Music Moves The Minutes: Children's Spontaneous Singing and Time Negotiation in the Classroom

Here is a link for my article:
Music Moves the Minutes: Children’s Spontaneous Singing and Time Negotiation in the Classroom
Published in CHARA – Journal of Creativity, Spontaneity and Learning, Vol. 1, No. 3 (2010)
http://www.chara.dk/artikler/20100301.pdf

Music For Babies: What's all the fuss?

Music for Babies? What’s All the Fuss? (Article Published in The Jerusalem Post)

By Sara Stevens Zur, Ed.D.

Sara Stevens Zur holds a doctorate in music education from Columbia University’s Teachers College in NY. She has been teaching babies, toddlers, and preschoolers for over ten years. Her research in early childhood music education has been presented in the US, Europe, Australia, and Israel. Dr. Zur’s work has appeared in Music Educators Journal, Childhood Education, and The Qualitative Report. She currently resides in Jerusalem, where she teaches “Baby Rhythms” music classes, and pursues independent research.


When I tell people that I teach music classes for babies and toddlers, I usually get one of three types of response: a)That sounds like fun; b) Oh! I’ve heard that’s good for brain development; or c) What is that? Do they learn the violin? Somewhere between trying to develop future Mozarts or math geniuses and shaking maracas to the “The Mexican Hat Dance,” lies the answer. While we used to believe that babies came into the world as blank canvases or sponges, ready to soak up their surroundings, research has overwhelmingly shown that powerful prenatal neural connections form the basis for musical experiences. Babies begin hearing as early 22 days after gestation! After 5 months in the womb, a fetus’ ear is as well-formed and sensitive as that of an adult. According to Sheila Woodward, a professor of music education who has extensively studied fetal responses to musical stimulation, a fetus can remember music and even associate its significance. 

Naturally, if music has the capacity for such stimulating cognitive experiences within the womb, once the baby is born, he or she is already filled with musical memories and associations. “Now wait a minute!” I hear you say. “If I haven’t played music for my baby in the womb, what music can she possibly have already?” Here’s the thing: The pulse and rhythm of the mother’s world, her voice, the father’s voice, and the music playing in the car or on the radio have all made their way into the musical micro-rhythms of the infant’s brain. Researchers such as J. P. Lecanuet, M. Papousek, and D. Stern who have each studied mother-infant dialogue have shown that all that babbling, cooing, and baby talk actually have unique patterns that are incredibly musical in their structure. Okay—stay with me a moment on this. When you hold a baby in your arms, do you say, “Hey, what’s up?” I doubt it. You say, “Heeeeeeey wittle dumpling! Looooooook at aunty! Awwwwwww.” These musical interactions between babies and adults exist across every culture ever studied across the globe, from pre-modern Zulu tribes, to the Sami people of indigenous Finland, to the families in downtown Boston. If babies across all cultures illicit this musical “motherese” language from adults, then musical interaction must be something they need.

Yet I find that while most parents sing and dance with their children, parents often lack musical confidence, and will even deny their own musicality. So I think it’s time we change our definition of what it means to be “musical.” Let’s throw aside the idea that a musical person needs to play the piano and sing perfectly in tune! Or that being a “musician” means performing! I believe that all parents and all babies are musical. We all love music, need music, and use music regularly in our lives. I have yet to meet a parent who doesn’t sing or dance with their baby, and I have yet to meet a baby who is critical of their parent’s ability to do so. In my “Baby Rhythms” music class, I try to foster musical interaction by encouraging vocal exploration, dancing, playing instruments, and using musical games and stories. I use puppets, pictures, and visual symbols of sound called “listening maps” to allow for multi-modal opportunities to learn patterns and structural elements of the music. Parents act as musical partners and models, as they bond with their child and gain tools for musical interaction. I allow children to make their own music (think of how young children doodle and draw with crayons—this is similar to the musical “doodlings” that take place with our shakers and tambourines). I use music of many styles and genres, from Jazz, to Greek folk dances, to Mozart, to Indian table drumming. Though musical learning and expression aren’t always obvious at these early ages, I know that it’s happening. And I know that whether or not one of these babies will one day perform Beethoven’s Fifth piano concerto at Carnegie Hall, is beside the point.

In modern societies, where being human increasingly compels us to choose between black or white, music enables us to be better in touch with more subtle qualities that make us unique and human in a way that no other subject can. The creation, study, and sharing of music can contribute powerfully toward our well-being—emotional, social, and cognitive—as well as to our development as a whole. Active participation in music can transcend utilitarian and practical advancements. Children who are musically engaged experience intrinsic joy, as well as important feelings of belonging, meaning, confidence, and competence. In the words of anthropologist Ellen Dissanayake, music allows us to alter our experience of the world around us—to find alternatives to what we are handed. In short, it has the ability to “expand awareness of what it means to be human.” Sounds pretty good to me!

About Sara

Sara has earned her BME, MA, and Ed.D. degrees all in music education, specializing in early childhood teaching. With over 10 years of teaching experience, she has taught in preschool settings with infants, toddlers and preschoolers, public elementary school grades K-4, as well as college and university classes. She has worked as an educational consultant and curriculum designer for several early childhood music programs in New York including “Music Within” at the Harlem School of Music and “WeBop!” at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

 

Sara has presented research in areas of music play, spontaneous music, and cultural issues at the Early Childhood Music Educators Commission in Greece, Spain and  Taiwan, and at the International Seminar of Music Education in Norway. She has also presented papers across the US and Australia. Sara’s work has been published in Music Educators Journal, Childhood Education: Infancy Through Early Adolescence, and The Qualitative Report

Class Photos (used with permission)

Resources for Parents and Teachers

Books About Music and Development

These are all incredible, “must-reads” for anyone interested in knowing more about how music affects children, and what children are musically capable of.

