Music or Noise? by Nicola Burke (Triangle Project Music Leader)

Go into any early years setting and it is likely that you will hear an abundance of sound – children talking, laughing, singing and generally making sounds with instruments or any sound makers they can get their hands on.

Go into any early years setting and it is likely that you will hear an abundance of sound – children talking, laughing, singing and generally making sounds with instruments or any sound makers they can get their hands on.  As an Early Childhood Music Specialist I have had the opportunity to visit many settings of all sorts of sizes in all sorts of buildings and I have never visited a setting which is silent – rightly so.  As a musician working in early years my focus whilst visiting settings is music making - observing and listening to children’s music making, improvising and playing with them.

What does children’s music sound like?  When we think of children’s paintings and drawings I imagine that most of us have an idea of what a young child’s picture may look like but when we try to imagine what a child’s piece of music sounds like it is maybe much more difficult. This is perhaps because we don’t always hear children’s creative music and it is not well documented.  Ask yourself – would you ever draw over a child’s drawing or paint over a child’s painting?  Children’s early pieces of music are often not heard, are spoken over and are not recognised as pieces of music.  Have a listen to this piece of music:

https://soundcloud.com/quench_arts/3-year-old-music

This piece of music was composed by a 3 year old in a children’s centre. I am sure that you can hear the very distinctive pattern in this music.  This piece of music is far from random but could quite easily go unheard or could be disregarded as noise – I have seen this happen on many occasions.

Music is trickier as an art form to document compared to visual art as it is live and once it has been created in that moment it disappears - unless we capture it. There are a range of recording devices which are easily available today such as Dictaphones, Easi-Speak and Ipads as well as using cameras and video cameras to capture the visual image.  Playing children’s music back to the children and sharing it with parents can be a highly valuable experience; it shows children that we are listening, we can hear them and we value their music.

Next time you have the opportunity to observe children making music, try to take time out to really listen carefully to the music that is created and where possible record it.  You can encourage children to make music by setting out music areas which are inviting for children to create music. Keeping instruments in baskets, drawers or on trolleys can be a very practical storage solution but children may not always remember that they are there and may not access them.  If instruments are set out to invite children to play you may see that children make music more readily. Try setting out instruments inside and outside and explore the use of levels and formations.  Show children that you value their music by actively listening to it and perhaps inviting them to share their music with others.  Some children will love the opportunity to perform to others and this can be included within circle time activities.  Invite children to create pieces of music 1 by 1 within circle time and encourage other children to listen and then talk about it together.

Children’s music can quite easily be disregarded as noise – next time you hear a child banging a drum or playing a set of chime bars listen carefully to the music they are creating, you may hear patterns and structure that may have gone unheard before.