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Title:!Music!in!Kindergarten!!

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Author(s):!E.!Tzarkova!and!E.!Serbina!!

Source:!Tzarkova,!E.,!&!Serbina,!E.!(1993,!Fall).!Music!in!

kindergarten.!The$Quarterly,!4(3),!pp.!33C35.!(Reprinted!with!permission!in!Visions$of$Research$in$Music$Education,$16(4),!

Autumn,!2010).!Retrieved$from$http://wwwCusr.rider.edu/~vrme/!!

It$ is$ with$ pleasure$ that$ we$ inaugurate$ the$ reprint$ of$ the$ entire$ seven$ volumes$ of$ The!

Quarterly! Journal! of! Music! Teaching! and! Learning.! ! The$ journal$ began$ in$ 1990$ as$ The!

Quarterly.! ! In$1992,$with$volume$3,$the$name$changed$to$ The!Quarterly!Journal!of!Music!

Teaching!and!Learning!and$continued$until$1997.$$The$journal$contained$articles$on$issues$

that$were$timely$when$they$appeared$and$are$now$important$for$their$historical$relevance.$$

For$ many$ authors,$ it$ was$ their$ first$ major$ publication.$ $ Visions! of! Research! in! Music!

Education$will$publish$facsimiles$of$each$issue$as$it$originally$appeared.$$Each$article$will$be$

a$separate$pdf$file.$$Jason$D.$Vodicka$has$accepted$my$invitation$to$serve$as$guest$editor$for$

the$ reprint$ project$ and$ will$ compose$ a$ new$ editorial$ to$ introduce$ each$ volume.$ $ had$

Keilman$is$the$production$manager.$$I$express$deepest$thanks$to$Richard$olwell$for$granting$

VRME$permission$to$reCpublish$The!Quarterly$in$online$format.$$He$has$graciously$prepared$

an$introduction$to$the$reprint$series.!

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Music in KindergartenBy E. Tzarkova and E. Serbina

Russian Ministry of Education

I nRussia, 86 percent of children ages 2 to7 spend their days, from 8:00 a. m. until7:00 p. m., in preschool educational insti-tutions. That is because we believe thatchildren's development and education areone of the most urgent and complicated is-sues for our society.

For a long time in our coun-try there existed a universaland compulsory state pro-gram of preschool education.The program was adminis-tered under the leadership ofN. A. Vetlugina by the Scien-tific Research Institute of Pre-school Education of the Acad-emy of Pedagogical Sciences.More recently, however, al-ternative programs with newapproaches to content andmethods of education havebeen employed, and theseplace more emphasis on howchildren learn.Paralleling me state kindergartens are spe-cialized kindergartens with extended teach-

ing in foreign languages, music, and otherfine arts. All the programs, however, aresimilar in structure. They include differentforms of activity separated, for example, intothe subjects of music, speech development,environmental studies, fine arts, physicaltraining and other subjects, each with one ortwo sessions taught per week. There arealso general education goals to be met andskills to be acquired by children.

Since the nature of children is to integratetheir experiences and information, the oldpreschool curriculum, with its lesson-like ses-

sions, contradicts the natural logic ofchildren's development, Moreover, it dam-ages children's learning and hampers theirprogress. To address these problems, theScientific Research Institute of Schools is de-veloping an experimental program called"Raduga" (Rainbow). The purpose of me

program is to create an at-mosphere in which chil-dren enjoy learning by be-ing taught according totheir mental developmentat a particular age. Theprogram includes musiceducation, but its goals arequite different from thoseof the generally adoptedstate program, "Music Edu-cation in Kindergarten."

GoalsThe purpose of the new

program is to prepare chil-dren who are ready to un-derstand the surrounding

world, including the world of nature, ofpeople, and of art, and to help the childrenbecome open to such things as sounds, im-ages, and fairy tales. The program, based onour understanding of both the nature of chil-dren and the nature of art, embodies theideas of Kabalevsky. This new pedagogy ofart is based on the following concepts:

the creation of a unique artistic and aes-thetic environment; the natural way that children's activitiesand the process of learning are parts oftheir lives, and not separate from day-to-day "life-building;"

the emphasis of children's natural stages ofdevelopment, including cultural develop-ment; and

reliance on the children's intuitive andimaginative style of understanding theworld.

Russian nurserysongs are full oflove for the child.The melodies areclear, tender, and

natural, andchildren are fond

of listeningto them.

E. Tzarkova and E. Serbina are research work-ers at the Research Institute of General Educa-tion of the Russian Ministry of Education.Volume IV , Number 3 33

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Songs are connected closely and harmoniously 'with the rituals ofrne.etirrg , sleeping, -walk ing, and so on. In this -way,rnusic be.cornesa natural part of the children 's lives.

It is well known that in the mother's womba baby can hear various sounds of the outerworld. In the lap of humanity's cultural tra-ditions, newborns hear restful lullabies andenjoy the tender sounds of folk songs. Ma-ternal speech, when addressing babies, is al-most always musical and rich in soft, sing-song intonations. The children continue togrow among such sweet musical sounds untilthey enter kindergarten. Suddenly, charm isgone, and the whole atmosphere changes.

