Seven Foundational Elements of Sound Beginnings

The Sound Beginnings music program prepares children for success in kindergarten and Let's Play Music. That's fantastic! How is it done?

Today's post will walk you through the seven research-based elements that stimulate growth in the areas particularly crucial to the development of your young child. These elements make up the foundation of the Sound Beginnings curriculum and help us get to the heart of an effective class.

Literacy and Kindergarten Skills

Sound Beginnings not only teaches music, it also introduces children to kindergarten concepts like colors, rhyming, manners, telling time, shapes, calendars, name recognition, counting, adding, literacy, and sequencing. 

Research has proven that music has a powerful effect on language learning. As children sing songs and recite nursery rhymes during class, they learn new vocabulary, develop auditory discrimination, enhance phonemic awareness, and improve their memory skills. Sound Beginnings classes also prepare children to read by teaching tracking left to right, verbal sequencing, and concepts about print during musical story time.

I imagine (I have an active imagination) that the creators of Sound Beginnings had a conversation like this:

  "Let's select songs to use in class. We'll definitely need plenty of simple melodies that are easy to learn and in the correct pitch range so the students can internalize musical patterns."
  "Okay, we have tons of options here. What do you want the words to be about?"
  "Oh yeah, words. Kids just love words."
  "Well, as we all know, music is a powerful tool for teaching just about anything. I passed my college chemistry class by singing the solubility rules song, so I'm sure we could teach kids about kindergarten skills like telling time, calendars, colors, days of the week...you know... and they'd be learning music at the same time."
  "That's super efficient! I'm so excited I feel like singing about it right now!"

Hey parents: you can use this music-class superpower to your life: anytime you want your toddler to learn a skill or behavior, add a song! Here's the song I sing (over and over and over) until my kids get their seat belts on. As you can guess, my teenagers get buckled before I finish the first word:

Whenever I get into the car

I put on my seat belt before we go far

'Cuz Mom will not drive until she hears 'click'

so put on your seat belt, and please be quick!

Rhythm and Beat

Keeping a steady beat is the precursor to all accurate rhythm-making. In class we clap, pat, stomp, jump, flap our arms, and play simple instruments to the beat. We imitate rhythmic patters with our voices, on instruments and with our bodies. We incorporate eurythmics (movement-based rhythm training) that is perfect for toddlers.

Curious to see if you can keep the beat? Take a simple test like this one. You'll listen to the drum to find the beat, then you'll tap along to match the beat, and then... all by yourself... you'll play a steady beat. (Post in the comments and tell me what your score was) Wahoo! 

Once your child internalizes these beat-basic skills, she'll really be ready to make music.  The American Council of Piano Performers, in a post on how to perform, says "the audience will rarely notice an error in pitch, but they will ALWAYS notice a disruption in rhythm."

Getting the beat right is fundamentally important, so we spend plenty of time on practicing with our toddlers.

Voice and Pitch Development

The singing voice is the foundation of music education. Sound Beginnings channels the young voice into beautiful singing by providing proper vocal modeling in the correct range. Solfege hand signs are used to teach pitch relationships. Ear training is emphasized and a minor third (SOL-MI) pattern is used to teach in-tune singing.

I just love solfege. It gives us words to talk about what we're singing and gives us a tactile way to feel in space what we're hearing in our ear. It takes challenge of singing and makes it a whole-body learning experience. In these articles (Part I, Part II, Part III) I explain what solfege is, why we love it, and how you can use it.

My active imagination thinks the creators of Sound Beginnings and Let's Play Music had a conversation like this:

"Alright folks. What tools are we gonna use for teaching these toddlers to sing?"
"Um, well, I have an idea...it's something we did in all of our college voice classes and sight-singing classes. You know... solfege."
"Are you crazy? Toddlers don't go to college. Young children learn through full-body involvement and integrating as many senses as possible. Young children need to be active and physical to learn. Give me something I can use, people."
"Well, that's just it- solfege is a way to use your hands and body to better focus on what you are hearing, and involve more of your body into what you are making your voice do."
"In that case, we'd be fools not to use solfege with toddlers and children! I'm so excited I think I'll start singing about this!"

