Music in The Early Years - Strike a chord

Music is a universal phenomenon. Every culture has developed some musical traditions, ranging from lullabies to ceremonial and religious music. Music is a way in which we can connect with others and reflect our joys, but also our sorrows. It is a powerful force and one that even unborn babies appear to respond to. Interestingly, it also has the potential to shape babies’ and children’s development in a range of ways, which is why music should figure in every early years setting’s curriculum.

The benefits of exposure to early music are significant and are easily integrated into planning for the EYFS as well as other early years frameworks.

PRIME AREAS OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

When it comes to personal, social and emotional development, musical experiences ought to be seen as essential. Singing to a baby or toddler can promote attachment and also help them feel secure, especially if it forms part of a routine.

Listening to and making music can also help children to express emotions, but also help children to self-regulate. Singing and making music as part of a group can help children to co-operate and take turns. Listening to and making music is also linked to communication and language benefits. The patterns within music can help babies to break into the sounds of language, while also improving attention and listening skills in older children. Rhymes and songs can develop children’s interest in words and, if an explanation of meaning is provided, can develop vocabulary. There are also opportunities to improve children’s physical development. This includes controlling breathing when singing through to developing co-ordination when making music using simple percussion instruments.

SPECIFIC AREAS OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

In terms of literacy development, the rhythms, patterns of music and lyrics, especially rhymes in songs, can provide children with not just auditory discrimination but also a rich backdrop of sounds and rhythms that are needed for later writing. There has also been research to show that music can support children’s mathematical skills, especially if adults draw their attention to rhythmical patterns and the different length of beats in notes. With some percussion instruments, such as xylophones and bottles filled with water, children can also make connections between their length/volume of water and the sound produced.

When it comes to understanding the world, there are plenty of opportunities to explore people and communities. This might include visitors who play instruments, as well as helping children to understand that people may have different tastes. We can also explore music in relation to festivals and celebrations, for example the ‘Happy birthday’ song.

BABIES AND TODDLERS

Babies’ earliest musical experiences have traditionally come through the use of soothing songs, where babies are rocked to help them sleep. As babies develop, they become increasingly participative in songs and rhymes. They start to respond to finger rhymes such as ‘round and round the garden’ by anticipating the tickle at the end. While at the start lullabies, rhymes and songs are in effect adult-guided activities, older babies and toddlers soon begin to request that they should be repeated and so they become child-led.

As well as making music with the human voice, babies and toddlers soon start to enjoy clapping but also exploring making sounds with objects and instruments. Shakers, rattles, but also banging on upturned cake tins, are all ways of learning about sound. In this period, the role of the adult should be to join in. You could:

• make a list of finger rhymes and simple action rhymes that everyone in the team enjoys
• find out from parents about rhymes or lullabies that they use at home and include these
• build songs and rhymes into everyday routines such as just before lunch or during nappy changes
• introduce moments in the routine where you put on music for babies and toddlers to respond to, and repeat tracks so that babies and toddlers can become familiar with them
• look out for a range of simple rattles, shakers and resources that will make sounds for babies to explore.
  
  

THREE TO FIVE YEARS

In this age range, we can build on children’s enjoyment of singing and making sound. We can help children learn about pitch, rhythm, tempo and volume. This in turn will develop skills, but also confidence in music. We can draw attention to these elements through spontaneous comment; for example, ‘I can hear a very low-pitched sound’, as this can help children learn the vocabulary of music. It is also worth planning some games and activities, such as:

Pitch (how high or low a sound is)

• Play two notes, a high one and a low one, using tuned percussion; for example, keyboard, xylophone, bells. Ask children to react to the lower note; for instance, sitting down when they hear the lowest note.
• Put out tuned percussion instruments for children to explore. See if children can find something that plays a high note.

Rhythm (the sound pattern in music)

• Look for music with a strong beat. Encourage children to find the beat; for example, marching to tracks that have a strong beat, clapping or use a shaker. It is helpful to join in as some children need an adult to help them find the beat to start with.
• Play clapping games where you tap out a rhythm and see if children can echo it back to you.
• Encourage games to clap out the syllable pattern in their name; for example, ‘Barn-a-by’.