 

Music with the under-fours  by Susan Young

 

Kids Make Music. Babies Make Music Too  by Lynn Kleiner

 

The Arts and Human Development  by Howard Gardner

 

Songs in Their Heads: Music and its Meaning in Children’s Lives  by Patricia Shehan Campbell

 

The Arts and the Creation of Mind  by Elliot W. Eisner

 

The Child as Musician: A Handbook of Musical Development  Edited by Gary E. McPherson

 

The Muse Within: Creativity and Communication, Song and Play from Childhood Through Maturity  by J. R. Bjorkvold

 

 

Parenting Books

Books that I have found most helpful as a parent

 

Just Tell Me What to Say: Sensible Tips and Scripts for Perplexed Parents by Betsy Brown Braun

 

The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children by Wendy Mogel  (Even if you’d rather skip over the “Jewish” part, this is a remarkable book!)

 

The Emotional Life of the Toddler  by Alicia F. Lieberman

 

ALL development books by Louise Bates Ames (Your Two-Year-Old; Your Three-Year-Old; Your Four-Year-Old; etc.) She is one of the top child psychologists, and provides simple, enlightening, and logical explanations and tips for your children at each age.

 

 

 

Song Lyrics

Words for Songs

 

Jig Jog, arr. by Lynn Kleiner

I want someone to buy me a pony. Jig jog jig jog jig jog jee.

Not too fat and not too bony. Jig Jog jig jog jig jog jee.

For I want to go for a ride. All across the countryside

With a jig jog jig jog jig jog jig jog,

Jig jog jig jog jig jog jee.

 

Little Horses, arr. by Lynn Kleiner

Little horses, little horses, come out of your barn.

The door is wide open and the sunshine is warm.

Little horses, little horses, come back to your barn.

The door is wide open and your blankets are warm.

 

Silly Sam, by Lynn Kleiner

Silly Sam the sneaky snake. He hides behind a rock and he starts to wait…

And he shakes up high, and he shakes down low.

And he wiggles and he jiggles and away he goes!

 

Cobbler

There’s a cobbler down the street mending shoes for little feet.

With a bang and a bang and a bang bang bang.

Mending shoes the whole day long, mending shoes to make the strong.

With a bang and a bang and a bang bang bang,

 

Little Shoemaker (Traditional)

There’s a wee little man in a wee little house lives over the way you see.

And he sits at the window making shoes all day; shoes for you and me.

With a tap tap tap tap, tap tap tap tap, tap tap tap tap tap.

With a tap tap tap tap, tap tap tap, shoes for you and me.

 

Carpenter’s Hammer

The carpenter’s hammer goes “tap tap tap” and his saw goes “see saw see.”

He hammers and hammers and saws and saws and builds a big house for me.

 

Come My Friends, arr. By Lynn Kleiner. Melody from Beethoven’s 6^th Symphony

Come my friends and gather ‘round it’s time to say goodbye.

We’ll sing and dance another day, so long, farewell, goodbye.

 

Snail & Mouse, by Lynn Kleiner

Slowly, slowly, very slowly creeps the garden snail.

Slowly, slowly, very slowly up the garden rail.

Quickly, quickly very quickly runs the little mouse.

Quickly, quickly very quickly in his little house!

 

Hey Ho (Traditional)

Hey ho, is anybody home? I’ve tapped on the windows and knocked on the doors. Tell me, tell me, where can you be? Hey, ho is anybody home? Knock knock!

 

Pitter Patter (arr. By Sara Zur)

Pitter patter, pitter patter goes the rain outside. Here’s my nice umbrella to keep me warm and dry. When the rain stops falling the sun begins to glow. Then tiny flowers start to bud and grow and grow and grow.

 

5 Little Kittens (by Lynn Kleiner)

5 Little kittens all black and white, sleeping soundly through the night.

Meow, meow, meow, meow, MEOOOOW. Time to wake up now!

 

Yummy Soup

Yummy soup, yummy soup. What shall we put in the yummy soup?

 

Chippety Chop

Chip chop, chippety chop. We’ll cut off the bottoms and cut off the tops.

What we have left we’ll put in the pot. Chip chop, chippety chop.

 

Old Grey Cat, (Traditional)

The old grey cat is sleeping, sleeping, sleeping

The old grey cat is sleeping in the house.

The little mouse goes creeping, creeping, creeping.

The little mouse goes creeping in the house.

The old grey cat goes walking…

The little mouse goes hiding…

Now everybody’s running…

The old grey cat is sleeping…

 

Little Clown

We know you’re hiding in there. We see you crouching down.

We really want to see you. Come out little clown!

 

The Firetruck (Lyrics by Lucille Wood)

Hurry, hurry, drive the firetruck. Hurry Hurry drive the firetruck. Hurry hurry drive the firetruck. Ding ding ding ding ding.

…turn the corner…find the fire…climb the ladder…squirt the water…

Let’s go rest back at the station.

 

All the Little Firefighters

All the little firefighters sleeping in a row,

“Ding!” goes the bell and down the pole they go.

 

Stars are Twinkling (by Alice Olson)

Stars are twinkling in the sky way up high, way up high.

Stars are twinkling in the sky shining down on me.

 

Shoe a Little Horse (Traditional)

Shoe a little horse. Shoe a little mare, with a tap tap here, and a tap tap there.

Let the little colt go bare bare bare!