Musical Food for Thought…
*The following guest post represents the author’s personal view and does not necessarily represent the view of the Birmingham Early Years Networks (BEYN) as a whole. Any issues or questions arising from the content of this post should, therefore, be directed to the author and not BEYN.
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A blog by Davina Brownrigg BMus (Hons)
Hi! For those who don’t know me, my name is Davina and I’ve worked for 14 years as an early years music educator. I have a BMus (Hons) in Voice and Opera from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, a Certificate in Music Education: Early Childhood (CME:EC), a PGCert in SEND Music and I am also a trained Baby Massage, Story Massage, Hygge (Danish mindfulness) and Early Childhood yoga practitioner.
I want you to take a second to think of a piece of music that is meaningful to you and then think about WHY it’s meaningful to you. Don’t read on until you’ve got something in your head.
* Think of a piece of music that is meaningful to YOU *
Did you choose a piece with a positive, happy memory attached?
That’s where most of our brains go when we link a piece of music to something meaningful in our brain, like a piece playing at your Aunt Jenny’s wedding that got everyone on the dance floor, or a song you used to sing to your baby to help them sleep.
Music has the power to make us feel strong, wonderful emotions.
* Now think of a piece of music
you find relaxing *
Perhaps you use it to chill out after a stressful day or to calm down during a horrible commute in the car…
Have you ever shared this piece of music with the children in your setting? If not, why not?
We are so conditioned to focus on nursery rhymes in the early years that we forget about the importance of external musical influences on children too.
Whilst nursery rhymes are undoubtedly important, the more we can expose children to different instruments, timbres (musical layers and tones) and sounds in their early years, the easier it will be for them to have a developed ear later in life—the ability to listen to instructions, pick up instruments themselves and explore the world around them with open ears.
There is some truth to the 1990s idea of ‘The Mozart Effect’ (that listening to Mozart would make babies smarter).
Don’t be afraid to play the children in your setting some whacky ‘out there’ jazz, rock, or country and western if it’s something you have a positive association with. Chances are you’ll bring that joy to them too!
Perhaps next time you want to have some calm quiet time in your setting, you can introduce the children to your favourite piece of music to relax to… Get the children to draw what they hear or lie down under a parachute.
I’ll be going deeper into music for relaxation including some skills for you to take into your setting during the SPH CPD session on February 4th. I hope to see you there!
Further Resources
The EEF Evidence Store promotes using music activities to support children’s self-regulation and executive function.
Development Matters promotes the use of music in all areas of learning. These include:
Playing and learning: Introduce children to different styles of music and art.
Communication and Language: Babies love singing and music. Sing a range of songs and play a wide range of different types of music.
Expressive arts and design: Respond emotionally and physically to music when it changes. Move and dance to music.