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Introduction

Through music, children take an inner experience and move it into a shared creative experience.
Group music-making releases energy which can be channeled in creative, productive directions.
Children learn about themselves and others by playing music together and by listening to each
other tapping into hidden courage that can be played out by singing together or discovering the
inner resources to listen quietly to another child's playing. Children naturally Love music!
Whether its soft and soothing or a lively tune, children feel it both physically and emotionally.
Throughout the early years, children are learning to do new things with their bodies. Young
children are also learning that movement can communicate messages and represent actions.
Young children are able to perform and recognize pantomimed actions such as ironing, stirring,
swimming, or playing the piano. In this assignment I have looked into what listening, singing,
responding to music and playing musical instruments is. Also I have highlighted the extent of the
use of the different categories of music in our preschools.











Introduction of the categories
Listening to music: listening is a neurological cognitive regarding the processing of Auditory
Stimuli received by the auditory system. It could be defined as an intentional act of audition. To
pay attention to someone or something in order to hear what is being said, sung, played, etc.
Responding: can be defined as making a reply, acting in return or answer or to act positively.
Singing: Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments
regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm.
Playing Musical instruments: Children of all ages express themselves through music. Even at
an early age children sway, bounce, or move their hands in response to music they hear. Many
preschoolers make up songs and, with no self-consciousness, sing to themselves as they play.
Kids in elementary school learn to sing together as a group and possibly learn to play a musical
instrument. Older children dance to the music of their favorite rock and roll bands and use music
to form friendships and share feelings. (creativity institute, -)
We hear and perform music in many different places each day. We listen and respond to music at
home, in our classrooms and music rooms, on the playground, and at concerts and special events.
We even hear music in movies, on television and radio, and in stores and shopping malls. In
short, music is all around us. While few people will pursue careers as musicians, composers,
music teachers, or conductors, we all are appreciators and consumers of music. One way we can
understand this art form better is to learn how to listen thoughtfully to the music we hear.
Past studies have shown differences in the brains of children raised in poor environments that
impact and may even limit their ability to learn. Disadvantaged children who learn to sing or
play a musical instrument show gains in their mental function and in turn they are able to better
develop their reading and language skills.





What extent the different categories are used in preschools now for
1. Listening: in school Y music is not taught to the students at all. Instead they teach them
Madhaha, which is the Islamic praise for prophets and ALLAH.
In school X students are taught to listen to rhymes while the teacher sings the rhymes for
the students. The students are asked to sing with the teacher. They also have to listen to
the school song.
2. Responding to music: in school Y students do not get much chance to respond to music
whereas in school X students get the chance to act to songs and dance to the rhythm of
music. These students get to act out in the school concerts and work as a team as well.
3. Singing: the students in school Y only get to sing Madhaha whereas the students in
school X get the chance to sing with the teachers. They also get the chance to perform in
competitions.














Is there a balance of components?
In most preschools music is taught very less. Like once a week. Students are taken to music
rooms and they are asked to sing with the teachers. Mostly rhymes. Teacher will sing the rhymes
and the students will follow her/his lead. Songs and rhymes are acted out. Some students will be
very interested and learn very easily, whereas some students do not show much interest. It takes
lots of time for the students to sing together harmoniously in a balanced manner. Instruments are
not given to the students to play. Musical instruments are used only to the students who take part
in the school band. Other students do not get the chance to play musical instruments in many
schools. As most preschools have less budget they do not let the students use musical
instruments in case any damage happened to the instruments since it is costly and for preschools
it is not easy to replace. I believe that in some schools music is not given much of an importance
and in some schools some components are lacking.
New research shows that music has a positive influence on young childrens cognitive skills such
as spatial reasoning and memory. Research also shows that providing children with a rich and
stimulating environment involving all the senses, including the auditory sense, can support
childrens healthy growth and development. (Vardin, 2009)











Personal opinion of the inclusion of the 3 categories
In my opinion it is very important to teach music in preschools. Due to teaching music it
improves the development of the students in many ways. It brings lots of improvement to the
students moral, fine motor, cognitive development. The students get to learn new words and
new rhymes can be learnt. Their social skills and team working will also be improved. Since all
the 3 categories are not fully included in the preschool for various reasons we can always try and
find out easier ways to include it all. Eg. If musical instruments are not given to the students due
to it being costly teachers can make some kinds of instruments with recycle objects and use it for
the students to experiment. It can be made in an attractive way so that the children will become
fascinated and will be enthusiastic to play with it. Learning to play instruments lets people learn
to organize and manage their time wisely, it boosts the social skills and personal skills, improves
mathematical abilities as well as improves reading and comprehension skills. Teacher could let
the students listen to audio and videos of rhymes and also let the students to act like that is
shown in the videos.












Conclusion
Kids who grow up hearing music, singing songs, and moving to the beat are enjoying what
experts call "a rich sensory environment." That's just a fancy way of saying they're exposed to a
wide variety of tastes, smells, textures, colors, and sounds. And researchers believe this forges
more pathways between the cells in their brains. Musical experiences are an important way to
help create these pathways, also called neural connections. And while listening to music is
certainly key to creating them, it's when kids actively participate in music that they make the
strongest connections. (Kids Health, -)
Therefore to bring about what is best within the children they need to expose to more listening,
more singing and allowed to play different types of instruments. Some students will be able to
bring out better skills in them. Eg. Some students may think about how a guitar is made and
his/her ambition may be developed from these thoughts. Hence it is very important to include
music in the early stages of childrens educational life.














Reference

http://www.creativityinstitute.com/earlychildhooddevelopment-
childrenandmusic.aspx
http://www.edact.com/blog/?p=24
http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/learning/preschool_music.ht
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