Musical and educative aspects of various forms of children’s folk song and play

Abstract

The author discusses the issues connected with children’s singing in the context of a folk song and of singing in general. She shows an analogy between a native song and mother tongue, indicating shared ‘steps’ that give a chance to express oneself through speech and song in a natural and universal manner. She also draws our attention to the link between a folk song and a life of particular communities, their culture and the world of nature. The author places children’s songs within an exceptionally colorful and varied repertoire of folk songs. Characteristic features of songs, such as a simple form, elementary melo-rhythmic phrases, narrow vocal range, texts about familiar matters, determine their value, enable children to learn them quickly and play a very important instructive-educative role.