Research shows that starting formal instrument lessons before the child is emotionally, physically or intellectually equipped for them is more likely put children off music-making rather than encourage them.
However, there is plenty you can do to prepare your toddler for the time when they are ready to try learning an instrument.
Parent and toddler music and movement groups can be great fun and give parents lots of ideas and confidence to share music with their child at home. One to one music lessons for pre-schoolers serve a different purpose. They are not instrument-specific but they do have specific educational goals and progress at your child’s individual pace to make sure each of these goals are fully met and the child develops their full musical potential. However, while the teacher will be working hard, making sure the lesson content is carefully focussed, for the child it should always feel like fun and games and never like a ‘lesson’.
Pre-school music lessons have several benefits. A thorough foundation in musical skills, such as critical listening and rhythm and pitch awareness, will of course mean they are much more likely to ‘take off’ when they do begin learning an instrument or join their first choir (particularly as many instrument teachers take these foundation skills for granted in their students and do not take the time to ensure they are in place first). The lessons will also help prepare your child for school as the child gets used to focussed activity time, grows in confidence, is encouraged to listen and develop a self control and is praised for thinking for themselves. One to one lessons can be wonderfully balancing to a child: hyperactive, boisterous children enjoy being encouraged to make noise and channel their energy constructively. Quiet, shy children learn that it’s a good thing to be heard and to offer opinions and make choices. A good teacher will treat each child as a unique and guide them towards a happy balance.
The most important goal for me as the teacher is to give the child a musical adventure, exploring sound, making lots of noise, growing in musical confidence and laying the foundation for a life-long love of music.
Foundation Stage Goals:
1. Develop sense of rhythm - recognise the pulse in simple music
- keep in time with the pulse
- recognise and change easily to a faster/slower pulse
- recognise and appreciate silence in contrast to sound
- sing songs and listen to music with different rhythmic patterns
2. Develop sense of pitch - distinguish between high and low pitches on a range of classroom instruments.
- sing with increased pitch awareness and increased pitch range
- be familiar with the sound of a major scale
3. Begin to appreciate sound quality
- recognise the sounds of a range of classroom instruments and describe an aspect of each sound
- explore how different music makes us feel and what it reminds us of
4. Develop general skills for creative communication
- increase expressive vocabulary by using a variety of ‘describing’ words
- experience music from a wide range of genres
5. Develop self-discipline and ensemble playing skills
- anticipate their turn to play and join in confidently at the right time
- keep silent when it’s not their turn
- keep in time with the pulse
6. Develop helpful behaviours - listening
- anticipating
- focusing and concentrating
- enjoying learning
7. Develop confidence - join in songs and games
- handle and explore classroom instruments confidently
- offer answers and opinions to open-ended questions
- appreciate the value of their own thoughts, ideas and individuality
- enjoy their own ever-increasing abilities
Hi - I really enjoyed your article, and will be sure to use it, thank you. Please could you point me in the direction of the research which you mentioned at the start?
Alison
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