The new kindergarten program tries to pre-serve, as much as possible, this warm, mater-nal atmosphere. Children deprived of theirmother's presence during the day shouldhear the gentle and kind voice of theteacher. The pre-school teacher's daily du-ties should be:

singing out greetings when the childrenarrive;

singing and dancing in a circle, playingchildren's musical games;

singing resting songs when children takenaps (to all of them, or individually whennecessary);

singing special nursery songs during ev-eryday, natural situations for the children,such as when a minor injury or quarreloccurs, or during mundane events such aswashing or combing hair; and

singing traditional songs addressing thesun, the wind, the rain, a bee, a snail,flowers, and so on during walks so thatchildren learn to listen for and to hear themusic of nature.

Such material is the essence of folklore, thenatural and necessary basis for a proper mu-sic education of a child. Folk music wasonce an inherent part of everyday life, and itshould occupy a similar place in kindergar-tens today. It is one of the most importantcomponents of the new program.

Russian nursery songs are full of love forthe child. The melodies are clear, tender,and natural, and children are fond of listen-ing to them. Children will naturally beginechoing their teachers' s inging, and with rep-etition will join in. As they sing day afterday, children gradually learn the songs. It is

very important that nothing is learned pur-posefully, but that everything happens natu-rally. Songs are connected closely and har-moniously with the rituals of meeting, s leep-ing, walking, and so on. In this way, musicbecomes a natural part of the children's lives.

Another important component of the newprogram is the attention paid to classical mu-sic. The tradit ional program's classical reper-tory generally is comprised of pieces com-posed by contemporary musicians especiallyfor kindergarten children, and the scope ofthe music is extremely narrow. Most of thepieces are notable for their primitive melo-dies and te2-.1:Snd also for their marked com-plexity. In contrast, in the new program chil-dren hear the works of Vivaldi, Bach,Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven,Schubert , Schumann, Chopin, Ravel, andDebussy, as well as those of the Russiancomposers Kastalsky, Berezovsky,Bortnyansky, Glinka, Rimsky-Korsaov,Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, and Prokofiev.

In the new music education program, thecriteria for choosing musical works are:

a definite mood is implied by the music; expressiveness prevails over picturesque-

ness; the predominance of the melody is delin-eated by a voice or an instrumental solo

(the flute and violin being preferable).Roles of Classroom Teacher andMusic SpecialistIn Russia 's kindergartens, classroom teach-

ers are assisted in teaching music by musicspecialists. These professional musicians areresponsible for teaching all the children,rather than only a single classroom. The mu-sic specialists present two 20- to 30-minutesessions per week, depending on the age ofthe children. At these lessons, children studysongs and dances and listen to selected mu-sic. After the music specia lis t leaves theclassroom, musical activities continuethroughout the day, under the guidance ofthe classroom teacher.

The roles of the classroom teacher and the34 The QuarterlyJournal ofMusic Teaching and Learning

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music specialist in the new program are radi-cally different than in the old system. Onlythe teacher can foresee the situations inwhich music can be a part of the school day,for it is the teacher who is constantly withthe children and and knows their habits,their moods, and their reactions. It is impor-tant that music should come into children'sdaily life harmoniously, helping with self-expression and self-discovery and give themopportunities to sing, play and enjoy them-selves. The classroom should include songs,round dances, and music that is either sad ormerry, calm or energetic. Music will helpteachers and children find a common lan-guage and discover the beautiful and multi-faceted world of sound.

In contrast, the music specialist's duty is toassist the classroom teacher in shaping therepertory, arranging festivities, and masteringmusic material. The music specialist helpsthe children develop certain skills, like un-derstanding the language of music. The mu-sic specialist also plays children's instrumentsand folk instruments; acts out operas, ballets,and musicals; and arranges performances.These are the specific duties of music spe-cialists:

to arrange puppet shows twice a month; to organize concerts of classical music

once a month by either playing an instru-ment or inviting professionals to perform,

to prepare festive performances for holi-days;

to explore with children the properties ofsound while playing different children'sand experimental instruments;

with older children, to give lessons inmovement and music once a week, includ-ing free movement to music, rounddances, foreign traditional dances, and his-torical dances such as the minuet andpolonaise; and

with 5- to 6-year-olds, to give singing les-sons and conduct choirs that perform sa-cred music, classical music, and contempo-rary songs twice a month. Smaller chil-dren sing only in their classrooms withtheir teachers; they do not have speciallessons in choral music.

The new system of music education as-sures that children experience many forms ofcreative music activity throughout the year.Their everyday lives include singing for andVolume Iv, Number 3

with other children; moving to music andsinging in a circle; listening to music; experi-menting with sounds while playing tradi-tional and children's musical instruments;and understanding music as an integral partof holidays and other festivities.

Another area explored in the new programconcerns mathematics and music and theconnection between them. Any geometric(manipulative) object can be assigned a sound,and any musical sound can be assigned a sym-bol that can be printed on paper, clay, orwood and then put into motion. Children liketo sing pictures and paint songs.

The children also explore space and spatialrelations in games like "Ring around theRosy." By participating in swift circular mo-tions and movements toward and away fromthe center of the circle and moving in lines,the children learn about spatial concepts.They also gain a sense of time. How canone explain to the very young the meaningof slow and fast? Music can explain whenwords fail; music can relate concepts withoutwords. For example, teachers may presentas an example a long sound using the lengthof the bow, then follow with a short,pizzicato sound.

The new kindergarten program is a creativeprocess in which children and teachers are en-gaged equally. The program uses the best ex-amples of humanity's musical culture-folkmusic and the classics. The children have anopportunity to realize their freedom and mani-fest it individually in a variety of forms of artis-tic and creative activity.~

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