, to action songs, such as “freeze”, or “hold” assist the child in practicing control of his body.  Development of balance and stability are acquired through making shapes with the whole body.  Body shapes can be made in any position with any body part while standing, sitting, etc. and on the cue “change” the children can produce another shape, or mimic that of another.  Balance beams, balls, bats, beanbags, carpet squares, cones, foam bowling pins, hoops, jump ropes, punch ball balloons, and target boards provide a safe environment for movement activities.  In general a large spacious room with open space free of obstacles is preferred.

Ideally, the goal of movement exercises is a physically fit child who regularly participates in physical activity, has a skillful movement repertoire, and values physical activity as a form of enjoyment (NASPE, 1992).  The environment can be arranged to accommodate the natural functions of childhood learning through the freedom of movement and activity.  The wide array of music and movement opportunities for the child supports this style of learning.  Educators can encourage overall healthy growth activities for young children by developing an enriched and challenging environment.  

The following blogs over the next week provide educators with the tools necessary to gain mastery in leading the child towards muscular development through music and movement rhythms.

 

 

For more highlights this week

 

How to arrange the early childhood classroom for music

Cultural Emersion

Music from Around the World

Music-enriched Early childhood Curriculum

 

 

Visit: www.musiclearningforkids.com

 

Life Without Music

Life without Music

 What if life did not include music?  Imagine a day in the life of a 21^st Century child without any music.  Waking up in the morning is not induced by an alarm clock or birds whistling, and the morning shower takes place in silence.  Once arriving at school the national anthem isn’t sung, and the sports games throughout the day are absent any form of music or chanting.  School musicals no longer exist and those budding figure skaters and dancers are moving to some inner rhythm desperately in need of a steady beat.  Evenings are no longer filled with teenagers listening to the latest music either on TV or MP3 player, and the baby is not sung to sleep by a parent.  Celebrations around the world are devoid of music, and the father of the bride does not offer her his hand for the first dance of the evening.  Memories of days past are no longer triggered by a familiar musical tune and the universal sounds of planets in motion are gone.

Research by Roehmann and Wilson (1988) supports the theory that music has a positive effect on the development of the brain, and the earlier in life the young child is exposed to music, the sooner this effect begins to take place.  Jean Houston (as cited in Roehmann & Wilson) of the Foundation for Mind Research agrees and suggests that children without access to music are actually damaging their brain. They are not being engaged in non-verbal modalities that help them learn skills like reading, writing, and mathematics.

We do not need research to show us that music plays a big part in everyone’s life.  In the words of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1888) “Without music, life would be a mistake.”

Does music lie at the heart…and brain…of what it means to be human?  The question of the origins of music is without doubt of great interest and is in need of further research as we have only just begun to address the mysteries of music and the human psyche.

 

 

For more highlights next week

 

Step-by-step how to set up a music program!

 

Visit: www.musiclearningforkids.com

 

 

Spirituality and Music

 

Spirituality and Music

“Music and song were intimate parts of the rites and ceremonies in which the meaning of group life was consummated” (Dewey, 1980, p.7).

Throughout the history of civilization music has been an integral part of life with a special place in spiritual and religious celebrations.  Music making is connected to the earth and the humans who inhabit it.  Musical instruments of varying types, tone colors associated with the timbre of the human voice, and the worldly acoustics in which these sounds are made (such as the echo of a cave), all remind us of our spiritual connection with nature.  Children are especially receptive and sensitive to the wonders of musical exploration through handmade instruments from natural materials to the possibility of creating music and sound with one’s own body.  The incredible vocal range of a baby’s voice encourages endless improvised musical conversations with the environment.

Even with the youngest of children, exploring the musical spiritual dimension is more easily experienced through movement and dance, because children will flow with the music the more their feelings are engaged.  Insofar as the physical component of the musical experience is vital for the child, so too is the aural experience.  For many, the exploration of musical instruments made from natural materials is a holistic experience.   The reverence associated with the tree from which the wooden musical instrument was carved is reestablished each time the instrument is played (Fisher, 2002).    Setting the scene for free-flowing imaginative creativity can contribute to the spiritual dimension of the experience.  The many therapeutic possibilities of music offer such powerful experiences that they may be described as divine.  Experiencing this spiritual dimension can be accomplished through various music-making activities and the right balance between what is experienced and those who experience it.  This spiritual awakening within the musical experience is often linked to cultural areas such as ethics, identity, personal and social development, particular cultural traditions, and the feeling of being connected to something beyond and outside oneself (Boyce-Tillman, 2007). 

 

For more highlights this week

 

Life Without Music

 

Visit: www.musiclearningforkids.com

 

Is the Universal Language – Music?

 The Universal Language – Music?

Music has the power to evoke emotion, to express emotion, to make people feel. Some theories suggest that music can have an impact on levels of certain hormones.   When music promotes pleasure, it causes the release of endorphins similar to the high long-distance runners experience after running for extended periods of time.  Studies show that music causes a biochemical expression such as lowered testosterone levels while listening to favorite music, thus diminishing the heightened testosterone levels necessary for fighting (Lemonick, 2000).  Music, it would seem, has the ability to either arouse, when following the rhythmic beat of a call to fight, or soothe and relax the mind and body.

