1544257718595_education Through Creative Media Music.docx

Education through Creative Media Music Introduction: Music provides children with opportunities to express their feeling, investigate rhythm, develop an understanding of their bodies in space, explore movement and strength, and experience concepts such as loud and soft, fast and slow, high and low. Musical experiences provide arenas for children to connect with their bodies and with their peers. Music can be used to soothe, excite and interpret feeling. Music and movement can foster the development of listening skills, promote oral language, strengthen auditory discrimination, and provide countless opportunities for problem solving. Music and movement go hand in hand in early childhood classrooms. Normally early childhood educators are constantly searching for the most effective learning experience that can help to enhance the quality of education for young children. Expert analysis have established that good learning experience have the effect of expanding the learning environment. Teachers have observed that children become more active and make much more conscious and have intentional choices, when encouraged to explore and manipulate different material in the classroom. In this respect, aesthetics early childhood education, the teaching and learning of music in kindergartens, children’s visual arts in children’s pretended play are certainly the three most significant activities in early childhood education; this is so because such activities embed emotional experiences that enrich the learning environment thereby enhancing the children’s motivation to learn. Music is a natural and important part of young children’s growth and development. Early childhood is the most appropriate period to acquire the musical skills of singing in tune as well as learning to listen carefully and perceptively. Early interaction with music positively affects the quality of all children’s lives. Successful experience in music help all children bond emotionally and intellectually with other through creative expression in song, rhythmic movement, and listening experiences. Music in early childhood creates a foundation upon which future music learning is built. These experiences should be integrated with in the daily routine and play of children. In this way, enduring attitudes regarding the joy of music making and sharing are developed.

1

Goals of a Music program The Music Educators National Conference/National Association for music Education (MENC/NAME 1994) has established the following guidelines for “Curriculum and Scheduling” for young children: 1. Music is integrated into the curriculum throughout the day. 2. The children’s learning experiences include singing, play instruments, listening to music, creating music, and moving to music. 3. At least 12 percent of the contact time with children in every prekindergarten and kindergarten is devoted to experiences with music.

Beliefs of a Music program In addition, in a position paper entitled The School Music Program. A new vision, the MENC/NAME suggests that music experiences should be grounded in the following beliefs: 1. All children have musical potential. 2. Children bring their own unique interests and abilities to the music learning environment. 3. Very young children are capable of developing critical thinking skills through musical ideas. 4. Children come to early-childhood music experiences from diverse backgrounds. 5. Children should experiences exemplary musical sounds, activities, and materials. 6. Children should not be encumbered with the need to meet performance goals. 7. Children’s play is their work. 8. Children learn best in the pleasant physical and social environments. 9. Diverse learning environments are needed to serve the developmental needs of many individual children. 10. Children need effective adult models (MENC 1994). These beliefs underlie the standards for music education, the subject of the following section. For very young children, music need not necessarily be a group experience, although very short group experiences may be successful. More frequently, music is an individual or small-group activity. As children go about the day’s activities, they and their teachers can

2

sing and dance about what they are doing. Teacher can also provide save toys with musical sounds the children can control (MENC1994). Also, music need not be limited to actual songs it is sounds that brings pleasure and helps children express feelings or thoughts. A child choosing a lullaby while rocking a doll or splashing rhythmically in water is making music a part of everyday experience.

Standards for Music Education The National Standards for Arts Education, published in 1994, also provide specific music education standards for students in kindergarten through grade four. The authors of the standards offer this rationale for music education at this level. Here are the nine music education content standards for grades K-4: Music content standards: 1. Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 2. Performing on instruments, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music. 3. Improvising melodies, variations, and accompaniments. 4. Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines. 5. Reading and notating music. 6. Listening to, analyzing, and describing music. 7. Evaluating music and music performances. 8. Understanding relationship between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the arts. 9. Understanding music in relation to history and culture (consortium 1994). For each content standard, several achievement standards are also provided; they describe the student skills or behaviors that demonstrate successful learning outcomes.

