Notation for the Early
Childhood Years
Although Sibelius and Finale are both
great notation software programs, they are not developmentally appropriate for
preschool aged children. There are
programs for preschool children that are appropriate, however. In 2001, Sesame Workshop debuted
a new online musical learning center called Sesame Street Music Works. The program was designed as an “educational,
multimedia public service initiative to help children make music, help parents
and educators understand the role of music in children’s development, and
create opportunities to use music to help children learn” (Teaching Music,
April 2001). Research has linked early
music making to children’s ability to learn and grow, which is what led to the
creation of Music Works. The
activities on Music Works help children to learn, make and appreciate
music. They were designed for preschool
children to successfully achieve MENC’s (The National
Association of Music Educators) Pre-kindergarten Music Education Standards.
Music has the ability to not only teach
children music concepts, but also promote learning in other areas. The activities on Music Works help
develop many skills such as, language, literacy, cognitive, creative, motor, and
social skills. If you visit, www.sesamestreet.com/sesamestreet/music/connections.php
you will find examples of music experiences that promote learning, things that
preschoolers can do, as well as things parents and children can do to promote
learning.
The Music Zone on Sesame
Street Music Works offers a variety of interactive activities for children
to explore music. Activities include a
variety of music topics including rhythm, melody, lyrics, sound/song identification, form, and many opportunities to create early
compositions by using early notation methods such as picture songs. There are four centers within the Music
Zone, Musical Places, Song Bites, Global Groove, and Sesame Street
Operas. Musical Places and Song Bites
offer three activities that increase in difficulty. Global Groove and Sesame Street Operas offer
only one activity, but a variety of options for the children to learn and
explore. Below is a description of each
center and the activities children will perform.
Musical places
explores musical sounds found on a farm, in the city, at the harbor, and
in an orchestra. The first activity
allows children to visit these places and listen to the various sounds found at
each place. Children can then “pull
down” the objects to create a short song.
After they create their song, they can listen to it. The second activity Grover plays one of the
musical sounds from the places the children have visited and the children have
to guess which object they hear. In the
third activity children have the chance to choose their own sounds and compose
their own sound songs.
In this center folk songs such as Are
You Sleeping, Hey Diddle, Diddle, Eeensy, Weensy
Spider, Home on the Range, and Yankee Doodle are used to guide children in
learning about form, sequence, and order.
In the first activity, children listen and sing along to the songs,
becoming familiar with the melody before moving on to the next activities. In the second activity children try to
identify the missing piece of the song.
They must select the missing piece and can then hear and see the results
and make any necessary changes. The
third activity enhances children’s creative abilities by allowing them to
mix-and-match different versions of the same song to reflect different musical
styles.
Global Groove introduces a
variety of musical styles, such as African drumming, bagpipes, bluegrass,
salsa, and waltz. This center only
offers one activity, but the activity can be implemented in a variety of
ways. The purpose of the activity is to
keep the beat and the rhythm, as well as to listen to different styles of
music. Children choose the style of
music by selecting the instrument they would like to hear. Two of the Sesame Street Muppets show the
beat and the rhythm of the songs by playing an instrument and by dancing. Children are encouraged to dance or show the
beat and rhythm of the song with the Muppets.
In this center, children have the
opportunity to become musical directors.
They may first watch an example of an opera, and then can make one. When they choose to make an opera, Big Bird
asks them to choose a place for their opera.
They can choose from a desert, pyramid, or castle. Then, they choose the star of their
opera. Once this is done, they put the
other characters in the order that they would like them to perform. They can play and stop these at any time to
hear what the characters are singing and make any changes they would like. There are three acts to create. Although the story is really created for
them, the children do have a chance to do some creating on their own by
choosing the sequence of events that occur within one act.
The
activities offered on this online music center can be followed up with other
activities that parents or teachers can do with their children at home to
continue creating and learning about music.
For tips on ways to make music with young children, visit www.sesamestreet.com/sesamestreet/music/about.php
For
more information on Sesame Workshop or about Sesame Music works visit, www.sesamestreet.com