ECME August 2014

Looking back at ECME 2014 and looking forward to 2016.

It was wonderful to meet you all in Brazil and hear of the fascinating work!

During the ECME 2014 Seminar, hosted by the Universidade de Brasilia, were presented 13 papers, with 20 authors and co-authors; 4 workshops, with 9 presenters and co-presenters and 9 posters with 12 poster presenters. 53 participants from 5 continents shared knowledge, songs and dances and it felt like one big family!

Each day had its own theme: July 15: Musical beginnings at Home, in Schools and in Communities. July 16: Collaborative Constructive models for musical beginnings. July 17: The Role of Technology and Media in Children's musical beginnings. July 18: Guiding Children's Musical Beginnings: Pedagogies of the world.  July 19: Coda and Conclusions.

 

I wish to express my gratitude to the Keynote speaker: Kathryn Marsh and the Invited speaker: Beatriz Ilari.

As chair I also wish to say thank you to the commission members:

Joanne Rutkowski (United States of America, 2008-2014) Amanda Niland (Australia, 2010-2016) Elizabeth Andang'o (Kenya, 2010-2016) Patricia St John (United States of America, 2012-2018) Chee Hoo Lum (Singapore, 2012-2018). This was real teamwork!

 

And then the plans for the future:

The ECME Commission is developing a plan to increase its online presence through a blog and Facebook page so that the collaborations and musical sharing, involving both practice and research, which began at the 2012 seminar in Corfu can continue and expand.

Therefore I am glad to introduce the new chair for the biennium 2014-2016: Amanda Niland. Amanda is a lecturer in Early Childhood at the Institute of Early Childhood, Macquarie University, in Sydney, Australia, where she lectures in music and creative arts, children's literature and inclusive education. Amanda also works with children who have disabilities and their families in music groups. Her research interests encompass early childhood music and early intervention.

 

And 'last but not least' the two new ECME commissioners:

Dr. Suzanne L. Burton (USA) and Dr. Jose Retra. (The Netherlands)

 

Suzanne Burton is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences. Suzanne has given research papers for ISME ECME focusing on the comfort of early childhood teachers to use music in their classrooms (Barcelona and Tenerife, Spain), the development of rhythmic music literacy (Beijing, China), and young children's iPad app preferences (Brasilia, Brazil). She is Professor of Music Education, Director of Graduate Studies, and Coordinator of Music Education at the University of Delaware. Burton specializes in musical development, music literacy pedagogy, music teacher education in authentic and global contexts, and community engagement.

 

José Retra was poster presenter during the ECME seminar in Frascati 2008: 'Music is movement' and a workshop co-presenter in ISME conference 2012 Thessaloniki: 'A Song – what's next?'. She was participant of the 2012 ECME seminar in Corfu. A presenter and co-author at the ECME 2014 seminar in Brasilia: 'Bringing Live Music to Young Children" as well as poster co-presenter: 'About music" ECME 2014 Brasilia and ISME 2014 Porte Alegre. José received her PhD in early childhood music education from the University of Exeter, M.A. in Psychology for musicians (2000) composing (1997) and piano (1986).

She founded the Preschool Music Education Centre based in Amsterdam in 2010. The centre provides parent-child classes, workshops and lectures, as well as classes in day care centres. She created a research group specifically for early childhood music education with researchers from different countries in Europe. As a composer/arranger she creates music for young children and, together with a colleague, is establishing concerts especially for young children 0-4.

Thanks to all the commission members for their time, energy and friendship. As host for the ECME seminar in 2016 in The Netherlands and ISME board liaison for ECME in the period 2014-2016 I will continue to be involved in this wonderful ECME family.

 

 

Margré van Gestel (The Netherlands, 2008-2014)

Commission Chair: 2010-2012, 2012-2014

 

Let's make the world a better place for all children through music.

 

 

March 2014

Useful information:

Early Childhood Music Education

July 15-19, 2014

Theme: "Listening to Diverse Musical Beginnings"

Venue:

The Universidade de Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil

 

The Early Childhood Music Education commission provides an opportunity to explore the fascinating and multifaceted musical worlds of children.

July 2014 will mark the 16^th anniversary of the ECME Seminar. The ECME community of researchers, scholars, practitioners and attendees will reflect on the pedagogies of the world which guide children's musical beginnings.

With Katherine March as keynote speaker we will have an interesting start of the seminar.

We will listen to diverse musical beginnings at home, in school and in communities and

we will explore the role of technology and media in children's musical beginnings.

The ECME seminar is about sharing knowledge, practise and research in many respects.

This international forum also brings together diverse cultural perspectives on children, childhood and music education.  Next to presentations of research and practise papers, posters and workshops there will be moments

of singing together and discussion groups each day.

Brasilia town and the Departamento de Música will offer us a perfect place to stay.

