Listening to Music
by Ros Bayley, Educational Consultant, Trainer and Storyteller
- Preschoolers love listening to music. This naturally follows on from singing songs and learning nursery rhymes.
- It is helpful to give the opportunity to young children to concentrate their listening in an active way from time to time. It can also be rewarding to discover pieces of music that you both enjoy listening to and if you feel more adventurous, dancing together!
- A wide range of communication skills can be developed by listening and responding to music too, such as learning new vocabulary and learning to concentrate and differentiate between sounds.
- Choose a time in the day to listen to music when your child is quite alert because concentration will be much better - early in the morning is a good time.
- Remember that the type of music you listen to can affect a child's mood.
- Children's tastes are often much broader than that of adults so in choosing music you can happily draw upon all areas, from pop, reggae, jazz, folk, to classical and music from other countries.
- Encourage movement and dancing when you're playing music - join in with your child!
- Live music can be the most exciting way to hear music. When there is something to see, this helps concentration too.
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