A Talent for Music?
How can music benefit your little one's development? Karen Dickinson specialises in education for the under fives and talks to Bongo Club about the importance of music-making for under fives.
Music is not a gift or a talent, but a language that can be learned by anyone capable of attention, awareness and memory. Many parents have asked me what is the best age and developmental stage for a small child to begin instrumental lessons. There will always be debate on the best age to begin learning a specific instrument, but carefully planned music classes can introduce the child to the language of music and make a significant contribution to other areas of learning. Other parents have told me that they would love their children to be musicalal. I strongly believe that music is a language and as such can be learned. If we do not speak to our children, they will not learn how to talk -if we make music with our children, they will not only learn which we personally value, but also learn skills that will help them throughout their lives. All children have the capacity to be musical if exposed to musical opportunities.
Music classes, in which a group of children meet together with their caregivers, provide many opportunities for personal and social development. Children need to know how to work, play, co-operate with others and function in a group beyond the family. In the classes, children learn to take turns and share while music making. They also learn respect for the musical toys (the instruments). Singing and performing simple pieces within the mutually supportive group builds up self-esteem. Music encourages this cooperation with others and builds individual confidence.
The knowledge of a wide range of songs is beneficial to language development as children expand their vocabulary when words are reinforced by simple actions and rhyming words. The pre-school child can listen and respond to stories, songs, nursery rhymes and poems. Music can also be used effectively to build story-making skills: the child might create a story suggested by listening to a piece of music or may create a song that tells a story in direct response to a picture or event. When the beginnings of notation are introduced a child can see that music is also organised in the same way as her reading books, reading from left to right and from top to bottom.
Math skills and the sequence of number are reinforced by number rhymes, songs, stories and counting games. Also, mathematical and musical language is often very similar, (e.g. a crescendo is when the sound gets bigger and is represented by the same sign; similarly a decrescendo and a "smaller than" sign share the same symbol and meaning). I have found that children as young as three can easily grasp these concepts. Children also become familiar with divisions of a beat when rhythms are introduced.
Music can also play a significant role in teaching us an understanding of the world in which we live through songs and stories from other cultures. Through exposure to diverse music, children develop an awareness of how others create and participate in music.
Learning to play any instrument, including percussion, with a certain degree of control develops physical and manipulative skills. Finger rhymes and action songs also give plenty of opportunity for refining motor skills and co-ordination. When moving to music in an eurhythmic way, children develop co-ordination and an awareness of space and others.
Music is most often cited as being of importance in the area of creative development. Children can develop the ability to use their imagination, to listen and to observe through art, music, dance, stories and imaginative play. The use of music as a channel for the emotions is one the most quoted reasons for the importance of music in education.
The pre-school years are a critical period for learning, and a strong foundation for later achievement can be laid in these early years. The advantages of carefully planned musical opportunities are both social & musical enhancing and supporting learning in other subjects and making an important contribution to a child's early education.
"Music for little people" classes, incorporating the methodology of Kodály, Dalcroze, and the premise that children learn best through play, are available in various locations. For more information about classes near you, visit: http://www.musicforlittlepeople.co.uk or contact Karen on: 01480 812469, email karen(at)musicforlittlepeople.co.uk.
© Karen Dickinson
The classes were founded in 1983 by Karen Dickinson who has a masters degree in Music Education from London University - her area of special study is the under five age group. Karen is also looking for enthusiastic teachers to help fulfill the demand for classes.
Information
- Music & early years
- The Wiggles interview
- Introduction To Early Years Music Making
- The Impact Of Early Years Music Making
- Your child's hearing
- Music therapy
- Why music?
- Music For Little People
- Interview: Playmusicplay
- ‘Crying to get the music back’
- Megan's Musical Journey
- Music & pregnancy
- Music at home
- A parent's view
Resources
In Your Area
Youth Music
Youth Music exists to facilitate and fund high quality and diverse musical experiences for young people up to the age of 18, particularly those living in areas of social and economic need.
