! !! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Title:!Music!in!Kindergarten!! ! 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.$ $ Chad$ Keilman$is$the$production$manager.$$I$express$deepest$thanks$to$Richard$Colwell$for$granting$ VRME$permission$to$reCpublish$ The!Quarterly$in$online$format.$$He$has$graciously$prepared$ an$introduction$to$the$reprint$series.!

Music in Kindergarten
By E. Tzarkova and E. Serbina
Russian Ministry of Education
n Russia, 86 percent of children ages 2 to sions, contradicts the natural logic of children's development, Moreover, it dam7 spend their days, from 8:00 a. m. until 7:00 p. m., in preschool educational instiages children's learning and hampers their tutions. That is because we believe that progress. To address these problems, the Scientific Research Institute of Schools is dechildren's development and education are one of the most urgent and complicated isveloping an experimental program called "Raduga" (Rainbow). The purpose of me sues for our society. program is to create an atFor a long time in our counmosphere in which chiltry there existed a universal Russian nursery and compulsory state prodren enjoy learning by being taught according to gram of preschool education. songs are full of The program was administheir mental development love for the child. at a particular age. The tered under the leadership of N. A. Vetlugina by the Scienprogram includes music The melodies are tific Research Institute of Preeducation, but its goals are clear, tender, and school Education of the Acadquite different from those of the generally adopted emy of Pedagogical Sciences. natural, and More recently, however, alstate program, "Music Educhildren are fond cation in Kindergarten." ternative programs with new approaches to content and Goals of listening methods of education have The purpose of the new to them. been employed, and these program is to prepare chilplace more emphasis on how dren who are ready to unchildren learn. derstand the surrounding Paralleling me state kindergartens are speworld, including the world of nature, of cialized kindergartens with extended teachpeople, and of art, and to help the children ing in foreign languages, music, and other become open to such things as sounds, imfine arts. All the programs, however, are ages, and fairy tales. The program, based on similar in structure. They include different our understanding of both the nature of chilforms of activity separated, for example, into dren and the nature of art, embodies the the subjects of music, speech development, ideas of Kabalevsky. This new pedagogy of environmental studies, fine arts, physical art is based on the following concepts: training and other subjects, each with one or the creation of a unique artistic and aesthetic environment; two sessions taught per week. There are the natural way that children's activities also general education goals to be met and and the process of learning are parts of skills to be acquired by children. their lives, and not separate from day-toSince the nature of children is to integrate day "life-building;" their experiences and information, the old the emphasis of children's natural stages of preschool curriculum, with its lesson-like sesdevelopment, including cultural developE. Tzarkova and E. Serbina are research workers at the Research Institute of General Education of the Russian Ministry of Education. Volume IV, Number 3
ment; and reliance on the children's intuitive and imaginative style of understanding the

world.

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Songs are connected

closely and harmoniously

'with the rituals of

rne.etirrg, sleeping, -walking, and so on. In this -way, rnusic be.cornes a natural part of the children's lives.
It is well known that in the mother's womb a baby can hear various sounds of the outer world. In the lap of humanity's cultural traditions, newborns hear restful lullabies and enjoy the tender sounds of folk songs. Maternal speech, when addressing babies, is almost always musical and rich in soft, singsong intonations. The children continue to grow among such sweet musical sounds until they enter kindergarten. Suddenly, charm is gone, and the whole atmosphere changes. The new kindergarten program tries to preserve, as much as possible, this warm, maternal atmosphere. Children deprived of their mother's presence during the day should hear the gentle and kind voice of the teacher. The pre-school teacher's daily duties should be:
singing out greetings when the children arrive; singing and dancing in a circle, playing children's musical games; singing resting songs when children take naps (to all of them, or individually when necessary); singing special nursery songs during everyday, natural situations for the children, such as when a minor injury or quarrel occurs, or during mundane events such as washing or combing hair; and singing traditional songs addressing the sun, the wind, the rain, a bee, a snail, flowers, and so on during walks so that children learn to listen for and to hear the music of nature.

