Interesting question!
I definitely think there is a difference in playing background music and in playing music that is central to the activity.i strongly encourage preschool teacher to have moments throughout the day when music plays a central role. Hello, good bye & clean up songs, songs at circle time, and musical activities during group activities, like freeze dance, parachute play, and sing around the rossie, are all great ways to bring music into every day preschool activities.
Passive listening times in preschool can be nap & rest times, but typically not freeplay. An interesting time to use passive, background music might be during book & puzzle play time that preschool teachers often use following snack or lunch in order to give slow eaters time to finish without leaving quick eaters too bored sitting at the table. I would not play music during the main meal time, as this interrupts conversation time, just at the tail end. I have see a lot of mischief making during book and puzzle time, as many children get bored with puzzles, and book time can often Segway into "partner-play" that can easily become a source of conflict. Quiet music or taped stories might give children a little more structure during this tricky time.
one more time to experiment with passive music might be during quiet, focused play time. For example, putting on soft, classical or other onvocal music while children are painting or drawing might be a fun way to see of the music " colors" the artwork!
I agree that playing music during freeplay time easily becomes overwhelming.
One more encouragement for preschool teachers, take out the instruments during group activity times at least once a week! I know it can be challenging- how do we share, how to we take turns, how to we play in rhythm? 5 minute play-alongs to taped music are great for this. Clear out you instrument boxes and have groups of identical instruments, say 3 or 4 of the same type drums, shakers, bells, and more than enough instruments for everyone to play one, let the children play, switch and trade freely during the song by putting the instruments in the middle of the circle. You may find drums are really popular so you need to have 6 or more. Choose instruments that are easy to play and hard to break. At first, you will have squabbles, but soon they will learn the routine and relax more about sharing and turn taking. With older children you should set expectations for how to share before hand. Remember to have at least one teacher playing along with the kids to lead by example. You can switch around music to work with monthly themes if you like. You can even have a couple different types of instrument boxes, from real instruments to every day objects that make fun instrument ( pot and pans and kitchen stuff foe example, maybe scarves if you want to encourage movement, maybe beach-y things shaped like sea creatures of shell instruments, maybe rain forest inspired instruments with rain sticks and wooden frog croakers, etc). Let music be your magic carpet to places all around the world with songs and instruments from the same culture paired... the variations are endless. Don't worry about tempo, try not to worry too much about it being too loud, just give room from noise sensitive kids to move away, and make sure they know coving there ears and moving away is ok, but yelling "quiet" or " too noisy " only makes it louder. This musical play time should be guided play, not instruction.
thanks for all the wonderful sharing
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Margro Purple
Rockville MD
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2019 03:38 PM
From: Beth Clawson
Subject: Times of day to play music
The thread about what type of music you play brings up the question:
What times of day do you play music?
I use music during clean up time and during our morning meeting for dancing or as part of a game. Occasionally, if the number of students is low, I'll play gentle, melodic music (from a variety of backgrounds) during free play. When I sense the energy level rising, or if additional students enter the room I usually have to turn off the tunes.
I generally don't have music going during free play. I have one speaker and if music is loud enough to be heard during free play then it's way, way too loud in the area where the speaker is.
For some kiddos (and adults) that amount auditory input is just too much Some kiddos ask for the music to be turned down, others may begin displaying challenging behaviors.
Do you play music during free play when the room is already loud and busy with 16 little bodies playing?
If so, how do you manage that?