 

Flights to Brasilia airport.

Transportation from the airport:

Bus every half hour US 3,50

TAXI: 20 minutes drive: $ 20,00

Schedule seminar:

Welcome reception: Monday evening July 14

Opening seminar: Tuesday July 15

Closing session: July 19: 13.00

 

How to continue to the main conference:

From Brasilia there are daily flights to Porte Alegre:

Sunday 20 July 9.42. Arrival in Porte Alegre 12.20.

Seminar fees:

Seminar fee: $ 274,00 for participants.

Seminar diner: $ 42,00  Excursion: $ 62,00

Accommodation/Hotels:

Saint Moritz Express (Downtown Brasilia)

Superior: Single: 268/  Double: 303,00  (= $127)

Luxo: Single: 250,00  Double: 325,00

Promotional code: 67128

 

The sun express (Lakeside)

Superior single: 227,00   Double: 262, (=$ 110)

Luxo: Single 250/ Double: 285,00

Promotional code: 12588

Check whether you have to apply for visa!!!

Meeting location:

Departamento de Musica

Universidade de Brasilia

Campus Darcy Ribeiro- AS NORTE

Brasilia

 

Host:

Contact
Ricardo Dourado Freire
Diretor do Instituto de Artes da Universidade de Brasília
freireri@unb.br

Questions?

Email the commission: v_gestel@hotmail.com Margré van Gestel
 

Chair Early Childhood Music Education 2012-2014 (ISME) www.isme.org

 

ECME october

Readings on Diverse Musical Childhoods

 

Following from the thread of the previous blog about the music of Kenyan children, this entry hopes to further the discussion on diversity and inclusion in children's musical education.

 

If we are truly invested in the music and music education of children, then we need to first understand the multiple contexts with which the musical lives of children emerge. Without a grounded understanding of children's musical ways, of how they explore, engage and create in their musical worlds, music educators would lose the connection and find it challenging to develop pedagogies and practices that would make sense and actively engage children they teach, particularly in this globalized age where the attunement to change should be high on any educator's radar.  The detailed study and reflection on children and their musical lives from various contexts would thus provide music educators with possible glimpses in coming to terms with implications for current music education practice, making it relevant and meaningful to the sonic surrounds that envelops the 21^st century child.

 

Two recent publications come to mind, "The Oxford Handbook of Children's Musical Cultures" (Campbell and Wiggins (Eds.), 2013) and "Musical Childhoods of Asia and the Pacific" (Lum and Whiteman (Eds.), 2012). Both books brought together a series of writers from the fields of ethnomusicology, folklore, education and developmental psychology, to bring to bear a diverse range of rich narratives on children's musical experiences and engagements. These narratives served to continually challenge and question currently held views about how music should be taught and facilitated, and to constantly remind educators of the diverse range and magnitude of musical styles and structures children from around the world prefer and use in their everyday lives and encounters.  Earlier significant contributions to the examination of children's musical worlds include "Songs in their heads: Music and its Meaning in Children's Lives (2nd Ed)" (Campbell, 2010) and "The Musical Playground: Global tradition and Change in Children's Songs and Games" (Marsh, 2009). The growing literature in this field will help to add a critical and reflective voice in rethinking and reshaping music education practice, truly moving towards listening intently to diverse musical beginnings.

 

References

 

Campbell, P., & Wiggins, T. (Eds.) (2013). The Oxford handbook of children's musical cultures.

New York: Oxford University Press.

 

Lum, C.H., & Whiteman, P. (Eds.) (2012). Musical childhoods in Asia and the Pacific.

Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

 

Campbell, P. (2010). Songs in their heads: Music and its meaning in children's lives (2^nd Ed.).

New York: Oxford University Press.

 

Marsh, K. (2009). The musical playground: Global tradition and change in children's songs and games.

New York: Oxford University Press.

 

 

 

 

Contributed by

 

Chee-Hoo Lum

Assistant Professor

Visual & Performing Arts

National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

 

 

ECME september

The music of Kenyan children is as diverse as the peoples who make up the Kenyan society. What music do Kenyan children perform? Where do they perform this music?

 

Kenyan children attend at least 3 years of preschool education. The preschool is one of the environments where music is performed on a daily basis, for various reasons. These include the application of music to enhance learning of other areas such as language and numbers, as well as the use of music as a facilitator of social development. Notably, there is a session set apart for Music and Movement once a week. In this session, music is not just a facilitating subject, but is to be appreciated and enjoyed in its own right.

 

Most preschools are privately owned, or are maintained partly by the government and the local communities. Apart from those in upmarket areas of urban centres, a good number face challenges spatial challenges. A tour of most classrooms will reveal learning areas and certain corners such as 'shop'; spaces for toys such as wood blocks and other simple toys. However, there are few schools with 'music' corners. Much of the musical activities therefore take place in the playground. Music and movement programs may be described in general as a re-enacting of the traditional playground, where children learned to sing and play together before the onset of formal education.

