What a child has heard in his first six years of life cannot be eradicated later. Thus it is too late to begin teaching at school, because a child stores a mass of musical impressions before school age, and if what is bad predominates, then his fate, as far as music is concerned, has been sealed for a lifetime.—Zoltán Kodály, Children’s Day Speech, 1951

 

Arts as a Means of Expression for Young Children

How important are the arts as a mode of expression for children? Children, especially very young children, cannot express themselves fluently either through speech or writing—two modes of communication that adults use almost exclusively. Instead, children express themselves through movement, sound, and art. If they can express themselves through these modes, it is logical that they can learn through them as well.

Many times, however, adults are at a loss to understand or interpret what it is children are saying to us, or to appreciate how profound it might be. Mark E. Turner (2008), building upon the work of Edwin Gordon and Reggio Emilia, thought considerably about children’s representation through the arts. He sought to provide authentic ways for children to express themselves and developed scaffolding to better harness and understand children’s musical development. As Turner states, the idea that the “performing arts” must always be performed onstage to be valid detracts from their use to develop and explore the emotional, cognitive, social development and human potential.

Music for Young Children

Any of the music methods (e.g., Kodály, Orff) mentioned in Chapter 4 offer sequential learning for children. Kodály in particular spent a great deal of effort on developing beautiful singing voices for young children. Children’s voices, after all, are their first instrument—a child’s first exceptionally pleasant musical experience is likely to be hearing lullabies from a parent or guardian, and then vocally experimenting with his or her own voice. Kodály graded learning in small steps for the very beginner learners, starting with three-note songs (sol, mi, la) and expanding gradually to four, five, and six notes and beyond. For the youngest, songs with three notes are an excellent place to start, because these children will not have much difficulty imitating or matching these pitches and can be successful from the outset.

I. Music for Children Birth to Three Years Old

Music activity for infants and toddlers engages the child’s aural and physical being. Such age-old activities include tickling, wiggling, bouncing, and finger playing.

At this level, musical play creates and reinforces the special personal bond between an adult (or older child) and infant, while also introducing music to the child. For newborns and very young children, speaking a rhyme and wiggling toes connects sound to a pleasurable and intimate act, as well as introducing the idea of rhythm and phrasing to newborns and young children.

Below are a few of the rhymes and songs particularly good for newborns and toddlers. They include some very familiar nursery rhymes and action games appropriate for this age group. Keep in mind that almost any nursery rhyme can be used for these activities, as long as they have a steady beat, which luckily most of them do.

Bounces

For newborns to three-year-olds, having them feel the beat in their bodies, aided by adults, are called “bounces,” based on the experience of bouncing a child up and down on a knee or lap.

Bumpity Bump

Tommy O’Flynn

Tommy O’Flynn and the old grey mare (bounce child on knees)

Went to see the country fair

The bridge fell down and the bridge fell in (open knees and let child drop a bit)

And that was the end of Tommy O’Flynn

Wiggles

Wiggles are those activities involving the wiggling of fingers or toes. “This Little Piggy Went to Market” is another wiggle with which you may be familiar.

The first little pig danced a merry, merry jig

The second little pig ate candy

The third little pig wore a blue and yellow wig

The fourth little pig was a dandy

The fifth little pig never grew to be big

So they called him Tiny Little Andy

Tickles

Tickles involve exactly that—tickling the child either all over or just in the stomach, usually ending in lots of giggles!

Slowly, slowly, very slowly up the garden trail (crawl hands up baby starting from feet)

Slowly, slowly, very slowly creeps the garden snail (continue crawling)

Quickly, quickly, very quickly all around the house (tickle all over)

Quickly, quickly, very quickly runs the little mouse (continue tickling)

My father was a butcher (make chopping motions on child’s body)

My mother cuts the meat (make cutting motions on child’s body)

And I’m a little hot dog

That runs around the street (tickle all over)

Pizza pickle pumpernickel

Pizza, pickle, pumpernickel (flash one hand wide, then the other, then roll arms)

My little one shall have a tickle! (tickle child)

One for your nose (tickle child’s nose)

And one for your toes (tickle child’s toes)

And one for your tummy, where the hot dog goes! (tickle child’s tummy)

Finger Play

Finger play songs can also be types of tickles. The most common finger play song is the “Eensy, Weensy Spider.”

Eensy Weensy Spider

Tapping

For an infant, the parent would take the child’s foot or hand and tap it to the beat of the music. If the child can tap by him- or herself, that will work also.

Cock a Doodle Do

English nursery rhyme, 1765

Cock-a-doodle doo (tap one foot)

My dame has lost her shoe

My master’s lost his fiddling stick

And doesn’t know what to do.

Cock-a-doodle doo (tap other foot)

What is my dame to do?

Til master finds his fiddling stick

She’ll dance without a shoe.

Cock-a-doodle doo (tap both feet)

My dame has found her shoe

And master’s found his fiddling stick

Sing doodle, doodle, doo.

Clapping (Nine+ Months)

As children develop physically, they can clap their hands either together or against those of another. The well-known “Patty Cake” is a good example.

Patty Cake

Patty cake, patty cake, baker’s man

Bake me a cake as fast as you can

Roll it and pat it and mark it with a “B”

And put it in the oven for baby and me!

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns

Hot cross buns

One a penny, two a penny

Hot cross buns.

Pease Porridge Hot

Pease porridge hot

Pease porridge cold

Pease porridge in the pot

Nine days old.

Responding to the Beat: Moving to Music

Responding to a musical beat is an innate part of what it means to be human, and even the youngest children can begin to feel music, either by moving to the beat or having an adult help a child move to the beat (Feierabend, 2001).

The simplest thing to do is to find recordings of quality music and play songs with an even, steady beat and have children move, clap, tap, patsch, hit an instrument, or walk to that beat.

An extended possibility is to create a story, miming movements that reflect a steady beat while telling a simple narrative. For example, a leader begins by miming actions such as teeth brushing, bouncing a ball, or eating food from a bowl, and the group imitates them. All movements are done to the beat (e.g., teeth brushing, up down up down). At the end of the leader’s turn, the children have to remember the “storyline.”

Lullabies

Bye Baby Bunting

English lullaby, 1784

All the Pretty Little Horses

African American lullaby

Hush Little Baby, Don’t Say a Word

American lullaby song

II. Music for Children Three to Five Years Old

Three- to five-year-olds are capable of singing more complicated songs, doing more complicated games and rhymes, and, of course, capable of more sophisticated listening. They can also understand some of the basic vocabulary and building blocks of music. It is appropriate to introduce a few concepts when performing songs and games with children, and also to experiment with these concepts, such as changing tempos and dynamics. Some vocabulary to use when pointing out these concept to younger children include:

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Credits : https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/music-and-the-child/chapter/chapter-8/