very important that nothing is learned purposefully, but that everything happens naturally. Songs are connected closely and harmoniously with the rituals of meeting, sleeping, walking, and so on. In this way, music becomes a natural part of the children's lives. Another important component of the new program is the attention paid to classical music. The traditional program's classical repertory generally is comprised of pieces composed by contemporary musicians especially for kindergarten children, and the scope of the music is extremely narrow. Most of the pieces are notable for their primitive melodies and te2-.1:S and also for their marked complexity. In contrast, in the new program children hear the works of Vivaldi, Bach, Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, Ravel, and Debussy, as well as those of the Russian composers Kastalsky, Berezovsky, Bortnyansky, Glinka, Rimsky-Korsaov, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, and Prokofiev. In the new music education program, the criteria for choosing musical works are:
a definite mood is implied by the music; expressiveness prevails over picturesqueness; the predominance of the melody is delineated by a voice or an instrumental solo (the flute and violin being preferable).

Roles of Classroom Teacher and Music Specialist

In Russia's kindergartens, classroom teachers are assisted in teaching music by music specialists. These professional musicians are responsible for teaching all the children, rather than only a single classroom. The music specialists present two 20- to 30-minute sessions per week, depending on the age of the children. At these lessons, children study songs and dances and listen to selected music. After the music specialist leaves the classroom, musical activities continue throughout the day, under the guidance of the classroom teacher. The roles of the classroom teacher and the

Such material is the essence of folklore, the natural and necessary basis for a proper music education of a child. Folk music was once an inherent part of everyday life, and it should occupy a similar place in kindergartens today. It is one of the most important components of the new program. Russian nursery songs are full of love for the child. The melodies are clear, tender, and natural, and children are fond of listening to them. Children will naturally begin echoing their teachers' singing, and with repetition will join in. As they sing day after day, children gradually learn the songs. It is 34

The Quarterly Journal of Music Teaching and Learning

music specialist in the new program are radically different than in the old system. Only the teacher can foresee the situations in which music can be a part of the school day, for it is the teacher who is constantly with the children and and knows their habits, their moods, and their reactions. It is important that music should come into children's daily life harmoniously, helping with selfexpression and self-discovery and give them opportunities to sing, play and enjoy themselves. The classroom should include songs, round dances, and music that is either sad or merry, calm or energetic. Music will help teachers and children find a common language and discover the beautiful and multifaceted world of sound. In contrast, the music specialist's duty is to assist the classroom teacher in shaping the repertory, arranging festivities, and mastering music material. The music specialist helps the children develop certain skills, like understanding the language of music. The music specialist also plays children's instruments and folk instruments; acts out operas, ballets, and musicals; and arranges performances. These are the specific duties of music specialists:
to arrange puppet shows twice a month; to organize concerts of classical music once a month by either playing an instrument or inviting professionals to perform, to prepare festive performances for holidays; to explore with children the properties of sound while playing different children's and experimental instruments; with older children, to give lessons in movement and music once a week, including free movement to music, round dances, foreign traditional dances, and historical dances such as the minuet and polonaise; and with 5- to 6-year-olds, to give singing lessons and conduct choirs that perform sacred music, classical music, and contemporary songs twice a month. Smaller children sing only in their classrooms with their teachers; they do not have special lessons in choral music.

with other children; moving to music and singing in a circle; listening to music; experimenting with sounds while playing traditional and children's musical instruments; and understanding music as an integral part of holidays and other festivities. Another area explored in the new program concerns mathematics and music and the connection between them. Any geometric (manipulative) object can be assigned a sound, and any musical sound can be assigned a symbol that can be printed on paper, clay, or wood and then put into motion. Children like to sing pictures and paint songs. The children also explore space and spatial relations in games like "Ring around the Rosy." By participating in swift circular motions and movements toward and away from the center of the circle and moving in lines, the children learn about spatial concepts. They also gain a sense of time. How can one explain to the very young the meaning of slow and fast? Music can explain when words fail; music can relate concepts without words. For example, teachers may present as an example a long sound using the length of the bow, then follow with a short, pizzicato sound. The new kindergarten program is a creative process in which children and teachers are engaged equally. The program uses the best examples of humanity's musical culture-folk music and the classics. The children have an opportunity to realize their freedom and manifest it individually in a variety of forms of artistic and creative activity.~

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The new system of music education assures that children experience many forms of creative music activity throughout the year. Their everyday lives include singing for and Volume Iv, Number 3

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