Music Education: Beginnings

Music Learning and Development

Dr. Alison Reynolds
When does music
education begin?
I used to think the ideal age for beginning a childs
musical education was nine months before birth.

Now I think it is nine months before his mothers
birth.

Kodly (Salty Saint, 1966, p. 41)
Language Acquisition


Where does the predisposition for language come
from?



Language Acquisition*

Others expectations (Cambourne, 1988)
Reasons
Thinking~~Communicating
Opportunities to try (Bruner, 1983, Vygotsky, 1978)
Approximations
risk
feedback (Brown, 1970)
*Reynolds, Long, & Valerio, 2007



Social interactionism
Co-Constructivism

Conversational partners
Interactive functions vary
Scaffolding (Bruner 1983; Vygotsky, 1978)
Expert <~~~> Novice (Rogoff, 1990; Wells, 1999)
Shared Intentionality and responsibility
As if . . . (Kaye, 1979, 1982; Kaye & Charney, 1980; Vedeler, 1987)


Cambournes
Conditions (1988)

Children learn language while using it.
Immersed in a regular flood of meaningful, purposeful language
Offered 1000s of demonstrations
Expected to think and communicate using langauge
Presented meaningful, purposeful opportunities to use language
Applauded for approximations
Met with sensitively-crafted feedback ~ forward
Held accountable for learning

Reynolds, Long, & Valerio, 2007


Are children born literate?
Music Acquisition


Where does the predisposition for music come from?



Music Acquisition*

Others expectations (Cambourne, 1988)
Reasons
Audiation~Interaction
Opportunities to try (Bruner, 1983, Vygotsky, 1978)
Approximations
risk
feedback (Brown, 1970)
*Reynolds, Long, & Valerio, 2007



Social interactionism
Co-Constructivism
MUSIC
Conversational partners
Interactive functions vary
Scaffolding (Bruner 1983; Vygotsky, 1978)
Expert <~~~> Novice (Rogoff, 1990; Wells, 1999)
Shared Intentionality and responsibility
As if . . . (Kaye, 1979, 1982; Kaye & Charney, 1980; Vedeler, 1987)



Cambournes
Conditions (1988)

Children learn music while making it.
Immersed in a regular flood of meaningful, purposeful musicing
Offered 1000s of demonstrations
Expected to sing, chant, move, compare, create, improvise, read, write
Presented meaningful, purposeful opportunities to music
Applauded for approximations
Met with sensitively-crafted feedback ~ forward
Held accountable for learning

Reynolds, Long, & Valerio, 2007


Are children born musically literate?
Music Aptitude
Music aptitude: Potential to achieve in music
Theoretical construct ~ Measurable
Everybody is born with it
Theoretically greatest birth
Combined innate (nature) and environment (nurture)
(Gordon, 2012)

Music Learning

Born with potential, what does music learning and
development look, sound, and feel like in the
first three years of life?
first five years?
first eight years?
School years?
Post-school years?
Music-Learning
Environment


Born reliant on having music development nurtured,
what does the music-learning environment
look
sound, and
feel like?

Defining
Early Childhood

At least birth through 8 years of age
National Association for the Education of Young
Children
Pre-K traditionally youngest age for state
certification
Age 3 grade 3 (general education)
PreK-12
th
grade (music certification)

Pennsylvania Certification = K-12 MUSIC.
Early Childhood
National Association for Music Education (NAfME)

Standards (Undergoing Revisions, 2012)
Pre-K standards (2-3 years)
Kindergarten third grade standards (5-8 years) (~ K-12)
Early Childhood Special Research Interest Group (ECSRIG)
c. 1980-present
Conference sessions; Dedicated Conference Days for early childhood
administrators and teachers; Dedicated conferences to early childhood research
Resources
Research publications
Learning from Young Children (Burton & Taggart, 2011)
Journals
Journal of Research in Music Education
General Music Today
Update
Journal of Music Teacher Education
Practice publications

Early Childhood
Early Childhood Music and Movement Association
(ECMMA)
Certification
Biennial Conferences
Publications
Perspectives: Music and movement journal
ECMMA Newsletter
Early Childhood
Gordon Institute of Music Learning (GIML)
Research, Texts, Curriculum, Materials
Begin: GIA Publications Website
Mastership Certification
Level I: Two weeks!
Level II: Two weeks!

Observation likely:
Temple University Center City (TUCC)
Early Childhood Music Foundations (ECMF: 1980s)


Early Childhood Music
National/International
Businesses

Kindermusik
Musicgarten
Music Together
Gymboree

Music Environment
Conversational Partner
Provision for interactions
Expectations
Group and individual
Foundations for life-time music learning: audiation
Informal Music Learning
Formal Music Learning
Consuming
References
Brown, R. (1970). Three processes in the childs acquisition of syntax: The childs grammar from I to III. In .R. Brown (Ed.),
Psycholinguistics: Selected papers by Roger Brown. New York: MacMillan
Bruner, J. (1983). A childs talk: Learning to use language. New York: Horton.
Cambourne, B. (1988). The whole story: Natural learning and the acquisition of language. Auckland, NZ: Scholastic.
Gordon, E. E. (2012). Learning sequences in music: A comprehensive music learning theory. Chicago: GIA.
Kaye, K. (1979). Thickening thin data: The maternal role in developing communication and language. In M. Bullowa (Ed.), Before speech:
the beginning of interpersonal communication (pp. 191-206). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kaye, K. (1982). The mental and social life of babies. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Kaye, K., & Charney, R. (1980). How mothers maintain dialogue with two year olds. In D. Olson (Ed.), The social foundations of
language and thought: Essays in honor of Jerome Bruner (pp. 211-230). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
Reynolds, A. M. , Long, S., & Valerio, W. H. (2007). Language acquisition and music acquisition: Possible parallels. In K. Smithrim & R.
Upitis (Eds.) Listen to their voices (pp. 211-227). Canadian Music Educators Association.
Salty Saint of Budapest. (1966). Time 88(9), 41.
Rogoff, B. (1990). Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive development in social context. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Vedeler,
D. (1987). Infant intentionality and the attribution of intentions to infants. Human Development, 30, 1-17.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Wells, G. (1999). Dialogic inquiry: Toward a sociocultural practice and theory of education . Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.