Music Making Tip #1: Sing Together!

Hello! I was just reading a really cool discussion on Musical Mary's blog Homegrown Learners.  She is talking about music in her homeschool this month, while March is the national Music In Our Schools Month.  She is a former public school music teacher and still teaches piano lessons in her own studio, besides homeschooling her children.  She will be answering questions this month about all things musical, so stop by her blog and check it out!





I love this discussion because I am also a former elementary school music teacher!  I graduated from Butler University in Indianapolis with a degree in Music Education for K-12 Choral and General Music.  I taught for 6 years in public and private schools before my first child was born. Since then, I have taught private voice lessons, adult and children's choirs at our church, and homeschool co-op music and choral classes.

If Mary doesn't mind, I think I will "piggyback" off of her idea and share tips for learning about music this month!

Music Making Tip #1:  Sing Together!

When asked at what age music education should begin, Kodaly said, "Nine months before the birth of the mother!"  Zoltan Kodaly

Zoltan Kodaly was a famous composer, musicologist, and music educator who inspired a method and movement of music education that is now known as Kodaly Music Education.  As you read in his quote above, music education cannot begin too early!  Children love to hear their mother's voice (father, grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc.).  Don't be afraid to sing songs with your child!  When we sing we unite and share a musical experience.  Children in the womb have been listening to their mother's voice for several months before they even make their entrance into the world.  Don't be afraid to sing with your children - even if you think you cannot!  Just give it a try!  Children feel loved and cared for when someone sings a song just for them.

Any loved one can share a simple song with a child.  Here are some easy ones that you probably already know: Baa Baa Black Sheep, This Old Man, Rain Rain Go Away, Old McDonald, BINGO, Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children, Happy Birthday, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, and the ABC's.  These are some of the basic folk songs of our culture and when we pass them down to our children, we continue to pass our traditions down through the generations. So, choose some of your favorite childhood songs and get to singing!