Abstract
In this column, we encourage early childhood music teachers to include music listening lessons in their teaching. We suggest five guiding principles for music listening lessons: selecting varied repertoire, using high-quality recordings and playback, communicating with families and teachers, incorporating movement, and considering the broader importance of repertoire selections. We conclude by sharing four listening lesson ideas. Detailed information is provided on considerations for speakers to use in the classroom.
Keywords
Music listening is one of the most common ways for children to interact with music outside of the early childhood music classroom. They listen in the car with their families, hear music from television and internet sources and at home, and may experience both recorded and live music when they are in the community. Yet in early childhood music teaching we often emphasize singing, playing instruments, moving, and creating; listening lessons may seem like they are not developmentally appropriate with young children. In this column I will challenge the idea that listening lessons are only for older children by providing four examples of listening lessons for children under 5. These could be presented in any format of early childhood music class, from preschool music setting to caregiver-child music classes.
Before proposing the lessons, I suggest the following guidelines for listening lessons in early childhood music:
Select a varied repertoire: Many research studies within the field of music psychology and music education point toward the influence of early exposure to music on the development of children’s musical preferences as well as their openness to hearing varied types of music (Adachi & Trehub, 2012). In their chapter “How and Why Do Musical Preferences Change in Childhood and Adolescence?,” Hargreaves, North, and Tarrant (2016) summarized research literature on musical preference of children and proposed that children’s preferences are shaped through a “reciprocal feedback model” (p. 304) with the music, listening situation or context, music-makers, and listeners all influencing this development. In other words, children’s musical preferences may be shaped by the way in which music is introduced in music classrooms, general education classrooms, homes, and larger communities. By sharing a broad range of music styles with young children, we as teachers open children’s ears to a wide variety of music material as well as present possibilities that children will be drawn to. For instance, a child might hear a recording of Celtic fiddling music and develop an interest in the style and sound, seeking out additional recordings. Preschool children are able to express musical preferences and to show deep commitment to specific pieces or genres, with their passion for specific music lasting for months or more.
Use high-quality recordings and a good speaker: While it may be tempting to rely on a phone to play music in class, using a high-quality Bluetooth or wired speaker carries many benefits. The Information Technology Coordinator at my university offered detailed and helpful guidelines when I asked about speakers for early childhood teachers (see text box).
On Choosing a Speaker for Your Early Childhood Classroom
by Ken Wendt, DMA, Informational Technology Coordinator at Case Western Reserve University
Teachers will want to maximize the potential for allowing students the most authentic experience possible, especially when it might be a student’s first introduction to any given sound or instrument. Without experiencing the lower frequencies, students will leave unaware that their concepts of sound, from the recording played back on the phone, are incomplete or inaccurate. Students may then begin making judgments and assessments of a certain genre, instrument, or sound based off a limited (auditory) point of reference. Instruments that create low frequencies, 100 Hz and below, create sound waves large enough to physically feel. A stronger playback system will help make those judgments and assessments more well-informed.
The biggest challenge in choosing a speaker is size, because bigger speakers allow lower bass frequencies and louder volumes before reaching distortion, but teachers won’t want to lug around large items. Ideally you would want something that can reproduce between 20 Hz and 20 kHz, as this range is considered the standard capacity of human hearing.
You may also consider how some speakers are directional and may not cover areas of your classroom or at least require optimal listening points of being ear height and 5 to 8 feet away. PA system speakers similar to the Turbosound iNSPIRE iP1000 have a 120-degree horizon angle that is great for evenly covering a large area side to side as well as vertically. These systems also have a subwoofer to reinforce low frequencies, have Bluetooth technology, and require power from a wall outlet.
In order to facilitate playback of Left and Right channels, stereo recordings (or higher 5.1 and 7.1 surround, and ambisonic spatial environments) allow students to experience and develop auditory spatial awareness. What is it like to sit inside an ensemble? When you perform on stage in chamber groups how active is your listening across the ensemble? How does moving change this? Are you trying to isolate a specific timbre coming from a certain physical space? Can students describe the difference of one speaker versus two stereo speakers versus an ambisonic cube, and so on?