 

Within the playground, children sing with movement and games. Circle singing games abound, with teachers joining in and providing support, or standing on the side lines and cheering on the children in their performances.

 

The music performed in the playground, especially in urban areas, is mainly indigenous Kenyan singing games translated into Kiswahili, the country's national language. Preschool teachers in urban areas prefer to teach songs in either English or Kiswahili, due to the  perceived dynamics involved in teaching multi-ethnic and even multicultural groups songs from the over 42 ethnic communities of Kenya. There are also popular songs with catchy tunes whose lyrics induce play and playful activities. One such song is the popular Jambo,  a greeting song, which is now known far beyond Kenya's borders.

 

For the most part, the philosophy underpinning Music and Movement performance in preschool education is that music is to be enjoyed in community, with call and response songs as the most popular. When contemporary musical styles are introduced, they also reflect the sense of community and the importance of everybody's participation.

 

In order to fully appreciate and celebrate the diverse musics of children's worlds, an understanding and appreciation of cultural influences on not only children but educators and families, is necessary in order to ensure that children begin their musical journeys from a point of understanding that is comfortable and familiar to them. As they grow and encounter other musical traditions, they have within themselves a rich repository of music that will enrich their lives.

 

Dr. Elizabeth A. Andang'o,

Music Educator and Researcher in Early Childhood Music Education,

Kenyatta University,

Kenya.

 

ECME september 2013

Early Childhood Music Education

 

July 15-19, 2014 Brasilia

 

Theme: 'Listening to Diverse Musical Beginnings'

 

Venue:The Universidade de Brasilia, Departimento de Musica

Brasilia, Brazil

 

 

The July 2014 ECME Seminar will be particularly significant as the community of researchers, scholars, practitioners and students reflect on the diverse musical beginnings of young children from all the continents. New developments, especially in the field of musical beginnings at home, in school, and in communities, including the role of technology and media in children's musical beginnings, will be presented.  We will look at pedagogies of the world and share collaborative and constructive models. Creative and critical thinking, in musical beginnings and in teacher education, will be a theme within the seminar.

 

 

The ECME seminar brings together experienced and early career researchers and practitioners, who challenge, enrich and equip one another. This international forum also brings together diverse cultural perspectives on children, childhood and music education. Modes of presentation range from research papers, posters and workshops to symposia and practice papers. The sharing of songs and games from a range of cultures is also a feature of the ECME seminar. Ongoing international initiatives promise to foster meaningful collaborations among countries, regions and continents.

 

We hope to meet you in Brasilia and to transform our dream - music education for all children 0-8 years - into a most extraordinary reality.

 

 

 

Margré van Gestel
 

Chair Early Childhood Music Education 2012-2014 (ISME) www.isme.org

 

ECME July 2013

ECME July 2013

At the end of a busy semester of work as an Early Childhood Music Educator in a number of settings, I find myself reflecting on the different responses to music I have encountered over the past six months.

 

First there is Stevie, aged 1.8 years, who attends a university Early Childhood centre , at which I am currently gathering research data. To Stevie, music means sharing in his favourite nursery songs in relaxed singing sessions every day, and having his carers regularly accompany his play and care-giving routines with snippets of song. Stevie's language is rapidly expanding into 2 and 3 word phrases, and he regularly sings short phrases of songs spontaneously as he plays.

 

Next there is Marco, aged 4, who recently joined the family music group I lead at an Early Intervention centre, and to whom new situations can be quite confusing and distressing. To Marco, music means playing 'go and stop' games with songs about trains and cars. Marco has limited communication and joint attention skills, but has shown great enthusiasm for singing and moving with songs about his favourite play interests. While at first he was not keen to stay in the room for more than a few minutes, as the semester ends, Marco now runs happily into the room and is beginning to sing along with us, smiling, laughing and matching pitch perfectly.

 

Then there is Kerin, a pre-service early childhood student, who thanked me effusively for my lecture on music, disability and young children. To Kerin, music means new inspiration to develop her skills and knowledge in singing to use in her future desired career as a play therapist.

 

Next there is Jeannie, also a pre-service teacher education student, who attended my tutorials in a compulsory Creative Arts curriculum subject this semester. To Jeannie, music means occasionally dragging her fingers and gaze away from her smart phone to join in with a song, showing awkwardness and uncertainty as a singer.  Jeannie and her peers attend 3 tutorials each for music, drama and visual arts – hardly time to develop any deep understandings or skills about the art forms, let alone any confidence as music makers.