Tempo (fast or slow)

• Look out for singing games or rhymes that will lend themselves to ‘speeding’ up.
• Play games where children run fast when the pace of music quickens or walk slowly as it reduces.

Volume

• Play games where children make themselves smaller when you turn the volume down and bigger as the volume is increased.
• Play games where children find a hidden object, using the clue that they are close when you beat a drum loudly and off track as you reduce the volume.
  
  

CHOOSING MUSIC

For children to develop a wide interest in music, we should ideally be exposing them to different styles. The music played in the setting should be diverse and reflect languages and musical traditions from across the world. This is important because if only Western music is played, it can send out a message that music from other cultures that sounds different or unfamiliar is less important.

• Does music in your setting reflect the cultures and languages in the community?
• Are you giving children opportunities to hear a range of different styles of music, including those with different musical intervals than those found in Western music, such as Chinese music?
• Do you encourage visitors as well as staff to play instruments?
• Do you encourage children to talk about how music is making them feel?
• Are children able to select music that they wish to listen to?
  
  

INVOLVING PARENTS

As music figures in most families’ lives, we should look to understand what children’s home musical experience is so that we can reflect it in the setting. In addition, we may also want to let parents know about the links to learning and music. You could share the following from UNICEF: https://uni.cf/3tQmcjO.

BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION

Finally, we need to talk about the barriers that prevent adults from offering children rich musical experiences. One of the key barriers is lack of confidence, especially when it comes to singing. It is thought that the advent of talent programmes has not helped in this. The reality is that babies and young children are not music critics and cannot vote anyone off!

Here are a few tips to consider:

• Comment on children’s responses and enjoyment, rather than the quality of others’ voices.
• Never comment on a child’s singing abilities.
• Join in when another adult is singing and make this an unwritten rule for your setting.
• Use pre-recorded tracks, but always try to sing with them.
• Begin by singing the odd ‘instruction’; for example, ‘Let’s set the table’. You’ll be surprised how happy this makes children and also how some children will sing back.
• Consider staff training to support the development of music in your setting.
  
  

CASE STUDY: Pebbles Childcare, Worthing

By Karen Hart

Bridgit Brown and Chloe Webster run the award-winning Pebbles Childcare, a home setting day nursery in Worthing, West Sussex. Together they try to bring music into all areas of the EYFS.

Bridgit says, ‘At Pebbles we consider music to be an integral part of the EYFS curriculum, as music, movement and singing not only ignite emotional, creative and expressive learning in children, but also benefit children’s speech, language and understanding.

‘If children are exposed to different genres of music, different beats, tempos and volumes, they will begin to differentiate, discuss and understand music as well as begin to explore, tap out and discuss their own beats, patterns and rhythms, which ignite a deeper critical thinking when exploring and experiencing sound and music in an open-ended and natural way.

‘Our children have incredibly eclectic tastes, and are constantly sharing their favourite songs from home with us, which we add to our Pebbles Playlist in the van when we are out and about. And these really vary, including: Ernie by Benny Hill, Firestarter by The Prodigy, Agadoo by Black Lace, The Business by Tiësto, and extending to the classic Frozen, Moana, and nursery rhymes. Their tastes really know no limits!

‘Music and singing is an overarching part of our daily practice, whether singing nursery rhymes in relation to topics, listening to “ballet music” (as they call it) and pretending to be ballerinas, making up songs including the children’s names and characteristics, instigating a rendition of our “We are proud of you” chant during significant achievements, or making instruments using recycled materials. Our children also love to turn over the pots and pans in the mud kitchen and create their own drum kits, which can become incredibly rhythmic incredibly quickly!

‘Pre-Covid, we used to frequent the local library and join in their Rhyme Time sessions. We have also attended a number of Salvation Army Christmas Carol afternoons over the festive period and learned some more traditional Christmas Carols. We’ve also got a visit planned to our local theatre, where as well as experiencing everything the theatre has to offer, we’ll also have an opportunity to see an orchestra pit.

‘One of our dads is a DJ and one year we organised a leavers’ festival for the children and had a special headlining guest DJ who came in and closed our festival with a playlist fit for our leavers, which was amazing!

‘Since Covid, we try and find new and innovative ways for children to experience music beyond our setting and we are often found in our local town centre listening to dancing and supporting local buskers and bands – we try to factor music, movement and singing into everything we do.’