Resources on Early Learning
Illinois Early Learning Standards
Video & Background
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In this video clip, 3-year-old Max is seated in a chair, moving a bow back and forth across the strings of a small cello. Prior to this scene, adults have shown Max (possibly several times) how to hold the instrument and how to move the bow across the strings to produce sounds. He has been able to investigate making sounds with the bow and cello by himself. He now has some ideas about what he can make the instrument do.
Max also seems to have some ideas about what musical performers do. For example, he sits facing the “audience,” holding the instrument much as adult cellists hold their full-sized cellos. He plays by moving the bow back and forth across the strings of the cello. Moments into the piece, he speaks two phrases while looking at his listeners (“Mozart Jazz!” “Mozart Jazz Freight Train!”). When he has finished playing, he seems to wait for listener comments.
The words Max speaks while playing show several things about his knowledge of music. First, he is aware of the name of a composer: Mozart. Second, he is aware of the term jazz. The video clip does not tell us how much Max knows about Mozart or jazz, but it does indicate that he knows these words and connects them with playing music. Finally, Max shows that he is also aware that people can use musical instruments to imitate or reproduce sounds they hear around them. In this case, he creates a rhythm on the cello that sounds much like a moving freight train.
When he has finished playing, Max shows that he understands some important ways of caring for the instrument. He lays the cello down carefully and sets the bow next to it, explaining to his audience what he is doing.
Preschoolers and Musical InstrumentsTeachers often find that preschoolers are interested in sounds, including how to make sounds come from real musical instruments. Instruments are basically tools or machines that people use to produce specific sounds. Preschoolers often will work at creating those musical sounds themselves. It helps if adults are willing to show them what is involved in playing “the right way.” As children experiment with using instruments, they may talk about connections between the sounds they make and sounds they have heard elsewhere.
Most preschoolers notice differences between types of music when they are given opportunities to listen to a variety of recordings and performances. As with other things in their lives, they often like knowing the names of people and terms associated with music. Children can learn a great deal when adults play recorded music and talk about it: “That music was written by Mozart. The instrument playing is a piano.” “That instrument you hear is called an electric guitar.” Children also benefit from having time to interact with real, good-quality musical instruments.
Many preschools and child care programs do not have access to complex and expensive instruments like the cello that Max plays. Still, it is possible to provide less expensive, authentic instruments that make interesting sounds for children to explore. Rainsticks, wood blocks, chimes, shakers, and a variety of drums are good choices for letting children play with rhythm. They can explore musical notes and melody with hand bells or small electronic keyboards.
Watching relatively brief live performances of music may be interesting and inspiring to preschoolers. Teachers and parents might ask a librarian for help finding videos of musicians performing to share with children.
Transcript
Beginning: Max playing his cello
(Music …)
Max: Mozart … Jazz! Mozart … Jazz … freight train!
Music ends.
Adult 1: Yeah!!!
Adult 2: Mozart … Jazz … freight train. That’s a great tune!
Max smiles, stands up, walks across the room with his cello and bow in hand, and says as he lays his cello and bow on the floor …
Max: I’ll put my cello like this and put my bow this way.
End
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Benchmark Description | How Benchmark Was Met |
|---|---|---|
| Language Arts 4.B.EC |
Communicate needs, ideas, and thoughts. | Max explains what he is doing with the cello and bow when he is done using them. |
| Science 13.A.EC |
Begin to understand basic safety practices. | Max shows that he knows how to place the cello and the bow carefully when he has finished with them. |
| Science 13.B.ECb |
Begin to be aware of technology and how it affects their lives. | Max uses the cello and bow purposefully as tools to produce sounds. |
| Physical Development and Health 19.B.EC |
Coordinate movements to perform complex tasks. | Max must hold the cello steady while he moves the bow back and forth across the strings. He must gently lower the cello to the floor in order to lay it down. |
| Fine Arts 25.A.ECc |
Investigate the elements of music. | Max shows that he knows words associated with music (Mozart, jazz), and he uses music to imitate a familiar sound (a moving freight train). |
| Fine Arts 26.A.ECc |
Participate in music activities. | Max has created a musical piece that he performs for listeners, and he participates in basic care of the cello and bow. |
| Fine Arts 26.B.EC |
Use creative arts as an avenue for self-expression. | Max has brought together his knowledge of and experience with sound and music to create an original work of music. |
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