Children are inherently musical. They respond to music and learn through music. Music expresses children's identity and heritage, teaches them to belong to a culture, and develops their cognitive well-being and inner self worth. As professional instructors, childcare workers, or students looking forward to a career working with children, we should continuously search for ways to tap into children's natural reservoir of enthusiasm for singing, moving and experimenting with instruments. But how, you might ask? What music is appropriate for the children I'm working with? How can music help inspire a well-rounded child? How do I reach and teach children musically? Most importantly perhaps, how can I incorporate music into a curriculum that marginalizes the arts?This book explores a holistic, artistic, and integrated approach to understanding the developmental connections between music and children. This book guides professionals to work through music, harnessing the processes that underlie music learning, and outlining developmentally appropriate methods to understand the role of music in children's lives through play, games, creativity, and movement. Additionally, the book explores ways of applying music-making to benefit the whole child, i.e., socially, emotionally, physically, cognitively, and linguistically.

Shows how parents can introduce unborn and newborn babies to music as part of their environment. Explains how to integrate music with play, exploration, learning and socialisation. Includes activities, musical games and songs to sing.

A pioneering music educator reveals how music can supercharge early childhood development--and how parents and educators can harness its power. Since opening her famed Parisian conservatory over three decades ago, Joan Koenig has led a global movement to improve children's lives and minds with the transformative power of music. With a curriculum and philosophy drawn from cutting-edge science, L'Ecole Koenig has educated and empowered even its youngest students, from baby Max, whose coordination and communication grow as he wiggles and coos along to targeted songs and dance, to five-year-old Constance, who nourishes her empathy, creativity, and memory while practicing music from other cultures. In The Musical Child, Koenig shares stories from her classrooms, along with tips about how to use the latest research during the critical years when children are most sensitive to musical exposure--and most receptive to its benefits. A gift for parents, caregivers, musicians, and educators, The Musical Child reveals the multiple ways music can help children thrive--and how, in the twenty-first century, its practice is more vital than ever.

Pianist, author, lecturer and beloved teacher, Barbara Schneiderman shows how parent and child can come together around the joys of making music. This book is both playful and profound, clearly describing how to engage and transform children of all ages into lovers of music--listening and performing. Chapters range from ways to inspire beginning students to detailed analysis of music theory and composition. They reflect the author's remarkable career, which began when she performed on the radio at age 11. An admiring listener recommended her to Sydney Foster, the first of several renowned teachers, including Horazio Frugoni, Walter Piston, and Aube Tzerko. She conducted a "Musical Nursery" for the children of graduate students in the living room of her married student apartment at Harvard. She went on to provide private lessons to award-winning students in both the Suzuki and traditional system. Her master classes were in great demand around the country. Barbara gained degrees from Harvard, the Royal Academy in London, and the University of California San Diego, and enjoyed a long career of amateur and professional chamber music recitals. An earlier book, Confident Music Performance: The Art of Preparing, is considered a classic in the field.

Does music make kids smarter? At what age should a child begin music lessons? Where should you purchase an instrument? What should parents expect from a child's teachers and lessons? How can you get kids to practice? Raising Musical Kids answers these and many other questions as it guides parents through everything from assembling a listening library for kids, to matching a child's personality with an instrument's personality, to finding musical resources in your community. Knowing that children can—and often do—get most of their music education from their school, parent and educator Robert Cutietta explores the features and benefits of elementary and secondary school programs, and shows how parents can work with the schools to provide the best possible music program. Throughout the book, Cutietta emphasizes the joy of participating in music for its own sake. The first edition of Raising Musical Kids delighted and informed parents to equal degrees, and this fully-revised second edition is a book that parents everywhere will treasure as a complete road map for developing their child's musical abilities.

Finally, a “how to” book for music teachers New to teaching music and struggling to get your room set up? Frustrated after a year of trial and error? Starting to burn out and need some new ideas to infuse excitement into your programs? Look no further! Help is on the way! Did you know that 3 out of 5 teachers quit during their first five years of teaching? Why? They feel disconnected and under-supported. Lessons from the Music Room provides both support AND connection for the new (and veteran) music teacher. Discover the secrets to teaching music that your professors left out! It’s like you are sitting down with your mentor teacher sharing time saving tips and useful ideas. An incredibly valuable resource for all music teachers! In this book you will: • Discover practical tips on everything from the first day to the end-of-year performance • Find insightful ideas for planning your lessons • Read to Inspiring stories to assist in overcoming behavior issues • Gain sage advice on working with administration and colleagues • Find loads of downloadable forms for nearly every situation • Learn to reduce stress and have more fun • Unlock the secrets to becoming a super-star teacher! Even if you’ve been teaching for a while, there are strategies for the experienced teacher that will transform your music program at your school! The students will love you! Your administrator will beam! Your parents will give you rave reviews! With 28 years of classroom tested experience, these gems of advice and proven strategies, will prepare you to hit the ground running on the first day of school.