Additional evidence also shows that music does not exist simply for our enjoyment, but rather it affects us in many ways.  Some hospitals play soft background music in intensive care units for premature babies. Researchers have found that such music, as well as a nurse’s or mother’s humming, helps babies gain weight faster and leave the unit earlier than premature babies who don’t hear these sounds.  On the other end of the age scale, music has been used to calm Alzheimer’s patients. At mealtime in nursing homes or hospitals, people suffering from Alzheimer’s may be difficult to manage, and fights can occur. It has been demonstrated that the right kind of music reduces confusion and disagreements.  Does music lie at the heart…and brain…of what it means to be human?  It would seem that everyone is affected by music – the young and old alike.

Music plays a role in social bonding, such as between mothers and their infants, and courting behaviors, such as humans’ fascination with love songs that simulate the singing used by birds and chimpanzees to attract mates.  As discussed in Chapter 1 on brain development, there is evidence that babies can hear music inside their mother’s womb.  Very young children display musical behaviors and capabilities long before cultural influences begin to shape them (Trehub, 2006).  Research on children has shown that children imitate musical phrases and songs and have the ability to compose and perform their own fairly complex songs.  These young children have the capabilities of appreciating music and expressing themselves musically (Trehub, 2000). 

Of great interest today is the study of cross-cultural recognition of emotion in verbal language and music.  Balkwill, Thompson, & Matsunaga (2004) from Queen’s University, Canada, conducted a very interesting experiment about the recognition of emotion in Japanese, north Indian, and Western music by Japanese listeners.  The study randomly assigned the Japanese participants to a music set and these music sets consisted of either Canadian improvised music, Japanese traditional music, or Hindustani ragas music.  The objective was for the Japanese participants to rate the style of music assigned to them on scales from “not at all joyful,” to “joyful,” to “very joyful”; “not at all sad,” to “very sad,” and so on. The responses were analysed to assess whether the music that was intended to evoke a specific emotion was recognised as expressing that emotion.  The results confirmed that the pieces that were intended to express anger were given the highest ratings on the anger scale, and that was the case for the Canadian, Japanese, and Hindustani music. In general the researcher discovered that for each of the three emotions—anger, joy, and sadness—anger was found to be melodically complex with loud sounds, joy was melodically simple with faster tempos, and sadness was melodically complex with a slow tempo.   However, as expected, there was some overlapping, since some of the pieces that were intended to be angry also scored high on the joy scale. Perhaps this is because they share many of the same acoustic cues, such as up-tempo and boisterousness, but differ in terms of complexity. Balkwill et al.’s research suggests that music is indeed the language of emotion.

 

For more highlights this week

 

Spirituality and Music

Life Without Music

 

Visit: www.musiclearningforkids.com

Why do we Feel Compelled to Move to the Beat of Music?

As an art form or cultural artifact, music is famous for its emotional power and its ability to affect our mood. Is there any neuro-scientific explanation for that?  Further neuro-imaging research from Montreal, Canada, supports the fact that music has the ability to alter mood.  The researchers took advantage of the fact that some people get chills or shivers down the spine when listening to particular pieces of music. Using only instrumental music to eliminate verbal associations with the text of a song, subjects listened to music as their brains were scanned.  The results suggested that they did indeed have chills and shivers as demonstrated by changes in their heart rate.  Then the researchers scanned the subjects’ brains to monitor brain activity and found some very deep and evolutionarily ancient reward centres of the brain being activated by this purely instrumental music. These areas of the brain are quite significant.  They are the areas that are typically activated by biologically significant behaviour such as eating or reproducing, and yet they were being activated by this abstract acoustic stimulus with no obvious survival value. The evidence suggests that music has access to some of the most ancient brain structures, tapping into the deepest parts of the brain (Patel, 2003a).

What seems clear is that the building blocks of music are specialized and processed in different parts of the brain, which brings us to one of the big questions in neuroscience today: how does brain circuitry give rise to the mental experiences that we have of the world? Lemonick (2000) assessed children with brain damage who exhibited impairments of certain aspects of music, such as the discrimination of rhythm, while other musical aspects remained intact, such as the discrimination of melody.  The study presented science with an opportunity to study the relationship between brain function and complex cognition.  Some brain circuits respond specifically to music while also participating in other forms of sound processing.  For example, the region of the brain responsible for pitch perception is also involved in determining perfect pitch.  Further studies of people with damage to either hemisphere of the brain revealed that stimulation of both sides of the brain resulted in the emergence of music perception. 

Why do we feel compelled to move to the beat of music?  And why is it that humans are the only species that spontaneously move in response to music?  Perhaps the answer lies in the interplay between two brain systems – the auditory system (hearing) and the motor system (movement production) system.   Researchers have found activity in brain regions that control movement even when people just listen to music without moving any part of their bodies. Tramo (2001) suggested that just thinking about tapping out a rhythm lights up parts of the motor system in the brain.

                

For more highlights this week

 

Is the Universal Language – Music?

Spirituality and Music

Life Without Music

 

Visit: www.musiclearningforkids.com