Why early childhood? (music education)

Subject: WHY Early childhood???
From: GUEST
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 08:58 AM

Many parents seem reluctnant to send their children for early childhood music classes. They often claim that the children are too young at the age of 3, 4 or 5 to go to music classes. HOW DO YOU THINK I CAN PERSUADE THEM AND MAKE THEM AWARE OF THE VALUE OF MUSIC EDUCATION AT AN EARLY AGE?

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: RichM
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 09:16 AM

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: pavane
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 09:22 AM

Quote Suzuki?

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: black walnut
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 09:31 AM

'Guest'...are you a teacher? a parent?

I teach early childhood music classes. My students range in age from 3 months (or sometimes younger) to 3 years of age. They are accompanied by mom, dad, grandparent, or nanny.

Last week I finished teaching my last session for the year. I was teaching over 90 children a week. Many people have already reserved spots for the fall session.

There are many factors to creating and maintaining interest in the programme. Some of them, off the top of my head, would be:

Teacher's proficiency in both music and education
Teacher's enthusiasm
Flexibility
Goal-setting
Teaching the attending adult as well as the child
Administration support and planning
Word of mouth and community advertising

I have been doing this for over a decade. I have the best job in the whole world. My families tell me over and over that they are singing and making music at home, in the car, at the cottage, before bedtime....the spillover effect.

Very young children soak music like sponges. They love to hear the sounds of different instruments. They respond to predictable phrase lengths with predictable surprises (tickles, spins...). I have seen babies actually demonstrate the knowledge of high/low/fast/slow/up/down/quiet/loud contrasts before the age of one. Demonstrate via voice, movement, and sometimes even by how they will play a percussion instrument such a pair of sticks or a drum or a shaker.

You can't fool a young child. If they are with you they are with you. If they aren't, they aren't.

You can't fool a (registering, paying) grownup,either. If they and their child like you, they'll be back, with a friend. If they don't, they're not going to come back just because they happen to think music is a good thing for their child.

Oh, one more thought this morning...
I don't believe that music should be taught to young children primarily for what the child will get out of it in the future (math skills, or orchestra job, for example). I believe that music should be taught to young children primarily because of what it does in the present tense, because the fact that babies and young children respond to and obviously LOVE music, is a good enough reason on its own to make it a part of their lives now.

Secondarily, it can enhance early learning in other areas of their lives, present tense. For instance, my daughter was born with a language-based learning disability and music was one of the major tools in helping her learn how to communicate.

I could go on and on....I am passionate about this topic!

~b.w.

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: black walnut
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 09:36 AM

RichM, could you speak a little louder, please? I'm having trouble hearing you.

~b.w.

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: GUEST,SharonA
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 09:42 AM

Maybe they're intimidated or bored by the phrase "Music Education". If you find another name for your program that emphasizes fun, play, etc., they may be more receptive. Then you can mention the educational benefits as a sidebar in the description of the program.

Remember, you're trying to convince parents to part with their hard-earned money when their budgets may already be stretched thin. You have to make it sound attractive for them to do so. Saying "it's good for them" won't put you at the front of the line of all the other programs that are good for them. Advertise aggressively: make it "flashy" !

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: MMario
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 09:58 AM

music should be taught to young children primarily because of what it does in the present tense, because the fact that babies and young children respond to and obviously LOVE music, is a good enough reason on its own to make it a part of their lives now.

I think that just about says it all...

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: Gary T
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 10:22 AM

Too young to go to music classes? What's the rationale for that thought?

They're not too young to learn music and language and various physical skills--in fact, they're extraordinarily able to do so. Obviously, classes would have to be geared to natural limitations of size and maturity. But very few children, it seems, get as much exposure or training in music as they do in language. Delay means lost opportunity.

It might be helpful to find out what the real objections are. "Too young" sounds pretty vague to me. Are there fears that they'll be pushed too hard? Perhaps some parents envision serious attempts to make their kid the next Beethoven, or think the little ones shouldn't have to endure the torment of having to practice when they'd rather be playing. If you can get a specific reason for a parent's reluctance, you might have something you can talk about and work out.

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: M.Ted
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 10:32 AM

Guest,

I worked for a number of years at a a community arts school, and the parent/child classes, in music, art, and creative movement, became the most popular offerings--the problem came from finding people who were qualified to teach the classes.

The secret of success was simply to get enough people for a first class--word of mouth did the trick after that.

As the parent of a five year old, I can assure you that there are never enough good activities for children, and money is often not as much of an issue as people make out--we sink tons of money into things like trips to SESAME PLACE, and LEGOLAND--

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: sophocleese
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 11:26 AM

I think what scares some people is the idea of regimentation. Starting kids at daily practising whether they want to or not. Successful music teaching at this age doesn't say "you must play this scale over 10 times a day if you want to get any better" but instead says "playing music and singing can be fun why don't we try this?" My kids have been taking music lessons since my oldest was three. Then older kids in the class starting carrying our baby around with music. They enjoy and we enjoy it.

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: black walnut
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 12:46 PM

Yes, Sophocleese, you're right. So many people ask me "How do you teach music to babies? Do you give them little tiny violins? Teensy weensy keyboards? Are you teaching them to read notes?".