Childhood piano lessons are more than just learning to play an instrument. They foster discipline, creativity, and problem-solving skills that benefit children in all areas of life. This book will show you how piano lessons can unlock your child's potential and set them up for success – in music and beyond.

The new edition of The Child as Musician: A Handbook of Musical Development celebrates the richness and diversity of the many different ways in which children can engage in and interact with music. It presents theory - both cutting edge and classic - in an accessible way for readers by surveying research concerned with the development and acquisition of musical skills. The focus is on musical development from conception to late adolescences, although the bulk of the coverage concentrates on the period when children are able to begin formal music instruction (from around age 3) until the final year of formal schooling (around age 18). There are many conceptions of how musical development might take place, just as there are for other disciplines and areas of human potential. Consequently, the publication highlights the diversity in current literature dealing with how we think about and conceptualise children's musical development. Each of the authors has searched for a better and more effective way to explain in their own words and according to their own perspective, the remarkable ways in which children engage with music. In the field of educational psychology there are a number of publications that survey the issues surrounding child and adolescent development. Some of the more innovative present research and theories, and their educational implications, in a style that stresses the fundamental interplay among the biological, environmental, social and cultural influences at each stage of a child's development. Until now, no similar overview has existed for child and adolescent development in the field of music. The Child as Musician addresses this imbalance, and is essential for those in the fields of child development, music education, and music cognition.

Music Education in Your Hands is a textbook for the introductory course in Music Education. Written for future classroom music teachers, the book provides an overview of the music education system , illuminating the many topics that music educators need to know, including technology, teaching methods, curricular evolution, legislation, and a range of societal needs from cultural diversity to evolving tastes in music. It encompasses a broad picture of the profession, and how the future of music education rests in the hands of today’s student teachers as they learn how to become advocates for music in our schools. FEATURES A balance of sound historical foundations with recent research and thinking; Coursework that is appropriate in level and length for a one semester introductory course; Actual dialogue between undergraduate music education majors and teachers, illustrating pertinent issues teachers must face; An emphasis on opportunities in the greater community beyond the walls of the school that music teachers should be familiar with; Suggested topics for activities and critical thinking for every chapter; A companion web site including student and instructor resources

Instrumental Music Education: Teaching with the Musical and Practical in Harmony, 2nd Edition is intended for college instrumental music education majors studying to be band and orchestra directors at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels. This textbook presents a research-based look at the topics vital to running a successful instrumental music program, while balancing musical, theoretical, and practical approaches. A central theme is the compelling parallel between language and music, including "sound-to-symbol" pedagogies. Understanding this connection improves the teaching of melody, rhythm, composition, and improvisation. The companion website contains over 120 pedagogy videos for wind, string, and percussion instruments, performed by professional players and teachers, over 50 rehearsal videos, rhythm flashcards, and two additional chapters, "The Rehearsal Toolkit," and "Job Search and Interview." It also includes over 50 tracks of acoustically pure drones and demonstration exercises for use in rehearsals, sectionals and lessons. New to this edition: • Alternative, non-traditional ensembles: How to offer culturally relevant opportunities for more students, including mariachi, African drumming, and steel pans. • More learning and assessment strategies • The science of learning and practicing: How the brain acquires information • The philosophies of Orff and El Sistema, along with the existing ones on Kodály, Suzuki, and Gordon. • The Double Pyramid of Balance: Francis McBeth’s classic system for using good balance to influence tone and pitch. • Updated information about copyright for the digital age Evan Feldman is Conductor of the Wind Ensemble and Associate Professor of Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Ari Contzius is the Wind Ensemble Conductor at Washingtonville High School, Washingtonville, NY Mitchell Lutch is Associate Professor of Music and Director of Bands at Central College in Pella, Iowa