Music In The Early Childhood
Abstract Category: Education
Course / Degree: MMus (University of Pretoria) Cum laude or with Distinction
Institution / University: University of Pretoria (Music Department, South Africa
Published in: 2011
A child who plays an instrument before he sings may remain unmusical for a lifetime. That is why we encounter so many skilful pianists who have no idea of the essence of music - Zoltán Kodály
After attending a wonderful event hosted by Mr Dafu Lai on Saturday, 16 April 2011, involving a music workshop for Nursery School teachers, with which I was immensely impressed, I offered to present a lecture on my topic for discussion Music in Early Childhood. Due to my time constraints I decided to present a short paper on the National Curriculum of Music in England and concluded the lecture with a short workshop and not necessarily a formal academic research paper, which would have required more time to compile.
As most of you are endeavouring to follow the teaching profession I would like to enlighten you on the music education system currently in England and to focus on the various teaching methodologies associated with teaching music at Key stage 1. According to the National Curriculum that states:
The National Curriculum lies at the heart of our policies to raise standards. It sets out a clear, full and statutory entitlement to learning for all pupils. It determines the content of what will be taught, and sets attainment targets for learning. It also determines how performance will be assessed and reported. An effective National Curriculum therefore gives teachers, pupils, parents, employers and their wider community a clear and shared understanding of the skills and knowledge that young people will gain at school. It allows schools to meet the individual learning needs of pupils and to develop a distinctive character and ethos rooted in their local communities http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk (Accessed April 17, 2011).
I totally agree with these statements as the role of music education in early childhood development should encourage and foster a level of appreciation towards music. Music can bring unity enhancing a diversity of cultures. The very best example to use would be to reference a project that involved many musicians three years ago with the launch of the first You Tube Symphony Orchestra that performed in April 2009 at Carnegie Hall in the United States of America. Most of these musicians came from different countries around the world and had to audition on 1 December 2008 with a solo performance and an extract from the given scores through a presentation of their own profile listed on You tube.
Beard and Gloag (2005: x) states:
Music and musicology are both separate and related constructs. Music, as a practical activity, has its own history, but musicology, as a process of study, inquiry and reflection, while it forms its own context and employ distinct concepts, is clearly dependent upon and reflective of music as its subject.
When one refers to the word “intelligence” one evaluates the perceptions and interpretations of theories. Howard Gardner (1999a: 180-181) reflects on multiple intelligences and the impact on thinking and practice in education in the United States. He suggests:
I want my children to understand the world, but not just because the world is fascinating and the human mind is curious. I want them to understand it so that they will be positioned to make it a better place. Knowledge is not the same as morality, but we need to understand if we are to avoid past mistakes and move in productive directions.
I totally agree with the above statements. Gardner’s framework includes linguistic intelligence, logical–mathematical intelligence, musical intelligence, bodily–kinaesthetic intelligences, spatial intelligence, interpersonal intelligence and finally intrapersonal intelligences (Gardner 1999b: 41-43).
Music has a practical and theoretical component working hand in hand with each other. A young child can’t be expected to perform a musical piece without having the necessary theoretical background and how do we stimulate these young learners? What measures as teachers do we make to uplift students in a normal music classroom situation? In England we have several programs available as we try to encourage parents and teachers to identify a student who displays the characteristics of someone who is gifted and talented. England is very well known for its marvellous opera houses, excellent theatres and foremost outstanding musicians. This is because of the policies that are in place to promote music education, especially in the early stages of a child’s development. There are several music services that promote instrumental tuition and students as young as 5 years of age start learning to play a musical instrument. Every borough council in each town has its own unique music services. These consist of highly trained musicians covering all instruments including Strings, Woodwind, Brass and Percussion.
Paper Keywords/Search Tags:
Assessment, Dynamics, Early Childhood Development, Lesson Plans, Music Education, Movement, Music Graphs, Music Technology, Notation, Pitch, Plenary, Resources, Rhythm, Starters, Structure, Timbre
This Paper Abstract may be cited as follows:
Muller, M.M. 2011. Music in the Early Childhood [Internet]http://essaysbox.com/2011/11/music-in-the-early-childhood/#more-256
Submission Details: Paper Abstract submitted by Mario Maxwell Muller from United Kingdom on 03-Feb-2012 10:39.
Abstract has been viewed 1898 times (since 7 Mar 2010).
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