 

And finally there is Diane, parent of a child with Autism and convenor of a playgroup for children with a disability and their families, who attended an Early Intervention conference music workshop I presented. To Diane, music means inviting me to come and sing at her playgroup, to help the adults there, who lack confidence in singing, to learn some new songs to sing with their children.

 

For Stevie and Marco, music is a joyful part of their lives. They happily and confidently participate in playful songs, and in their own ways are gradually developing their skills as musicians. For Kerin and Diane, music is something that they see has value for children, but they lack the confidence to lead children in singing and musical play. For Jeannie, confidence is also the issue, but whether or not she sees the value of sharing music with young children is not evident.

 

How is it, that in Australia, and I would guess in many other parts of the world as well, we begin life as enthusiastic and confident music makers, but by the time we reach adulthood many of us have not developed the musical skills we were born with, and have lost the confidence to try? The answer would seem to lie in the provision of music education, by well-trained educators, in both prior-to-school and school settings. Music (and the other creative arts) should be as integral to the curriculum as literacy and numeracy, at every stage of education.

 

In the Early Intervention music group I run, I work with an early childhood educator who grew up in Hungary, and had a Kodaly-based music education throughout her schooling. It is such a joy to work with someone who loves to sing, sings beautifully, and understands both the aesthetic and developmental value of songs and singing for young children. She is an inspirational example of the power of universal music education.

 

I am sometimes downhearted about the value of the work my creative arts colleagues and I are doing with pre-service teachers. However every time I share in songs and musical play with young children, I am encouraged by their love of music to keep on advocating for music education.

 

Dr Amanda Niland

Institute of Early Childhood, Macquarie University

and

Pathways Early Childhood Intervention

Australia

Commissioner ECME 2010-2016

 

 

Margré van Gestel
 
Muziekpedagoge
www.zingendoemaarmee.nl  www.ukkepuk-concerten.nl www.singandplay.nl

Chair Early Childhood Music Education 2012-2014 (ISME) www.isme.org
Voorzitter Stichting Muziek op Schoot www.muziekmethetjongekind.nl
Secretaris Gehrels Muziekeducatie www.gehrelsonline.nl

 

ECME April 2013

Chloe was new to our preschool music class; the other 3-and 4-year-olds had participated in toddler music classes in previous semesters. She came into the room a bit shy and hesitant, not knowing what to expect. "We have a new friend," I exclaimed to the six other children. After 15 minutes or so of free-play with instruments, we gathered up the simple percussion instruments; Chloe rushed to be helpful, too, as she brought me two of the small rainbow drums from the floor. Gathering in the singing circle, we sang our "hello song." Chloe commented, "I don't know that song."

The following week, Chloe brought a collection of stickers that she had received after having visited the dentist. She had asked for extras so she could share them with her music buddies. She explained to the children that they could pick any sticker they would like. "Now it's your turn, Patricia!" she exclaimed as she enthusiastically invited me to choose a sticker, too.

When it came time to "sweep" as we danced to The Broom Man song, Chloe asked for a pink scarf, which would function as a pretend broom. As she looked around, she noticed that three other girls as well as I also had a pink scarf. Chloe suggested, "How 'bout everyone who has a pink scarf is best friends forever?"

Chloe likes to bring things from home to share with her new music learning community. This week she brought a photo: "Here's a picture of me at my very first birthday party!"

Last week, Chloe came to music class without her home-made sculpture. (We are creating our own City Square engaging in 1) vocal play as vendors, shoppers, street cleaners; 2) movement as we embody possible statues and bring them to life; and 3) instrument-play as we create the cacophony of city sounds.) "I couldn't get it done because I had to go to court; my dad was being mean and yelling really loud. He was poking me in the chest and saying, 'you got a problem?' I was afraid and so was Grammy."

After our free-play with instruments, the children gathered around the singing circle. Chloe made her way next to me and leaned into my arm. She knew all the words to the "hello song" now and had found a safe place to make music with friends.

The above scenarios depict a variety of teachable moments offered to me by Chloe. Each child brings diverse cultural experiences to the music learning environment that offer insight to unique personal and musical needs. In these vignettes, Chloe reveals her emotional poverty, her need to belong, and her effort to make friends. The early childhood music classroom seems to provide that relational context from which Chloe can draw to fulfill her needs. Attentive to her strengths and capabilities AND the power of collective music-making, I can scaffold Chloe's learning and provide the time and space she needs to find not only the place to be, but the person(s) with whom to be to make music together.

The ECME Seminars provide a rich forum to share ideas, to experience diverse musical expression, and to cultivate treasured friendships. Our next conference in Brazilia (2014) promises to create a unique counterpoint of musical expression from a polyphony of voices across cultures and contexts as we explore the many venues in which young children make music together and the multiple functions that music provides them. I hope to see you there!

 

                                     Patricia A. St. John, Ed. D., Commissioner 2012-2018