Youth Music - BongoClub.org.uk

Bongo Club talks to Cathy Dew

Cathy Dew is a freelance musican and project manager, specialising in early years music making. Cathy runs the education programme at the National Centre for Early Music in York.

Here, Cathy tells Bongo Club about her background, her views on why involving young children in music making is so important and offers some advice to early years settings about how to get started.

How did you first get involved with early years music making?
I started making music with Early Years children while I was a student at university.  I led music-making sessions at a local playgroup during the vacations.  Since then I have visited many early years settings to run music programmes and to train early years practitioners to lead music making themselves.  

What specific training have you had?
I studied music at university, where early music (of the historical kind) was my specialism, and my first-study instrument was the recorder.  Since then I have had singing lessons, which have really helped me to understand how the singing voice develops.  Occasionally, I have the chance to take part in short training courses.  One of the most beneficial courses I ever attended was run by the Voices Foundation – I would highly recommend that course to others.

Although I have found my training helpful, probably the best training has come from watching my colleagues lead music making, and from the experience of leading sessions myself – you quickly learn what works and what doesn’t when you are in the thick of it!

Why do you think it is so important to involve young children in music making?
I fervently believe that music is a powerful creative tool, and that we are all entitled to use it to express our emotions and ideas.  If we have the chance to enjoy using our singing voices and make music with instruments as young children, we begin to identify ourselves as music makers and to feel confident in using our musical voices.  Music making also helps children to develop a vast range of extra-musical skills, including language and number skills, co-ordination, confidence, and social skills such as sharing and turn taking.

As a young child I had the privilege of enjoying singing, playing instruments and listening to music with my father.  I am sure it was these early experiences that encouraged me to continue making music as I grew up.  I believe it is important to give all children the opportunity to develop a love of music and the confidence to express themselves through it.

What are the children’s reactions to music making when you first work with them? How do you see them develop?
Young children are often totally captivated by music making.  They enjoy exploring the sounds of their singing voices and of musical instruments and many are eager to make music themselves.  It is exciting to see the children develop musical skills, such as finding their singing voices, pitch matching and moving to a pulse.  With regular opportunities to sing and play musical instruments, children make rapid progress.  It is very rewarding to hear children singing songs they have learned during their music time at other moments of the day – such as during free playtime.  This demonstrates the extent to which children enjoy making music, and that they are beginning to see themselves as musicians.

What do you think are the difficulties for early years settings when they are setting up a music making project? Do you have any advice on how to overcome these difficulties?
Perhaps the biggest difficulty for leaders is having the confidence to give it a go.  If it has been a long time since leaders last used their singing voices, they can find making music with children rather daunting and be very self-conscious about singing themselves.  If this is the case, it can help to attend a short training programme where it is possible to learn how to use your singing voice well, and to develop confidence.

Another difficulty can be deciding what songs and other resources to use.  At the outset, it can be difficult to judge what is appropriate for the age and previous experience of the children you are working with.  There are many resources available – the difficult thing is deciding which to use, and how to use them.  Again, a training programme can help with this, or taking advice from a specialist in early years music making.

Nothing beats practice – sessions are most successful when the leader really knows the material s/he is using.  If you are planning to lead sessions, make sure you are really familiar with the songs and other resources before you begin.  Sing them in the bath, in the car, while washing up – anywhere!  The better you know the music, the better you will be able to lead others.

You developed Melody Monkey’s Marvellous Music Box with Susan Hollingworth for the Humber Region Youth Music Action Zone Music4U. How do you think such resources benefit music making sessions?

One of the nice things about Melody Monkey and other similar resources is the fact that it is self-contained.  There are many ideas, and a wide range of resources all in one box.  It cuts down the time needed to seek out material for each session, and helps with planning.  All the material is recorded on the enclosed CD, which helps leaders learn and practise the songs.  When we made Melody Monkey’s Marvellous Music Box, we were keen to demonstrate that there is almost no limit to the way in which the songs and games can be developed – it is important not to feel restricted by resources – leaders and children should be free to let their imaginations run riot!

I don’t think resources are always necessary – nearly all of us have our singing voices with us all the time and that’s all we need to make music.  Resources can be a great source of inspiration, but most of us carry songs in our head that we can use if we have no other resources – and children are brilliant at making up songs about almost anything!

Do you have any advice for early years settings on recruiting and working with a musician?
Make sure the musician you work with has a good rapport with early years children – if children feel uncomfortable during music sessions they may not want to participate.  It is also important that the musician understands how children’s voices and other musical skills develop, so that they choose appropriate songs and games to sing and play.  

In addition, I would say, don’t sit back and let the musician do all the work – join in and try to learn from him/her – so that when the musician has left, you will be able to lead music making with the children as well.

For a taster of songs and activities from Melody Monkey's Marvellous Music, check out the resources section