Speakers like the Ultimate Ears MEGABOOM are Bluetooth-capable, wireless, shockproof, and waterproof and can be paired as a stereo L/R pair. The portable and rugged design is friendly for
– accident-prone environments
– field trips
– moving the speakers 20 feet away, and so on
While speakers like the MEGABOOM are certainly an improvement from cell phone or laptop speakers, their size cannot compete with options like the previously mentioned Turbosound iNSPIRE. In addition, if you’re using Bluetooth speakers or other wireless technology to play back audio from a video source, there is often a small delay and the audio may not be properly synchronized with the video.
It is worth noting that professionals almost always use wired speakers (not Bluetooth) as they offer the best and most reliable audio quality. However, wired speakers require additional hardware like a receiver or an audio interface to which one connects their playback device. They also usually require a way to mount the speakers to a wall or stand. One of the best quality pair of wired speakers for the price and size are the Genelec 8010A series.
Provide parents and caregivers or teachers with a list of the selections you introduce in class using a blog or weekly e-mail: Sharing selections can help expand their listening diets. Many families and teachers have access to broad listening libraries through streaming music services, yet they may stick to music they know and are comfortable with. An early childhood music teacher can play the role of concierge by introducing children as well as grown-ups to new genres, artists, or styles.
Incorporate movement! This is good advice for listening at every level but especially in early childhood. Children respond to music naturally through movement, and moving may help children to focus in a new way on the music listening. For instance, asking children to move in high space when the melody is played high and in low space during low sounds would direct the children to focus on the melodic content.
Consider the importance of your role: There is an element of social justice inherent in being the person who introduces music listening (as well as other aspects of the early childhood music class) to young children. Making choices that amplify voices not heard as often, and seek to dispel stereotypes, is a way to leverage listening lessons to a deeper form of learning.
By selecting varied repertoire, using high-quality listening sources, sharing the listening material, incorporating movement, and being thoughtful in making music selections, early childhood music teachers can provide a rich music listening environment for their students. Below are four brief examples of listening lessons I have used with young children.
Move & Freeze: A staple of early childhood music class, we dance when we hear the music and freeze when the music stops (when the teacher pauses the music). An engaging alternative is to dance when the music stops and freeze when the music plays! My students and I especially enjoy the Putumayo Playground recordings, such as Asheba’s “No More Monkeys!” on the Putumayo Kids Animal Playground CD.
Xylophones & “Fossils” from Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals: After exploring the xylophones for several weeks, I invite children to listen to “Fossils,” raising their mallets when they hear the xylophone play and lowering the mallets when the xylophone stops. We then play along with the recording, the children playing their own notes when they hear the xylophone on the recording. By doing this, children can connect an instrument they play (classroom xylophone) with an instrument played in the recording, as well as listen attentively to when the solo instrument starts and stops.
“What a Wonderful World” with Ashley Bryan’s artwork: While looking at the beautifully illustrated book, the children and I listen to a recording of Louis Armstrong performing “What a Wonderful World.” We listen again the following week, rocking stuffed animals to explore the intimacy and comfort found in the song. In collaboration with the classroom teacher, children create their own art in the style of the book according to a prompt, “I see . . .” The end results are displayed on a bulletin board.
My Family Plays Music sound collage: Using Judy Cox’s picture book My Family Plays Music, I created a sound file to accompany the text using excerpts from the styles and genres mentioned in the text. I introduce the book first without the music track, then read it along with the music. Finally, we move and freeze to the many styles of music.
These lessons are just a few of the many ways that early childhood music teachers can introduce their students, and by extension, families and teachers, to the wealth of recorded music available to us. I encourage readers to be thoughtful in the selections they choose to share and the ways in which they share. By making music accessible for our students, we have the great joy of connecting them to musical traditions and cultures from near and far, from today and long ago. Letting students see how much we enjoy listening to music and how meaningful it is to us personally is an additional gift we can give to them.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.