When sharing music with young children you can easily help them understand the elements of music.
For example:
- Feel the beat of the song “Are You Ready?” by using the following body percussion ideas – slapping knees, clapping hands, stamping feet, slapping chest
- At the end of each verse clap the rhythm pattern of the words in the song “Riggedy Jig” – “Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho”
- Lie down on the floor with eyes closed and listen to “Sleepy Songs medley” – repeat and this time sing along with sweet voices to match the pitch of the song.
- Use your voice to create varying tempos – speeding up/slowing down/fading into the distance with this poem:
Here is a choo choo train puffing down the track
Now it’s going forward, now it’s going back
Now the bell is ringing, now the whistle blows
What a lot of noise it makes everywhere it goes!
- Listen to “Puffer Train Medley” can you recognize the changes in dynamics within the song?
- Listen to “Two Little Eyes” – how does the song make you feel? How do the voices sound – loud, soft, sweet? This is the tone color of the song
To help form a basis of how music works check out our ‘elements of music‘ page