Music Children Research Articles

Collaboration, relationships and fleeting opportunities: growing the future early childhood music education workforce

ABSTRACT The aim of, Jane’s, Soundwaves Early Childhood Music lead, and Karen’s, Early Childhood Studies lecturer, inquiry is to encourage new insights into how multiple relationalities and learning play out, throughout Soundwaves, an early childhood music education (ECME) programme. We work with Barad’s diffractive methodology to shape our auto-ethnography. With pens, sparkly bits, ribbons, glue and paper, we map the Soundwaves narrative. Caring ethics, for the human and more-than-human, runs throughout our research practices. (Re)turning, the data, posthuman and critical new materialist theory, the Soundwaves narrative is (re)told. Concerns the neo-liberal narrative had played us, were replaced, when noticing the gap between our organisations offered reassuring insights. In this gap, resisting the neo-liberal narrative, is ‘fleetingness’, which welcomes experimentation and play to learning opportunities and our collaboration. These insights are useful to those who wish to maintain the visibility of ECME and resist creating instrumentalised learning experiences, whilst growing the ECME workforce.

Comparative Analysis of Kodály, Suzuki, Dalcroze, Orff, and Gordon Music Learning Theory in Early Childhood Music Education: A Literature Review

Comparative Analysis of Kodály, Suzuki, Dalcroze, Orff, and Gordon Music Learning Theory in Early Childhood Music Education: A Literature Review

The role of inhibitory control in the development of musical abilities in children taking music classes

Introduction. Inhibitory control is one of the components of executive functions in children. Through the ability of inhibition, a child can control attention and stop his or her automatic reactions. The results of numerous studies demonstrate the relationship between inhibition and music lessons. However, the role of inhibition in the development of musical ability in children taking music lessons remains incompletely understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between inhibitory control and musical ability and the role of inhibition in teachers' assessment of musical ability in children taking music classes. Methods. The study involved 198 children aged from 64 to 108 months (M=79.28; SD=6.46), studying music in children's music and art schools in Moscow and Krasnodar. To test the level of development of cognitive inhibitory control we used the "Inhibition" subtest of the NEPSY-II complex. To test the level of physical inhibitory control, the "Statue" subtest of the same diagnostic complex was used. To assess children's musical abilities, teachers completed the questionnaire "Assessment of Children's Musical Abilities". Correlation analysis and linear regression were applied to process the obtained data. Results. The Spearman's correlation analysis revealed significant interrelations between inhibition and teachers' estimates of children's musical abilities such as sense of rhythm (r=0,200, p<0,01), pitch hearing (r=0,394; p<0,01), harmony sense (r=0,167; p<0,05) and emotional sensitivity (r=0,282; p<0,01). In addition, the results of regression analysis demonstrate a significant effect of the ability to inhibit spontaneous intentions and follow instructions on the assessments of musical ability. Conclusion. The conducted study confirmed that the children have better skills of response to meaningful tasks and rejection of insignificant ones, the higher teachers evaluate in such children the ability to identify melody's intonational and rhythmic characteristics, as well as the sensitivity to changes in its mood.

Integrating Narrative Characters in Early Childhood Music Learning: A Study of Mozart Mouse and Beethoven Bear Impact on Early Learners

Integrating Narrative Characters in Early Childhood Music Learning: A Study of Mozart Mouse and Beethoven Bear Impact on Early Learners

Orff Music Teaching Method in Domestic (China) Early Childhood Music Education Status and Strategy Analysis

Orff Music Teaching Method in Domestic (China) Early Childhood Music Education Status and Strategy Analysis

Tween Pop: Children's Music and Popular Culture by Tyler Bickford (review)

Tween Pop: Children's Music and Popular Culture by Tyler Bickford (review)

Patriotic Education of Children's Music School Students in the Process of Studying Compositions for Kobza