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills involve hand and finger use and play a valuable part in higher-level learning skills like writing. As students participate in finger plays to favorite nursery rhymes and American Sign Language (ASL) they gain finger dexterity. As they manipulate instruments and tactile props in class they develop stronger muscles in their hands and wrists.

Looking for more fun ways to strengthen little hands? Check out this post with (piano and non-piano) ways to encourage growth and strength. Not to worry: Let's Play Music class is designed to let your child's ear and mind develop as fast and awesomely as they can, even though we know finger strength will take a few years to catch up. That's one reason we use bells and autoharp in year one.

Gross Motor Skills

If you peek into a Sound Beginnings class, you will see skipping, crawling, dancing, and playing. Children learn best by doing! Full body movement builds muscle strength and hand-eye coordination while developing balance in young children. Gross motor development also aids in brain hemisphere development.

The basis for the importance of movement and sensory experiences was derived from studies which compared brain structures of animals raised in various environmentally normal, deprived, and enriched settings. The enriched settings provided the opportunity to interact with toys, obstacles, and treadmills. Research led to the conclusion that stimulation is a significant factor in overall brain development; animals from enriched environments had larger brains with more synaptic connections. It is suggested that physical activity is a significant determinant in early development of the overall brain, not just development of motor skills.

Whatever you are doing with your child, take her to activities where she can move around and be active while learning.

Classical Music Experience

Sound Beginings classes teach intelligent listening and understanding of classical form in a fun and interactive way. Each semester we study the timbre of specific instruments and how they are divided into family groupings. Our 'smart moves' dances involve the whole body in an enjoyable classical music experience.

Really great dancers (and aerobic instructors, right?) use their body to follow the beat of the music, listen to the patterns and form of the music, and create movement that "feels like" the music itself. This awareness of how music is put together means your child will learn to anticipate what comes next in classical songs and enjoy them even more. When the Orange semester of Let's Play Music comes around, he'll be composing his own songs using the same concepts of form and pattern!

And why should you be interested in the fact that little Johnny is developing a love of listening to the classical genre? Loads of recent research shows that listening to classical improves memory, boosts creativity, lowers blood pressure, boosts brain power, fights depression, improves productivity, and makes you taller. (My active imagination came up with the part about being taller.)

Parent Bonding

A child learns when a child feels loved. In Sound Beginnings we teach parents how to play with their child in an educational and nurturing way. Purposeful touching, eye contact and partner activities develop the highly significant parent/child relationship.

In our blog post on creating relationships, we give some tips for having a strong relationship with your family, and for how to grow closer together through music.  In class, your actions teach your child, "This is a fun thing I like to do. I like to play with you. I like to be with you. You're important to be. This is something we can learn and have fun with together." 

When music is a venue in which you build a positive relationship and make memories of happy moments, students love music and are more willing to work at becoming musicians!


Now that you know the seven foundational elements of Sound Beginnings, find a teacher for your youngster, or forward this blog post to someone who has a child ages 2-4 so they can reap the benefits of this great program.  See you in class!

-Gina Weibel, M.S.
Let's Play Music and Sound Beginnings Teacher




 

What Makes Sound Beginnings Different?

We know you have choices for your children: what they'll wear, what they'll eat, who they'll spend time with, and what type of education they'll have. The choices are many, but we can help you with one choice today: is Sound Beginnings the right preschool music class for your family?  You want to know: how is Sound Beginnings different from other programs out there?

When to Start Music Class?

Much as for learning a language, early exposure catches youngsters during a critical time when they are sensitive and responsive. Babies and toddlers are primed to distinguish pitches and melodies in music and language; hearing them early sets the child up for success speaking the native tongue and success as a musician. Just as every child holds the potential to be fluent in her native tongue, every child is born with the potential to learn to perform and understand her culture's music.

With this in mind, is it ever too early to give music to a baby?  The answer is no! Just as your baby benefits from hearing you speak to her (the more, the better), she benefits from hearing music in her environment and hearing you sing to her.  

When music educator, Zoltan Kodaly, was asked about the appropriate time to begin incorporating music education, he declared "nine months before the birth of the child...moreover, nine months before the birth of the mother." Not only did he endorse exposing babies and children to music, he stressed that everyone (parents included) has a right to learn music, and children need to be raised in a musical family environment. His slogan was, "Let music belong to everyone!"

