Early Years Music Composition Resource (NEW)

Coming soon!

Who is this resource for?

This resource is tailored primarily for early years practitioners (Early Level of the Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland, ages 3-5), particularly those with no prior formal musical training. It can just as easily be used by parents and carers in a home setting. 

Preview from the opening pages:

“Anyone can be a composer. This resource starts from the simple premise that anybody – whether adult or child, can express themselves through musical creativity. I want to contest and challenge the preconception that composition is for specialists, to dispel the imagery of a composer being a historical figure, like Beethoven or Mozart. Why is it that we feel comfortable to encourage children to make up a story, or paint a picture, but not compose a tune? This question is reinforced in education literature, for example, Joanna Glover raises it in her book Music in the Early years (1998): 

“Music seems somehow to have been missed out in terms of its recognition as an avenue of children’s creativity which has a validity of its own.”[1]

I developed this resource from the dual perspective as a professor of music composition, but also as a mother of two young children. I doubt that I would have embarked on this project had I not had children of my own. I am passionate about finding ways to immerse all children in high-quality musical creativity from as early as possible in life. Music is something that we take with us and engage with throughout life. Imagine without music – no radio, no streaming, no favourite songs, nothing to dance to…..But the act of creating something with sound is so often neglected. There can be a perception that it is a specialist pursuit, one that can only be taught be teachers with years of professional training. This simply isn’t true!!!!

This resource seeks to empower early years practitioners in nurseries, P1 teachers (and parents/carers too) to provide opportunities and environments to encourage musical creativity in 3-5 year olds. It could just as easily be used by parents and carers in a home setting.”

[1] Glover, Joanna, and Susan Young. Music in the Early Years, Taylor & Francis Group, 1998. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/gla/detail.action?docID=165308.
Created from gla on 2024-09-13 12:40:34.

Sample Activity:

Water music (dipping objects)

By Linsey

Context: 

This is an activity in exploring sound, specifically the effect that dipping objects in and out of water has on the timbre anddynamics of instruments and objects when struck. Some examples of instruments and objects to explore are noted under materials, but feel free to test out other objects, such as tin cups, finger cymbals, and toy pots and pans. The effect that immersing, even partially, a triangle in water is to damp its vibrations, which results in a softer, less ‘ringy’ (resonant) sound. The resulting sound will be more like a ‘thud’. water and striking them, then comparing them with how they sound out of water. 

Materials: 

  • Metal or plastic mixing bowls (1 per child) OR a water tray (large enough for a few children to stand around together) 
  • 1 triangle and beater each and an assortment of other objects that are safe to immerse in water. 

Instructions:

  1. Set up the 4 bowls, filled at least half-way on a table. Alternatively, fill a water tray for the children to share. 
  2. Start by giving each child a triangle and a beater. 
  3. Show the children how to correctly play a triangle 
  • Invite them to play the triangle (don’t immerse it yet). 
  • Discuss the sound of the triangle with the children. [“Describe the sound…..is it dry and short, or ringy and long?”]
  • After a little while, go ahead and invite the children to dip their triangle into the water, striking it while it’s immersed, then lift it out and strike it again once out of the water. 
  • Discuss the change in sound. [“what happened to the sound when the triangle dipped into the water? Did the pitch of the note go up or down? Did the sound get louder, softer, or stay the same?”]
  • Repeat this process with any other objects that you have provided to the children. It could include utensils, or natural objects such as pebbles.

Variation/extension: 

You might like to try using the action cards to inspire the children to play with the water in different ways (eg dots could represent drips of water, and a spiral image could represent a stirring motion).

Key musical terms used in this activity: 

Timbre: the way that we can tell the difference between a clarinet and a tambourine is because these instruments have different timbres (also known as tone colour)

Dynamics: how loud or soft a sound is.

Damping: muffle the sound, for example, by touching the chime bar with a finger to stop the ringing.

Resonance: let the sound ring on

Cueing: Giving a visible signal to the children to stop or start (see video)

Conducting: Leading a group of musicians playing together as an ensemble. Using hand signals to show the steady beat. Provide cues to start and to stop,  to get louder or softer, to speed up or to slow down. 

Improvising: freestyle playing

Pitch: the highness or lowness of a note

Here’s a sample video from another activity in the resource (Exploring Sonic Qualities of Found Objects):