Richard Gill: The Value of Music Education

Richard Gill: The Value of Music Education

The wonderful Richard Gill talked earlier this year about music education for young children. He spoke about the right of every child to be taught music properly by teachers who are qualified to do so. He also cautioned against classifying all the arts together in one big lump - they are different. And he used examples to show the way that music coaxes children into the abstract thinking.

Favourite quote: "Music is worth teaching because it empowers children spectacularly".

Click on the link (above) to watch.

Paul Jarman

On the weekend I took the kids to a sensational workshop run by Paul Jarman. The kids loved his sense of humour, awesome musicianship and wonderful collection of quirky woodwind instruments from around the world. If you ever get a chance to see him, grab it!

I was also impressed with the workshop for another reason. The participants were mostly Central Coast Children's Choir members between the ages of 5 and 8. Paul had them doing complicated body percussion, four part rounds in various languages, and harmonies. There seemed to be nothing these kids couldn't take on. They didn't even really think about it - they just did it! It was testimony to the power of the Kodaly approach, and to their teachers, Jenny Bell and Joanne McMahon.

Paul concluded the workshop by showing the kids how to make a woodwind instrument out of a drinking straw. We demolished half a packet of straws when we got home. The four year-old just kept cutting them into little pieces, but the 8 year-old was blowing raspberries through his straw for quite a long time. Such a soothing sound! Thanks Paul......

Music keeps Mum from losing it

Music is definitely one of the things that kept me sane through my children's early years. There is a song for every section of the day, every routine, every mishap and surprise.

When my babies were little, I would go into their room in the morning when I heard that they were awake. I would sing a "good morning" song before I got them out of their cot. I would sing about the weather and what we were going to do that day.

Then we needed to get dressed. This is a rich vein! From Mulberry Bush to Hurry Up Sue, there are lots of songs to encourage children to get ready. As they grew older and began to learn to do things themselves, the songs could be used to remind them of what to do without nagging.

I found tickle rhymes to be a lovely way to connect with my young babies. Games like Round the Garden and This Little Piggy are full of anticipation for the tickle at the end. They also help the child to become aware of the different parts of their body.

Peekabo games are an endless source of entertainment for babies, who have not yet worked out that objects still exist when they are not seen. Children want you to play these games over and over and over (and over and over.....). It can be a bit wearing. I kept reminding myself that repetition is good for babies. It still sends you round the twist sometimes. You can add interest by varying the length of time that you are hidden, or "appearing" in different places.

One more time...

Kids just love repetition - the same book over and over, or the same song or game. I think it helped that I understood the developmental theory behind what was going on. It kept me more interested and saved my brain from turning to mush.

If a child wanted the same book for the third time, I might sing it instead of reading it normally. This works well with rhyming text, especially if you are good at making up tunes on the spot.

Now, I know this sounds awful, but playing with my young children can get pretty tedious. Other mums who take the time to play with their young kids every day will hopefully forgive me this comment. I find songs help me stay with my children and play when I might otherwise have gotten too bored and fed up.

Playing shops for the umpteenth time, we sing a variation on Five Currant Buns. There are songs for building with blocks and many songs to use with toy trains and cars. When you play ball you can sing Roll That Little Ball. Rhymes and songs about swinging are employed at the park. The world of drama unfolds for three year-olds and you can pretend to be all the characters in the nursery rhymes and songs, go on a bear hunt or hide like a jack-in-the-box. My youngest is starting to get interested in numbers, so we do all the finger-plays: five little ducks, three pink jellyfish, three cheeky monkeys, etc. When we work in the kitchen we recite Choppity Chop or sing Stir Up the Pudding-o.

Out and about in the car or the pram, we sing transport songs. In the car we use Bumpity Bump, Let's Go Driving or that Playschool traffic light song. We can also sing about birdies and trees and whatever we happen upon. We only get a few strange looks...

Hush-a-bye....

When my babies were upset or over-tired, singing often helped to settle them. Familiar restful songs, and a cuddle and a steady pat would often (but not always!) calm us both down. The baby could feel the comforting vibration of my voice through my body.

Even now, I have found songs handy when my three year-old is upset. At Christmas time a stool fell on his big toe and it was very painful, even with pain killers administered. He was finding it hard to get to sleep. So we started to sing the blues about his poor sore toe. He calmed down, shed a few tears and then went to sleep. The words of the song acknowledged his pain and showed that I empathised.

As a regular part of the bed-time routine, I sing a lullaby. It (hopefully!) signals the end of the bed-time routine and indicates that it's time to snuggle down. A favourite of ours is Morningtown Ride. It has multiple verses, so I can keep going by cycling them through if necessary. Then I can revert to humming. I must admit, my bed-time routines are pretty drawn out. I can be a bit of a push-over. My husband is usually out of the room much more quickly when he is doing the bed-time.

Well, this is getting to be a very long post. I could expand on each aspect mentioned - maybe I will later. Music continues to get me through my day, every day. And now, the kids sing back!

Image 1: 'Carmen de Miranda is confused!...'
www.flickr.com/photos/26235754@N05/2975845999

Image 2: 'Mom says....'
www.flickr.com/photos/72093892@N00/2559802835

Image 3: 'Mom and the little guy'
www.flickr.com/photos/63474264@N00/1803814017

Finding music suitable for children

Featured in the video bar are:

• The Puppini Sisters - 3 women with stacks of style, stage presence and flawless close harmonies
• Bobby McFerrin - eclectic master of improv with an angelic voice
• Ladysmith Black Mambazo - effortless, mellow African acapella.

Children love all of these - you don't have to use "children's" music all the time with children. Look for music that features singing or highlghts one instrument at a time (not too busy). Be open to different genres. I often play something different in the car. The kids will go quiet and listen intently (or not.... depending...).

I do find myself listening with a new ear to the lyrics of my favourite songs. Picking repertoire for the kids' choir is tricky when so much popular material is full of naughty words or adult themes. I really like Kirsty MacColl, but stopped playing her in the car when my three year old started singing "La la la la la, get your rocks off baby".

And here's another thing to think about: a lot of pop music is pitched too low for kids. Kodaly teachers try to encourage children to sing in their "head voice", which elicits more tuneful singing. It is even suggested that men sing falsetto when teaching children. So if you want your kids to learn to sing in tune, have a bit less Nick Cave and a bit more Tiny Tim!

I'm joking, there are lots of other ways to encourage kids to used their head voice. But that's for another post.

Top Toys for Music - Carousel

A carousel is a great starting point to introduce songs to small children, and gives them a sense of control as well. It is easy for a small child to bang the top of the carousel and make it spin. Then you can sing about whichever character lands in front of you.

Some carousels have characters such as people or ponies or teddies. Perhaps they are different colours. If so, then you can sing about that (eg, "green, green, green, green, teddy's wearing green today...")

My carousel has four different animals on it. The child presses the top, and I sing a song or say a rhyme about whichever animal stops at the front. There is a horse ("gee up horsey, don't you stop"), a cow ("What can a cow do but moo, moo, moo?) a pig ("this little piggie") and a sheep ("Baa baa white sheep" since it's white).

Another way to play is to simply make the noise of the animal. Encouraging young children to make animal noises helps with their annunciation (that is, it helps them to learn to make the sounds necessary to say words).

If all the characters are the same, you can always resort to "Round and round and round it goes, spinning and turning..."

The carousel pictured is by Tolo. I picked up mine at Learn4Fun which has shops in Tuggerah and Hornsby.