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Music Education For The Preschooler
from: Kyle BesserIt is never too early to start teaching little ones to enjoy music. Kids love to sing and dance. Most children have some natural musical ability. Nurturing that ability is the key to whether a child's musical ability will continue to grow.
These days parents are so anxious to give their young children the "upper hand" that they enroll them in dance and music lessons as early as ages 3 and 4. While this may appear to make a child well rounded before starting school, this can do more harm than good. Preschool children should be exposed to good music, but in a less formal setting than private lessons. There is a wide variety of different activities more appropriate to the mindset and attention span of a 3 or 4 year old. At this point in their life, preschoolers should learn to enjoy and appreciate music.
Music at Home
The music that young children hear at home on the television, stereo or radio will largely shape their musical choices and also influence their singing abilities. Preschool aged children should be exposed to music on a level they can enjoy such as on preschool music education videos. Young children should listen to kid's music. Child music education is best if it is age appropriate.
Music in early childhood education should be basic and simple. Simple tunes with easy-to-memorize words are the best songs for music in early childhood education. "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Comin' Round the Mountain" are a few of the songs many of us learned to sing when we were young. Buy music education videos and CDs that contain songs designed especially for preschool age children. Encourage your child to sing along. Sing along with them.
Buy small rhythm instruments and let them play "marching band." Take the CDs along on car rides to keep your children entertained. Exposing children to age-appropriate songs will help them develop a love for singing and maybe a good singing voice.
Try not to let your preschooler sing along to the latest rock songs. Imitating rock singers encourages improper singing techniques and could actually put your child at risk for vocal chord damage later in life. Avoid Broadway style music as well. Most Broadway songs use extensive ranges that will result in poor and out-of-tune singing by young children. Besides, many of the lyrics of rock and Broadway songs are inappropriate for younger children. Young children will benefit much more from singing the time-honored children's favorites.
Music Outside the Home
If you are looking for some musical activity in which to enroll your child, check out the many music education programs that involve both parent and child. One of the best and most well-known is Kindermusik. Kindermusik was developed in Germany in the 1960s and adapted for American families in the 1970s. Kindermusik is now offered in more than 35 countries.
Kindermusik is founded on the beliefs that music nurtures a child's cognitive, emotional, social, language and physical development and that every child should experience the joy, fun and learning which music education brings to life. The Kindermusik music education program accommodates learners from newborn to 7 years of age and provides activities that can be enjoyed and reinforced at home.
If you don't have a Kindermusik music education program in your area, look for other music education programs that encourage parent involvement in the child's music education. They usually involve learning simple songs, coordinating creative movement with songs and playing rhythm instruments.
Music lessons for preschool age children are usually a waste of money. Unless a child is the next Mozart, a young child will not have the attention span or the motor skills to benefit from music lessons at this young age.
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