Music education for young children
Encyclopedia
Music education for young children is an educational program introducing children in a playful manner to singing
, speech, music
, motion and organology
. It is a subarea of music education
.
s, some local brass bands and others. In Germany, there is usually one weekly session lasting 45 minutes. Participants may sing songs, look at and try out musical instrument
s, try some dancing motions and more. The atmosphere is usually casual and playful. A number of simpler musical instruments have been used extensively with children, including bongo drums, simple xylophones, lummi stick
s, recorders, and tambourines.
, Music Together
, Music-in-the-Box, Musikgarten, and the Suzuki Method
are among the most widely recognized of these methods. Kindermusik is a music and movement
program of classes designed to be taken from birth until a child is 7 years old. Music Together is also a set of music and movement classes. Musikgarten offers a comprehensive, sequential plan for the musical development of the child from birth to age 9. Music-in-the-Box's Music Masters program incorporates picture books, music, and movement classes to encourage language & reading development through music. The Suzuki method is notably different in that it focuses on learning a specific instrument like the violin
, and it uses this focus to foster musical ability and appreciation. This method is child focused and depends on the parent/teacher/child triangle to create an early internal understanding of music by first developing the musical ear, and then adding the more traditional note reading as instrumental technique is developed.
| last = Chastain
| first = Dr. Jacob
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Rev. Jessica Brooks
| title = Lessons Learned in Larsen
| publisher = Olivet Nazarene University Press, Inc.
| date = 2007
| location = Bourbonnais, IL
| pages =
| url =
| doi =
| id = }}
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, speech, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, motion and organology
Organology
Organology is the science of musical instruments and their classification. It embraces study of instruments' history, instruments used in different cultures, technical aspects of how instruments produce sound, and musical instrument classification...
. It is a subarea of music education
Music education
Music education is a field of study associated with the teaching and learning of music. It touches on all domains of learning, including the psychomotor domain , the cognitive domain , and, in particular and significant ways,the affective domain, including music appreciation and sensitivity...
.
Forms and activities
Music education for young children is offered by institutions as diverse as music schoolMusic school
The term music school refers to an educational institution specialized in the study, training and research of music.Different terms refer to this concept such as school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department or conservatory.Music instruction can be provided...
s, some local brass bands and others. In Germany, there is usually one weekly session lasting 45 minutes. Participants may sing songs, look at and try out musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s, try some dancing motions and more. The atmosphere is usually casual and playful. A number of simpler musical instruments have been used extensively with children, including bongo drums, simple xylophones, lummi stick
Lummi stick
"Rhythm stick" redirects here. For the song by Ian Dury and the Blockheads, see Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick.Lummi sticks, named after the Lummi Native American peoples, are hardwood cylindrical sticks, usually roughly 7 inches long, and 0.75 inches in diameter, used as percussive musical instrument...
s, recorders, and tambourines.
Organized Methods of early childhood music education
Several international organizations exist which promote specific methods of training young children in music. KindermusikKindermusik
Founded in the United States in 1978, Kindermusik is an early childhood education music and movement program for children from infants to 7 years of age . It is based on a Kindergarten music and movement program developed by educational experts in Germany in the 1960’s...
, Music Together
Music Together
Music Together is a music and movement program for children aged newborn through kindergarten. First offered to the public in 1987, the program is now offered in over 1700 communities in the United States1, as well as in 28 other countries around the world. This expansion has been accomplished...
, Music-in-the-Box, Musikgarten, and the Suzuki Method
Suzuki method
The Suzuki method is a method of teaching music that emerged in the mid-20th century.-Background:The Suzuki Method was conceived in the mid-20th century by Shin'ichi Suzuki, a Japanese violinist who desired to bring beauty to the lives of children in his country after the devastation of World War II...
are among the most widely recognized of these methods. Kindermusik is a music and movement
Music and movement
The term Music and movement often especially denotes the use of rhythmic song and dance in education, thought of as beneficial for childhood development...
program of classes designed to be taken from birth until a child is 7 years old. Music Together is also a set of music and movement classes. Musikgarten offers a comprehensive, sequential plan for the musical development of the child from birth to age 9. Music-in-the-Box's Music Masters program incorporates picture books, music, and movement classes to encourage language & reading development through music. The Suzuki method is notably different in that it focuses on learning a specific instrument like the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, and it uses this focus to foster musical ability and appreciation. This method is child focused and depends on the parent/teacher/child triangle to create an early internal understanding of music by first developing the musical ear, and then adding the more traditional note reading as instrumental technique is developed.
External links
| last = Chastain
| first = Dr. Jacob
| authorlink =
| coauthors = Rev. Jessica Brooks
| title = Lessons Learned in Larsen
| publisher = Olivet Nazarene University Press, Inc.
| date = 2007
| location = Bourbonnais, IL
| pages =
| url =
| doi =
| id = }}