Let's Make Music!

"The human being is a musical being, and the making of music is essential in experiencing what it is to be fully human. Music awakens and nurtures the deep inner life of the child"
-Rudolf Steiner

​​The effects of music on children are magical. Music can be both energizing and calming, it can enhance bonding, and help with smooth transitions. Active music-making creates unique connections in the brain that supports children's language, social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. The joys of singing, dancing, moving, and playing instruments with others engages children in some of the healthiest human pleasures.

​​Music making supports children's language development with phonological awareness, rhyme awareness, vocabulary development, active listening skills, creative storytelling, and coordination of breath with speech and song. Another important benefit of learning music is that it can allow children's creativity and self-expression to blossom and increase children's confidence.

​​Singing and playing with a variety of instruments fosters children's musical growth, specifically supporting children's skills in:

listening to and expressing both tonality and rhythm
ensemble competence in music and movement
improvisation and composition skills
familiarity with diverse styles of music
hearing, understanding, and speaking the language of music
motivation to be a part of a music making community

To begin our music classes we like to start with calm breathing, followed by a grounding exercise, focusing our awareness on our bodies and fostering a sense of security. Then we open the class with the healing sounds of singing bowls, bells or chimes.

We each take a turn making a sound and then listening until we no longer hear the sound or feel the vibration. This process creates a very deep, focused, and quiet listening.

We love to explore a variety of musical instruments with all of our senses.

To explore the tactile sense when we first introduce an instrument
we invite the children to explore its’ texture, temperature, size, length, width, weight, and depth... to run their hands along and around it, feeling its shape and texture.

​Creating music and feeling the sound vibrations in our bodies helps to develop Stereognostic understanding, - a muscular sense which gives the ability to distinguish an object without seeing or hearing, smelling or tasting it, while relying on touch and muscle memory alone.
As children use their senses more fully they develop the capacity to be more aware of themselves and the world around them.​

As we play we wonder.. can we see the music? Can we see the vibrations of the sounds?

Can we listen long enough for the sound to turn into silence?

Can we match the sound of our voice with the sound of the instrument?

Can we harmonize with the sounds we hear? What other sounds would feel good to make with the first sound?

Let's compare sounds of different strings. ​What is the difference in the pitch?
Which sound do you like the best? Which ones are:
• Highest
• Lowest
• Loudest
• Quietest
• Brightest

How long does each string ring for?

How does the sound make you feel? What words would you use to describe the sound?

Does this sound remind you of anything? An animal? A place? An element? Like the rain or the ocean or the dancing trees or a crackling fire?
​
Let's take turns making up a song about this sound!

​As we sing and make up our own songs and sounds, we experience our voice as a powerful tool. Who we are, and how we are, is expressed through the sound of our voices. We can speak to people warmly and lovingly, or in a harsh, cold way. These are examples of opposite energies capable of being expressed through the tone of our voice.

​Just as singing helps to create a sense of joy when we sing along to our favorite songs, or even the release of sadness and pain when we sing along with sad songs, we can use our voice as a means to create balance and harmony within and to release any pent up emotions.

Benefits of Singing, Toning and Humming 

· Increases oxygenation of the cells
· Boosts positive energy
· Reduces stress
· Recharges the inner ear and opens up neural pathways
· Increases creativity
· Energizes the body while calming anxiety
· Lowers heart rate and blood pressure
· Balances the emotions
· Releases oxytocin, the feel good hormone
· Increases awareness of vibration in the body.

To simply tone through the vowel sounds take a deep breath in to begin and make the sounds on the out breath while drawing out the sound:
​
· AAAAAAAAA
· EEEEEEEE
· IIIIIIII
· OOOOOOO
· UUUUUUUU

​

​We love to sing and dance together! Moving our bodies and singing together is SO MUCH FUN!

Research shows that the more varieties of music children listen and engage with from an early age the more likely they are to play a musical instrument later in life. One of our favorite ways to receive inspiration from music is to listen to different music in our creative arts time.

What if this music had a color? What would it look like? How would it move?

We are so grateful for our amazing community of talented musicians! A huge thank you to all the parents for bringing us such an amazing variety of music and instruments to learn and explore with!

​Through music, song, and dance we refine the capacity to connect, to harmonize, to resolve dissonance, to heal, to vibrate, to tune, to move about the world with together in wholeness.

The magic weaving of rhythms, movement, songs, stories, and embodied imagination invites children into worlds of vibrant wonder, helping them feel more at home in their bodies while building healthy relationships with one another and the world around them.

Let's make music together!

​“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”— Plato