{"id":3650,"date":"2011-07-18T11:49:02","date_gmt":"2011-07-18T11:49:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/zaparents-blog\/?p=3650"},"modified":"2022-06-08T21:14:48","modified_gmt":"2022-06-08T19:14:48","slug":"music-and-little-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jozikids.co.za\/blog\/activities-and-outings\/extra-murals\/music-and-little-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Music and little children"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pre-Schoolers often overwhelm adults with their uninhibited energy, exuberant opinions and short attention span. A great way to foster aninterest in creativity with your Pre-Schooler is through music.<\/p>\n

We all use music\/musac in different ways to enhance our experience of a\u00a0specific moment. Why give Barney or Hannah Montana the whole stage when we\u00a0can also use music in different ways to enhance the bond we have with our\u00a0little ones?<\/p>\n

I have found that parents who join in on their little one’s private music\u00a0lesson, seem to have a fun, bonding time together while learning about\u00a0music. But you don’t have to know music theory to be able to apply some\u00a0aspects with innovation and ease.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Using music to foster your little one’s awareness and creativity:<\/h2>\n

1) Pick songs with a happy mood, faster tempo and higher register-bound\u00a0instruments e.g. violins, piano, flute, saxophone, lead guitar (electric),\u00a0acoustic guitar (picked) and soprano voices. These higher based instruments\u00a0are picked up easily by the little one and you can ask him\/her to imitate\u00a0the sound they’re hearing. Normally most of Mozart’s music has a happy mood\u00a0associated with it, and it’s a great choice to introduce little ones to the\u00a0classics (try Mozart’s String Divertimenti: ‘Eine Kleine Nacht Musik’).<\/p>\n

2) Children respond to the mood of the music more so than to the content of\u00a0the words. This means that the songs you listen to in the car should\u00a0preferably be of a happy disposition (e.g. Tina Turner’s ‘Simply the best’,\u00a0but not Celine Dion’s ‘All by myself’). It’s also an educational and fun\u00a0activity to try identify all the instruments in a song by either trying to\u00a0mimic the way they sound and to let the other family members figure out\u00a0which instrument is being mimicked or to ask the little one whether the song\u00a0is sad or happy, and why?<\/p>\n

3) Sing songs that you and the little one can make up on the spot. A fun(and creative) way to get ready for bed is to use an existing lullaby and to\u00a0change the words to some really silly words: e.g. ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little\u00a0Star How I wonder what you are’ can become ‘Close your eyes my baby bright,\u00a0drift away in Sleep’s delight’ or ‘Blip blip blong blong cling cling clong\u00a0Djupy Djupy Chang Chang rippy rippy Dong’.<\/p>\n

4) The same principle can be applied with Nursery Rhymes. Singing is a great\u00a0activity for the little one at this age. It’s not so much the accuracy of\u00a0the notes but the development of the inner ear that makes singing a valuable\u00a0aspect in developing sonic awareness, melodic structure and rhythmic\u00a0patterns.<\/p>\n

Try something musical today with your little one. Remember, it has to be fun\u00a0and not hard work!<\/p>\n

Note: If you enjoyed this article, and would like to stay updated with more, you can:<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n