The article substantiates the relevance of the problem of the formation of patriotism among students of children's music schools by means of epic musical works for kobza. The purpose of the article is to consider the educational work of patriotic orientation in the educational process of a children's music school, to determine the purpose, tasks, forms and methods, pedagogical conditions of patriotic education. Research methods. The following research methods are used to realize the defined goal: theoretical (analysis of scientific literature, synthesis, generalization, classification); empirical (observation, survey, study and analysis of educational and methodical documentation, plans of educational work). Results. The main task of the modern Ukrainian art school is determined, which consists in solving the important problem of implementing the value foundations of children's musical education. The definition of the concept of "Kobzarstvo" is given, which is characterized by a patriotic and civic orientation, an orientation towards the performance of author's and folk highly spiritual epic works, thoughts. It was determined that it is at school age that it is most appropriate to attract students to patriotism through the study of the highly artistic Ukrainian musical repertoire for kobza. It has been proven that the main goal of the process of patriotic education is the moral and psychological preparation of children to protect the Motherland and serve it. It is shown that studying the musical repertoire for kobza contributes both to the formation of patriotic concepts and to the improvement of students' interests and ideals. Conclusions. Therefore, the current task of Ukrainian children's musical education is the acquisition of knowledge of folk folklore, the desire to defend one's ideals, an active life position, and participation in the life of Ukrainian society. Pedagogical conditions for patriotic education of children's music schools students are substantiated: filling the educational process of children's music school with patriotic content through the use of highly artistic epic thoughts of Ukrainian professional composers and amateurs in kobza lessons; using the particular forms of extracurricular work (participation in creative competitions, Olympiads of various levels, volunteer activities, educational work in the city and region, which contributes to the development of the intellect and emotions of school pupils) in the educational process; ensuring patriotic upbringing of children in the family; introducing the elements of digitalization into the educational process of a music school with the aim of forming socially significant behaviour in a child and understanding its significance.

Analysis and Research on the Role of Family Music Education in Children's Music Education

Family education plays an important role in the comprehensive development of children. In terms of musical ability, good family music education can enhance children's musical perception, understanding, expression, and creativity. In terms of cognitive ability, family music education is also beneficial for improving children's thinking ability, memory, and attention. In addition, music education can also promote the development of children's language and motor abilities. Parents should deeply recognize the crucial role of the family in music education, provide a good music learning environment and diverse music experience atmosphere for their children, and promote their comprehensive development.

Research and Analysis of Early Childhood Music Enlightenment Education

Research and Analysis of Early Childhood Music Enlightenment Education

Children's Musical as a Popular Genre of Ukrainian Stage Art in 1960s-1990s: Formation and Development

The purpose of the article is to identify the peculiarities of formation and the main trends in the development of children's musical as a popular genre of Ukrainian stage art in the 1960s-1990s. Research methodology. The historical and cultural method was used to summarise the factual material related to the time of creation and the logic of development of the children's musical in the Ukrainian stage art of the 1960s-1990s. The methods of art historical and genre-stylistic analysis were applied to help identify specific artistic and aesthetic, genre and stylistic features in the productions of children's musical on the stages of Ukrainian theatres. Scientific novelty. The history of the formation and development of the Ukrainian children's musical in the stage art of the 1960s-1990s is studied; its musical, artistic, staging and performance features are revealed. The chronological sequence of writing the most significant in the context of the development of the genre of the first national children's musicals is presented. The contribution of Ukrainian composers (Zh. Kolodub and L. Kolodub, O. Bilash, I. Poklad, S. Bedusenko) and directors (P. Kolisnyk, M. Lukavetskyi) in the formation of the national musical for children's audiences is revealed. Children's musicals by Ukrainian composers included in the "golden fund" of national stage art are analysed ("Fox Mykyta" (libretto by R. Kudlyk) and "Tom Sawyer" (libretto by M. Petrenko based on Mark Twain's novel) by B.-Yu. Yanivskyi). Conclusions. The process of integrating the musical genre into the Ukrainian stage art of the last third of the 20th century took place in accordance with the peculiarities of the socio-cultural space of that time, socio-political events and artistic trends. The creative rethinking of content and structural features of the Western genre invariant in the 1960s-1990s became the basis for the formation of the national Ukrainian children's musical as a factor in the internationalisation of the world music and stage culture. At the same time, the formation of the Ukrainian children's musical is connected with the process of nationalisation of the genre, as evidenced by the reliance of the libretto on stories from folklore and traditional Ukrainian culture, the introduction of traditional principles and techniques inherent in the stage art of Ukraine. The peculiarities of the formation and further development of children's musicals in Ukraine were conditioned by the creative searches of domestic composers (B.-Yu. Yanovskyi, I. Poklad, S. Bedusenko, Zh. and L. Kolodub, E. Lapeika, O. Kolomiitseva, A. Bondarenko) and theatre directors. The productions of children's musicals from the 1960s-1990s allow us to talk about the rethinking of the Western archetype of the genre and the beginning of the formation of a national Ukrainian musical.
 Key words: children's musical, Ukrainian stage art, children's musical theatre, genre, production and performance features.