Development through creative media music: Academic achievement isn’t the only benefit of music education and exposure. Music ignites all areas of child development and skills for school readiness: intellectual, social and emotional, motor, language, and overall literacy. It helps the body and the mind work together. Exposing children to music during early development help them learn the sounds

3

and meanings of words. Dancing to music helps children build motor skills while allowing them practice self- expression. For children and adults, music helps strengthen memory skills. 

Music and emotional Development:

Music will strengthen a child emotional development especially in terms of emotional expression, emotional regulation, emotional utilization and interpersonal relationships. When a child is encouraged to express himself freely with music, there is a certain emotional security that allows for creative connection. Children are encouraged to express their feelings through drama and most children find it a positive experience that promotes self-esteem; consequently drama enhances emotional development. 

Music and cognitive Development:

Music helps strengthen a child’s memory skills. Musical experiences in childhood can actually accelerate brain development, particularly in the areas of language acquisition and reading skills. Musical instruments help in building knowledge and exploration of the objects in the world around them. As children become more familiar and comfortable with exploring vocal and other sound sources, guided experiences can help develop understanding, skills and vocabulary. Early childhood music curriculums also can develop listening skills. Paying attention to directions in a song, trying to keep a steady beat, and playing musical games all require listening and responses children enjoy such musical experiences and often find success in the new and the different. 

Music and motor Development:

Music also helps to enhance or to strengthen the motor development of a child. Performances on rhymes and music also enhance the motor skills of children. Large arm or leg movements while dancing on music increase muscular strengthens. Small muscles strengthen by using musical instruments. 

Music and social Development:

Musical activities also support social developments music facilitate learning through active interaction with adults and other children as well with music materials. Group experiences in music are one aspect of good music curriculum. Children perform different activities in peer group such as dramatic play, dancing etc. drama as a classroom activity can contribute much to children’s development. Because it requires 4

interaction, negotiation, and cooperation, and because social themes are often explored, drama promotes social development.

A Musical Activity for Young Children: A musical curriculum for young children should include many opportunities to explore sound through singing, moving, listening, and playing, instruments, as well as introductory experiences with verbalization and visualization of musical ideas. The music literature included in the curriculum should be of high quality and lasting value, including traditional children’s songs, Folk’s song classical music, and music from a variety of culture, styles, and time periods. The Following plans and tips are geared toward music and learning through music: 

Singing:

Learning to sing is a developmental process. Young children need a supportive and encouraging environment for singing. Their ability to sing is closely related to their growing abilities in other areas of development. Children learn a variety of song like folk song and seasoning song. The children become aware of different vocal qualities such as talking and whisper voice. Children are encouraged to make up their song and melodies. Provide children with the vocabulary of music, e.g, high and low for pitch, loud and soft for dynamics, and fast and gradual for tempo. Use children’s literature, such as Down by the bay or A hunting we will go, that can be sung or played. Sing songs of many cultures, especially those represented by the children in the group. 

Using musical instrument:

Today’s approach to playing instruments with young children focuses on their exploration of sound and rhythm. Even through the focus is on exploration, the teacher can help individual or small groups with instructions is how to hold an instruments an how to produce satisfactory sound. Children learn names and categories of musical instruments (drums, jingle, bells, rhythm sticks, metal triangles, piano, guitar). The instruments are used to reinforce the music concepts taught such as fast and slow, high and low, long and short. Children explore these instruments and enhance their memory and learning skills. Help children to discover ways to make to sounds on instruments. Make your own instruments using materials like boxes, sticks, rubber bands, sandpaper 5

and beans. Use instruments and “sound-makers” to create rain, thunder, birds and other sounds to accompany stories. 

Musical Games:

Make music a daily and natural part of the classroom by playing music often, even as background during other experiences. Different musical games such as musical chair and passing the parcel help to develop not only motor skills but also develop social or emotional skills. Music gives power to the games which makes them interesting to the children. 

