Early+Childhood+Music

Discussion 12

Early childhood music is valuable and necessary because it is an important part of child’s growth and development. Introducing music to children at a young age helps them to be bond emotionally, intellectually and build strong relationships with others. Children love to listen to music and sing along. They like the movement, the beat and the rhythm that music has it gives them the opportunity to explore music and sound through various channels such as singing, moving, listening and playing musical instruments. Music creates an atmosphere for learning and its fun.

Four key points in the teaching philosophy of early childhood music is: 1) All children are musical. 2) All children can achieve basic music competence. 3) The participation and modeling of parents and caregivers is essential to a child’s musical growth. 4) Growth is best achieved in a playful, non-performance-oriented learning environment.

The development of a child’s singing voice begins at birth, from birth to six years of age is the most critical period in a child’s musical growth. It is known as the “music babble” stage. From there the child passes to basic music competence.

An early childhood music class should include a variety of different style of music, such as traditional children’s songs, folk songs, classical music, and music from different cultures, styles and time periods. The class should also should create a physical and social environment where music can include play, games, conversations, stories, etc. Children should be able to reflect and share their own personal experiences in music.

Audiation takes place when we hear and comprehend music for which the sound is no longer or may never have been present. Through the development of audiation students learn to understand music