Collaborative Improvement Mechanism of Preschool Children's Music Appreciation Ability and Mental Health Level

Objectives: Our aim was to explore the collaborative improvement of children's music appreciation ability and mental health level, so as to promote the application of music education in preschool children's mental health education activities. Methods: We first established a mathematical model for the degree of order and degree of collaboration of the complex system for the collaborative improvement of preschool children's music appreciation ability and mental health level; and then, based on the evolutionary game theory, we analyzed the choices of strategy in the 2 subsystems???music appreciation ability cultivation and mental health improvement???in the process of collaborative cultivation; finally, we investigated the preschool children's music appreciation ability and mental health level before and after the implementation of the collaborative improvement mechanism, and conducted regression analysis and correlation analysis on preschool children's music appreciation ability and mental health level. Results: We found that with the improvement of music appreciation ability, the mental health level of preschool children also improved. After the implementation of the collaborative improvement mechanism, all indicators of the music appreciation ability and mental health level of the preschool children were higher than those before the implementation of the mechanism. Conclusions: There is a positive correlation between preschool children's music appreciation ability and their mental health level, and the collaborative improvement mechanism proposed is effective.

The Structure of the Children's Musical Narrative on the Example of V. Rebikov's Miniature "Lesson Preparation" Op. 37 No. 2

The subject of the study is the structure of children's musical narrative on the example of a miniature by a Russian composer, pianist, representative of musical modernism, musical reformer and writer Vladimir Ivanovich Rebikov (1866-1920) "Preparing a lesson" from the cycle "Pictures for Children" Op. 37. Narrative means the presence of a musical narrative structure, assuming the narrator's voice, plot, main character hero, chronotope. The analysis of these components will enable a comprehensive understanding of the concept of the composition. The aim of the work is to analyze the structure of the children's musical narrative through the prism of the perception and interpretation of musical text characteristic of the child's skills and abilities. The methods used in the work are : source studies, musical and stylistic analysis. The scientific novelty of the work consists in determining the features of the children's narrative in the musical art, lexical preferences defined by the children's picture of the world, which can include the character, title, remarks, design and musical "children's mistakes" expressed using syncopation, dynamics, fermated pauses, fermata, pedals, harmony, register and pitch; construction models of their description by referring to topos (figures); characteristics of the originality of the children's narrative in relation to piano performance. The results of the study reveal the specifics of the syntactic features of the children's narratives of Vladimir Rebikov's miniature and the representation of the viability of this phenomenon in the musical art.

