Music Questions!

1.     1-I would honestly consider myself a pretty musical person. I love music and love listening to it. In my life, I use music the most to help me. To me, it is a great therapy when I am sad or when I am happy. In my opinion, there is a type of music for every mood we feel in life. Also, without even thinking about it, I use music when I tap my foot or pat a beat when I am bored. That’s the crazy part to me; we use music in our daily lives without even thinking about it.

2.    2- As a child I was very musical and love music. My mom told me that I would out music on in my room and dance around for hours. Also, as a child I took piano lessons as well as learned how to play the trumpet and clarinet. I loved being around music and hearing the sounds it creates. To this day, the piano still amazes me.

3.    3- I have, when I nanny in the summer the children I nanny love music. They put a CD in and play and dance around. Also, they create band instruments and make a band and play concerts. I also observed music when I went to observe a kindergarten classroom. The teacher played music in the morning when the students came in and many times throughout the day. When they did their morning routine they did some parts in a song fashion and had a beat to clap things too.

4.     4-Naturally, for everyone some things come easier. For me, I think teaching a child about how to read music and things relating to it would be very easy. I know how to read music because I know how to play three different instruments. I can use my personal experience to help them learn.

5.   5-  I think all children should be able to recognize a beat and know how to clap back a rhythm. I know this is a long shot, but I also think every child should know how to read music and identify notes. We have music in our daily lives, and it will greatly benefit them if they learn this at such a young age. This does not mean they need to be experts; they just need to be aware.

6.    6- Yes, I most definitely have observed music in the classroom. When I did my field experience, the kindergarten teacher played music in the morning and many times throughout the day. The kids would sing along and always beg for her to play it. Also, when they did their morning routine they would sing things back and pat out the beat for the days of the week on their lap. She also cleverly integrated rhythm into learning math and counting money. I honestly think it helped them learn.

7.    7- I think music can be integrated into the elementary classroom by the ways stated above, but also by putting things a student should know or memorize into songs. For instance, if a class is studying the states and capitols they could try putting it into a song, or if a student is learning to tie the shoe, they can put the directions into a song. I think when teachers put directions and rules into songs it makes the children more apt to remember them.

8.    8- I think music is a great interdisciplinary tool. As I stated above we can incorporate music into any study by putting terms or facts to a song. I think by doing this it will give children a greater appreciation for music at a much younger age.