No. I teach with plan and purpose, but it's not about regiment. It's about listening skills, singing skills, movement skills....and did I mention FUN?

We have FUN. Lots of it. And cuddles. And laughter. And dancing. And games. And FUN. Lots of it.

Who could argue that becoming personally involved with music in a FUN and personal and encouraging way, at any age, isn't a wonderful learning experience?

Everything should be taught that way, really, I suppose....

~b.w.

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: black walnut
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 12:55 PM

Just to clarify things...you are the same GUEST 'John' of the thread, 'The Ideal Class Size', correct?

~b.w.

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: Wolfgang
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 12:57 PM

but hopefully not GUEST, spaceman, from some months ago?

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: Justa Picker
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 01:01 PM

The short answer is that the child has to express and initiate to the parent(s) the desire to study an instrument. Forcing them to take lessos won't motivate them nor will they practise and enjoy what they're learning under parental coercion. I expressed that desire at the age of 4, and took piano, and it felt like second nature from the get go. I never considered practising to be work, but rather was awed by the fact that this music was coming out of me. My siblings had no desire but were sort of "forced" into it. They never practised, and all gave it up within a couple of months.

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 21 Jun 01 - 01:16 PM

It's well established that children from an EXTREMELY early age absorb the sounds of the language they hear, and in later life have an extremely difficult time with sounds in foreign languages that weren't "built in" in infancy and early childhood. Thus, babies and young children raised exclusively with Chinese-speakers are likely to have a difficult time with the "L" sound. Born and raised German-speakers are likely to have trouble with "th", and tend to make is "S" or "T" or "Z".

Seems to me that music is likely to operate by similar rules: The infant/young child brought up on music will relate to those sounds better when older.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: hesperis
Date: 22 Jun 01 - 11:25 AM

I loved music, and it was first nature to me - until my father got a new piano teacher for me, and insisted that I be "serious" about becoming a "world-famous piano player". The teacher insisted that I practice a certain number of times a day, and if I didn't do the exercises, would merely double them the next week. I ended up with being told to do 40 repetitions of one stupid piece per day, and quit.

My father then moved the piano to the only room in the house with a lock on the door. If I wasn't going to be a "world-famous piano player" I wasn't going to be allowed to do it at all.

I was less than four years old.

It took me years to begin to play again, and I have never been able to hold to a practice schedule, even now, in adulthood. It is just too painful.

Many parents think that something has to be regimented and painful in order to "mean anything". They also resent the child's freedom to create and play. I really wish people would just lighten up about creativity!

So, if you are teaching, be very careful to emphasize that unrestricted creativity is healthier for the child's musical and intellectual development. Make sure the parents have some sense! (Knock it into them if you have to.)

And if you are looking for a music teacher for your child... make sure the teacher understands the value of fun!

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: radriano
Date: 22 Jun 01 - 12:20 PM

We who are revivalists in the traditional music scene found music at some point in our lives. Music as taught in schools usually doesn't include learning by ear and is, to me, way to structured.

The youngest age at which to learn music is debatable but it is a fact that listening to music, especially live music, is a learning experience itself.

When my daughter Miriam was born my wife and I were in a band whose rehearsals were continually interrupted by a child who just would not go to sleep. Soon we realized that if we let her sleep on the couch in the same room we were rehearsing in she was happy. At the age of three and a half she started taking Irish step dancing lessons. We took Miriam to the Kennelly School in San Francisco and in the introductory lesson the dancing teacher did a simple step and asked Miriam to copy it. Miriam did the step so well that the other girls applauded. She's gone on to be a champion step dancer, winning second place in the North American Championships at the age of eight.

My point with this little story is that Miriam was exposed to music very early, even before her birth. She's toyed with mandolin, fiddle, whistle, guitar, and voice but never took up anything seriously except for the dancing. We never pushed her into dancing either. In fact we faced the unusual situation of having to insist that she stop practicing sometimes.

It's too bad that in today's world many children grow up looking at music as something that is packaged and produced for purchase.

Subject: RE: WHY Early childhood???
From: TNDARLN
Date: 22 Jun 01 - 01:54 PM

oh, boy! Somebody help me up onto my soapbox, please.

Babies can hear music from about the sixth month of pregnancy on- and then respond to familiar music [heard before birth] after birth. [There's another reason to be against abortion, but I won't go there now]

Other research indicates that the early childhood years are THE window into later music development. It's much harder to teach a kid to match pitch after about the age of 8 years. Think about how young kids soak up a new language, whereas an adult struggles with it.

Maybe the resistance comes from equating music education with music reading. Think about how we learn to read: it comes after learning how to talk, not before. Same deal with music-- experience first, literacy later [if needed at all]

Please look for materials written by John Feierabend of Hartt University. He was a choral music guy until his kids came along, and through observing how they interacted with music, he totally changed his work to early childhood music. Good stuff.

When I was a kid, my piano teacher [dear, misguided person] complained loud/long about one of her students who played by ear. But I realized, "hey, I like what she's able to do", and learned how to play by ear myself.

Went on to study classical music, yada yada. GOT OVER IT!! I can read the notes when I'm playing or singing, but I'd rather not.

Now, would somebody please help me down? Thanks, I feel better now.

T.