Digital Landscapes of Early Childhood Music Learning and Development

Abstract

Abstract This chapter investigates the role of historical children’s music media in the contemporary construction of children’s music cultures. The chapter argues that parents’ (re)appropriation of their childhood music involves negotiations of personal experiences with the music and negotiations of beliefs about what constitutes a valuable childhood. It also shows that musical parenting in terms of supporting children’s contemporary co-construction of this music’s meaning is a challenging but rewarding road for parents to embark on. The empirical base for the chapter consists of two sets of data. The first set is from an ethnographically oriented study of how one- to five-year-old children use music media (recorded music) in their everyday lives, and how these uses are described and legitimized. The second set is from an ongoing study of the social dynamics of the musical upbringing of children in the Norwegian welfare state (DYNAMUS), involving media history.