Music For Children

Music For Children

Music For Children Music is an important component for all people to posses in their lives. A child should be introduced to music at a very young age. The introduction of every type of music from classical all the way to modern rock is important. This gives a child the ability to form their own opinion to what they might like the best. Classical music can teach a child every aspect of music including, harmony, themes, dynamics, polymeters, and polyrhythms. These are the components that are scarce in modern music today. The three major components of variation are melody, rhythm, and meter. Variation is an important key to teach a child so that they understand the there are many different ways to approach music and life. The composer Lucien Caillet wrote many variations on the theme “Pop Goes the Weasel”. Most children have heard this tune in cartoons or songs at school not realizing the classical context. This is a wonderful piece for children because of the dramatic and calm instrumentals followed by the variations of the theme. The music has a whimsical cheerful feel to it and is a perfect example for an introduction, theme, five variations of the theme followed by a coda. These are all important parts of a piece for a child to recognize. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a remarkable composer that all children should study. The piece, “Ah, Vous Dirai-je, Maman” is perfect for a child in that it resembles a well known nursery rhyme, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. This piece is also an example of variations of theme. This begins as a simple melody transforming into a complex variation containing a difference in meter throughout the variations with in an increase in tempo. The composition has a very light and cheerful familiar sound to it and could easily attract the attention of a child.

The use of sensory imagery in music, impressionism, is another form helpful to increase interest and make music enjoyable. Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky composed a piece, “Promenade, from pictures of an exhibition” solely around an art exhibition. This is a dark and gloomy symphony that represents a marching soldier and paints a vivid picture of an army. Another composer using imagery was Aram Khachaturian, he composed a work called “Sabre Dance”. This is an extremely energetic powerful piece that paints a definite picture of a chase and catch situation. This can be found in many cartoons today which allows a child to relate the classical music to a humorous situation. The piece is filled with energy and caused my seven year old brother to dance and run around the room. He enjoyed this piece the most and said it reminded him of a Tom and Jerry cartoon.. A modern classical composer, Steve Reich wrote “Different Trains”, this is a classic example of sensory imagery. The composer uses many counts of ostinato, tempo, and meter changes to portray the sounds of different trains in different cities. The sampled sounds paint a colorful picture and make the piece very interesting and unique. The originality yet classical makeup attracts children and adults to imagine moving trains. Dynamics, softness and loudness in music, is another important part of musical composition. Franz Joseph Haydn wrote “The Surprise Symphony” that developed a variation in the dynamic level. “This piece was written for a special after dinner concert. Haydyn knew that many people used this time for an afterdinner nap so he used calm string music to relax and secure his audience. He gave them just enough time to begin to doze and then CRASH! The whole orchestra would play a chord as loud as possible” (Bond 59). This humorous story and musical piece brings a sense of laughter and a delightful mood to the music. Children seem to respond the most to the light and humorous feel to music.