Preschool Music Programs

Subject: Preschool Music Programs
From: KT
Date: 17 Jul 01 - 02:53 PM

I'm interested to know how many of you may have enrolled your preschoolers in private music programs. I'm thinking in terms of a general music program rather than lessons on one particular instrument. And if you have, what was the experience like? What worked about it? What didn't? I know how important music is for this age group, and am curious to know what your experience has been with this type of program. Thanks, KT

Subject: RE: Preschool Music Programs
From: Folkdoctor
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 03:06 AM

Hi KT

I have done music with preschoolers for over twenty years and my feeling is that they really are not equiped to take lessons on an instrument yet. Everybody talks about 'Susuki' and I do not doubt that it works somehow, but if I were a parent I would be more interested in doing something where my child would learn to move and sing which is truly important in making them (we hope) a happier more fullfilled person. Too often now I find children in grade school who never sang with a group and can not even carry a tune. I ask myself what they missed out on? In this age of 'kindergarten as a first step to college', I remember sitting under a tree and singing. Just my opinion nothing more, as long as they are having fun!

Subject: RE: Preschool Music Programs
From: KT
Date: 18 Jul 01 - 01:01 PM

Thanks for those thoughts, Folkdoctor. Actually, I wasn't thinking about instruction in any particular instrument, but more in terms of a general class, covering such things as singing, rhythm, movement, etc., geared of course, to the preschool level. Has anyone else had any experience with such a class? If so, what are your thoughts, recommendations, etc? KT

Subject: RE: Preschool Music Programs
From: Wesley S
Date: 19 Jul 01 - 10:01 AM

Since my son is only seven months old old I think it's a little early to get him started in a class but his mom and I sing to him regularly. I was thinking about getting him a uke in a few years so he could have something to bash around on. I'll be interested to see where this thread goes.

Subject: RE: Preschool Music Programs
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Jul 01 - 10:21 AM

My daughter is 3 tomorrow and although my wife and I have not tried to get her interested in music she does have a liking for it. I always have an old classical guitar laying around and she loves to strum it and sing along (all my good instruments are in cases out of reach). She enjoys anything musical - blowing on a harmonica/whistle, banging on drums etc and I have helped her to have a scrape on my fiddle which she loved - she wants her own now which I don't think is good idea yet as it wouldn't last very long :) Basically I think if kids see people around them playing and singing (and enjoying themselves), then they want to do the same. I don't think it is a good idea to force a young child onto an instrument and try to give them lessons.

Ian S

Subject: RE: Preschool Music Programs
From: GUEST,Desert Dancer in NJ
Date: 19 Jul 01 - 01:18 PM

When my son was 3 and 4 (he's now 6) we took (and re-took) a 5-session (about an hour and a half, once week) music class for preschoolers. It was great. My son and I both enjoyed it, and I believe he learned a bit from it. The teacher plays viola with the Tucson Symphony, and also teaches viola and violin using the Suzuki method. I believe that she modified the curriculum from another (the name of which I'm afraid I can't recall at the moment, but I'll try to retrieve it when I get home next week!) But, here are some of the things she did:

- singing and movement (like "Little Red Caboose" as a train, with the kids swapping the caboose role)
- listening to a tape of orchestra instruments (from the other curriculum), and looking at them live or in a picture and talking about families of instruments
- using rhythm instruments to tap out the rhythms of each child's full name
- a little bit of creative use of flash cards:
- with quarter and double eighth notes on them -- "Ta" and "Ti-Ti", singly, or in combination
- with various curves that the children guessed and learned to follow as rising and falling pitches (one had ascending dots, vocalised as "Do re me fa so" followed by a descending curve)
- doing "Do re me," etc. as being located on the body, from toes to hands in the air, and going thru the scale, then doing some other intervals

That's a sampling. I can't remember it all. In talking with the teacher, she felt that the rhythm work was the most important. She also did a really good job at keeping the class varied and within the attention span of the kids.

We made our own flash cards to play with at home, and have played a little with transferring that play to looking at jigs and reels in my tunebooks, to writing on staff-lined paper, and to playing with music transcription software on my computer.

So, sure, you can do lots of stuff at home, and ultimately the long-term exposure to your own love of music may be the most important thing to encourage your child, but if there's a pre-school oriented program available, go for it! If your child's enjoying it, it certainly can't hurt!

~ Becky temporarily in NJ

Subject: RE: Preschool Music Programs
From: sophocleese
Date: 19 Jul 01 - 01:39 PM

My kids both had group lessons with a local teacher, sort of Kodaly or Orff jumbled with her experience of several years of what worked. It was a very relaxed setting in her own home with the parents with the kids or just in the next room drinking tea. They danced, they sang simple tunes, they played games, she would play music on her piano and they would move around the room in time to the music. They loved it! They learned ta ta ti ti rhythms, when he first got the idea of it my 4 year old son wanted me to write out as many as I could on cards so he could keep practicing. Last year when he was just turned 8 he auditioned for the local children's choir, his vocal range wasn't great but when the conductor tapped out a rhythm he clapped it straight back at her without any mistakes, even when the rhythms got harder. His younger sister will be auditioning this fall and will probably do as well if not better.

Subject: RE: Preschool Music Programs
From: MMario
Date: 19 Jul 01 - 02:54 PM

It's odd - but when I was young, virtually anything done with young children usually involved singing games of some sort- so kids got music more or less continously. You don't see that very much anymore.

Subject: RE: Preschool Music Programs
From: KT
Date: 20 Jul 01 - 03:43 AM

Thanks, everyone, for your thoughts.

Becky and Sophocleese, great information! It sounds like your kids had exactly the experience I'm thinking about. They both sound like they were very good programs.

Becky, you indicate that you and your child participated in 10 weeks of classes. Was continuing an option or did you feel that that was enough?