Music … in small doses
Toddlers are the custodians of the sound imprint that adults bring to them. However, today, children evolve in a saturated sound universe: automobile traffic, sirens, telephone, radio, TV… the background noise is permanent. Watch out for an overdose! Because the child also needs silence. To sleep, of course, but also to hear himself babble … A 6 to 12 month old baby likes to produce sounds and listen to their effect, then listen to the silence that follows the sound emission: notice how concentrated he is while he is not. nothing is happening… apparently. Knocking him out with Mozart during the nap will prevent him from testing new modulations in chirping; Spending him all day in the background of the FM band, even if the music is quality, is just as mind-numbing. Music must be associated with a voluntary approach on the part of the adult: I put on a record, I show you where the noise comes from, we are silent, we sit down, we clap our hands … And we listen .
Family rhymes
A toddler needs rituals: it is important to familiarize him with a limited repertoire. It is therefore of no interest to constitute a music library of 10 CDs for him, but to burn a CD compiling his favorite songs, yes! Listening to songs is also singing them. But adults rarely like their voice. However, the child likes to hear them sing in real life, and the CD will be of much more interest to him if he sees his mother singing the chorus and beating the time. Parents therefore benefit from training on the nursery rhymes, which children love, before embarking on the songs, which are more complicated!
The discovery of noise
From 8 months, the baby manipulates and experiences the sound universe around him. Let him do it! Why would he have the right to tap like a deaf person on his xylophone, and not on the tiled floor with a spoon? Parents sometimes show an overly selective tolerance to noise, valuing the sounds produced on noble and educational toys (the rattle) and prohibiting those made with everyday objects, while typing, tearing, scratching and rubbing makes it possible to build up a repertoire motor and auditory. The zipper squeaks, the Velcro scratch too, a squeaky door is endless happiness! In general, the higher the pitch, the better: the noise is also an outlet, and it is important to let the child practice it, and to accompany him, by making the glasses clink, but without be directive (it’s up to the child to find out on his own).
Preparatory games
From 2 years old, vocal games are ideal: we shout with the hand on the mouth or in megaphone, we vibrate our lips with our tongue (blblblbl), we breathe, we suck, we make the hou / hou / hou of the Indians, the houuuu / houuuu of the owl, the grrrr of the lion, we vary the treble and bass …
The games with the hands follow the vocal games: typing in rhythm, it can be learned, but it’s hard! So we type following the conductor, we tap on his thighs, and, for the most talented, we type with one or two fingers. Finally comes the footwork, to synchronize everything: trampling, walking in single file, walking while clapping your hands … It is already musical aerobatics for some 3-year-old children.