Ukrainian National Stylistics of Stage Vocabulary of Modern Children's Musical

The article is devoted to the issue of the reflection of Ukrainian national stylistics in the productions of children's musicals on the stages of domestic theaters in 2010-2020s. It was revealed that the appeal to the traditions of folk culture takes place in the context of the leading modern trends in stage art, thanks to the synthesis of which a unique color of the artistic image of the performance is achieved. The research revealed that the most important cultural and artistic principles of the Ukrainian national stylistics of the stage vocabulary of the modern children's musical are the reproduction of a living tradition and the author's directorial approaches to the interpretation of folklore forms. In some cases, the representation of the Ukrainian folk tradition in a historically authentic form is characteristic, but mostly the directors emphasize a certain stylization and conventionality of the national color - traditional elements are used to create the atmosphere of a folk tale in a modern interpretation. Characteristic stylistic coloring is achieved by using authentic material, folk chants, dances, elements of traditional Ukrainian decor, creating well-known folklore images.

Early Childhood Music Education Commission (ECME) International Seminar: Making Voices Visible in Early Childhood Music, 12–14 July 2022

Early Childhood Music Education Commission (ECME) International Seminar: Making Voices Visible in Early Childhood Music, 12–14 July 2022

2022 ISME Early Childhood Music Education Commission

2022 ISME Early Childhood Music Education Commission

Hearing young children’s musical voices

The first virtual International Society for Music Education (ISME) Early Childhood Music Education (ECME) seminar in July 2022, featured a provocative theme, Making Voices Visible in Early Childhood Music. Research papers, poster presentations and the keynote by Pauline Harris led us to consider ways to cast our attention on children’s voices through and about music. By listening deeply and visibly, we can expand our understanding of young children as musickers, leading to improved pedagogy, while providing a compass for further inquiry.

Pre-Service Pre-School Teachers’ Music Education Self-Efficacy Levels: A Case Study

Purpose: This study aims to examine pre-service preschool teachers’ music education self-efficacy levels in terms of their gender and grades. Design: The research has been designed as descriptive research based on the survey model. The data collection tool includes the 'Music Education Self-Efficacy Scale for Preschool Teacher Candidates' developed by Yıldız (2017). The study group includes 221 pre-service preschool teachers. Findings: Research indicates that pre-service preschool teachers' music education self-efficacy is at a 'good level.' Considering grades, it is found that as the grade level increases, there is an increase in the self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service preschool teachers related to music education. The lowest music education self-efficacy levels belong to freshman pre-service preschool teachers, and the highest music education self-efficacy levels belong to senior pre-service preschool teachers. However, it is found that the music education self-efficacy levels do not significantly differ according to gender. Highlights: It draws attention to a significant increase in the music education self-efficacy belief levels of the 3rd and 4th grade pre-service preschool teachers who took 'Early Childhood Music Education' as a compulsory course in the 2nd year of undergraduate education.

Pre-Service Pre-School Teachers’ Music Education Self-Efficacy Levels: A Case Study

Purpose: This study aims to examine pre-service preschool teachers’ music education self-efficacy levels in terms of their gender and grades.
 Design: The research has been designed as descriptive research based on the survey model. The data collection tool includes the 'Music Education Self-Efficacy Scale for Preschool Teacher Candidates' developed by Yıldız (2017). The study group includes 221 pre-service preschool teachers.
 Findings: Research indicates that pre-service preschool teachers' music education self-efficacy is at a 'good level.' Considering grades, it is found that as the grade level increases, there is an increase in the self-efficacy beliefs of pre-service preschool teachers related to music education. The lowest music education self-efficacy levels belong to freshman pre-service preschool teachers, and the highest music education self-efficacy levels belong to senior pre-service preschool teachers. However, it is found that the music education self-efficacy levels do not significantly differ according to gender.
 Highlights: It draws attention to a significant increase in the music education self-efficacy belief levels of the 3rd and 4th grade pre-service preschool teachers who took 'Early Childhood Music Education' as a compulsory course in the 2nd year of undergraduate education.

Reflections on the Integration of Chinese Traditional Music into Children's Music Education Curriculum

Reflections on the Integration of Chinese Traditional Music into Children's Music Education Curriculum

The Exploration and Application of Children's Music Education in Piano Teaching

The Exploration and Application of Children's Music Education in Piano Teaching