Story and rhymes:

When stories and rhymes added as a curriculum they create memorable learning experiences for children. They create their own imaginary world and enjoy the characters. Performing on stories and rhymes will increase their learning and vocabulary skills. Demonstrate musical concepts through stories, e.g using high and low character voices in the “THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF”. 

Dance:

Dance education is important in helping children learn to express themselves through movement. If all four movement skills stability, locomotor, nonlocomotor, manipulative are called into play at once, then combined with rhythm, music and perhaps more emotion the possibility of dance and dance like movement emerges. Dance education can be integrated into curriculum as students learn story elements and the parallel choice ot the understanding of culture through the medium of dance. Dance provides children with the opportunity to learn nonverbal communication skills, which can help many of them solidify their understandings of the other communication skills that get so much attention in the typically curriculum. Dance for young children involves body movement and an awareness of that movement from within, which is sometime (but not always) an expression of emotion. In their experiences with dance, movements, rhythm, and music, children need to be given a balance of freedom (which provides opportunity for exploration of physical possibilities as well as the development of creativity) and structure (which provides direction and skill development for children at the elementary and mastery levels).

6



Drama:

Drama in the early childhood classroom is defined as experiences in which children play crate a characters or ideas. Dance for young children goes a step beyond general movement experiences, drama goes a step beyond dramatic play. Drama for young children is teacher-initiated dramatic play and can therefore provide a balance between free play and academics, because it provides experiential learning. Children are more likely to retain information taught through drama because it is Multisensory. it gives a visual, physical, and verbal representation of the ideas. Drama in early childhood education is not the production of plays in which children memorize lines and act given roles. Such production are often appropriate for older children but not for early childhood years. Creative drama usually refers to spontaneous productions in which children create or recreate stories, moods, or incidents without learning lines or practicing their roles. Drama as a classroom activity can contribute much to children’s development, because it requires interaction, negotiation, and cooperation, and because social themes are often explored, drama promotes social development. Children are encouraged to express their feeling through drama and most children find it a positive experience that promotes selfesteem. Constantly drama enhances emotional developments. Creative movement is often a part of drama, providing physical experience. Cognitive development is fostered when drama is integrated with what is hap-happing in the curriculum. Finally, young children’s drama experiences provide opportunities for creativity in problem solving, movement, and use of imagination.

Environment of musical classroom: There must be a specific room for musical activities. The classroom setting can encourage children to feel free “to get into the music” and interpret it in their own ways. It may sound like children are making noise, but this is part of free experimentation in music, the language of sound. The room must be carpeted and have vacant space for different performances. Music center must include tapes, a tape recorder, songs on charts and stories with accompanying music. Add props to use when enjoying a song, such as felt cutouts to represent the characters in songs. It should also have a projector facilities and a good sound

7

system. A corner should be designed with musical instruments so that children can use, play and explore their skills. The collection of stories and rhymes must be according to the child’s taste. Everything should be placed in the range of children so they can easily have approached to these instruments. Electrical instruments should be avoided to refrain from any haphazard.

Music teacher of young children: It is desirable that individual with training in early childhood music education for young children be involved in providing musical experiences for the children, either directly or as consultants. Often it is the parent, certified teacher, higher education professional, child Development Associate (CDA), or other care provider who is primarily responsible for guiding the musical experiences of the young child. These persons should: 

Love and respect young children



Value music and recognize that an early introduction to music is important in the lives of children



Be confident in their own musicianship realizing that within the many facets of musical interaction there are many effective ways to personally affects children’s musical growth



Interact with children and music in a playful manner



Use developmentally appropriate musical materials and teaching techniques



Appropriate music learning environments to be created



Be sensitive and flexible when children’s interests are diverted from an original plan.



Sing song with children during group time or as a part of classroom routine



Play a variety of music styles using library or streaming resources



Move a dance to music with students



Provide a music center where children can explore sound-making objects



Provide music for individual listening during free choice time



Children need effective adult models(MENC,1994)

8