Let's Play Music
When Let's Play Music was created in 1998, a handful of music programs for young children already existed. LPM Creator, Shelle Soelberg, discovered that by the time her daughter was four and had delightfully enjoyed a few years of early childhood music classes, she was ready for more.

She was ready to learn to read musical notation, memorize themes in classical music, be challenged to sing on pitch, experience more advanced ear-training drills, complete weekly homework assignments, and reliably perform on instruments in class.  Her brain was ready to learn more serious music theory!  But her fingers were still four years-old.

Private piano lessons lacked the multi-faceted, playful education Soelberg was looking for, and required too much dexterity and sitting still for a four year-old.  She strongly felt that children should not be held back from music learning, especially during the age when they are best primed to hear, distinguish, and internalize musical theory concepts, just because their fingers are weak. So she created Let's Play Music.  

The minimum age is firmly set at age four, when students can begin to reliably perform, sing, and complete homework, but the program is also specifically designed with the playfulness and attention span of those children in mind.  For years, parents were told to go enjoy other experiential music programs, and come back to LPM when their child was four.  Families begged for a toddler class, and Soelberg promised that one day a program would emerge.

Sound Beginnings

In 2010, the time was ripe for the creation of Sound Beginnings, a weekly preschool music class for children ages 2-4, with a parent.  Unlike LPM, younger siblings and babies are also invited.  Below are a few key points about Sound Beginnings:

Begin with the End in Mind: Sound Beginnings was purposefully created years after Let's Play Music.  Now that we have a firm grasp on the ear-training drills, the note-reading skills, and the musical concepts that will be taught in LPM, we were able to design a program that sets up for those skills in the toddler class.  The first 80 Sound Beginnings teachers, and most still, are also Let's Play Music teachers.  That means your teacher knows where we are going with playing rhythms, singing melodies, and identifying intervals- so she can help your toddler start to hear them now.  Sound Beginnings is unique because it is taught by teachers with an intimate, long-view awareness of how the skills in class will build up over the next five years.  Sound Beginnings is the best program to prepare toddlers for Let's Play Music.

Musical Concepts: We don't skimp on introducing real musical skills and playing with them.  Some concepts included are: audiation, staff reading, rhythm, pitch matching, major scale, pentatonic scale, solfege hand shapes, and classical form. Sound Beginnings is unique because we don't hold back on laying foundation for real musical skills.

Play time! Early childhood is a time when children learn about their world through play. A rich musical environment consists of a continuous exposure to new musical elements followed by playful experimentation with these elements. Class time will have lots of moving around and playing games.

Parent bonding: For the 2-4 year-old child, parent involvement is a must. You are the one your child wants to play with, and you are the one she trusts to guide her in music-making.  Sound Beginnings classes (and this blog) are a resource for guiding parents in the art of creating a musical environment through play. We'll teach you how to "play music time" with your child.  Read our post on the hows and whys of parent involvement.

Folk Songs and Games: Authentic folk music has short form, pentatonic style, and simple, repetitive language.  It's simply perfect for providing foundational skills in rhythm and melody while connecting to a common culture.  Read more about why we use folk music.

School Readiness: Research indicates that preschool music exposure improves reading and writing skills, not to mention classroom readiness. We will have a singing story time in each class, and you can learn to sing stories, too!

Specific Academic Concepts: Sound Beginnings is unique as a music program because we also include specific academic concepts.  Each semester we focus on different academic skills like telling time, counting, the alphabet, colors, manners, planets, and name recognition.  Children learn content like this best when it is taught through a song or musical game, so we show you how to teach through song. What specific concepts will you teach your preschooler next?

Fast-Paced:  Sound Beginnings covers 13-15 activities per 30 minute class, making it more fast-paced than other programs. Toddlers require much repetition for mastery and practice, so after trying out new games and variations in class, you'll probably have fun repeating them at home throughout the week.  We help you build a musical environment that lasts all week long, and give you plenty of ideas.

Workbook: Sound Beginnings uses our unique workbook in class.  Several pages are "smart charts" to engage students and teach concepts.  Your child will tap along in her workbook while singing the songs, and it works at home, too! Your workbook also has several stick-puppet figures to color and cut out; then you'll use them during our rhymes and songs from class.  We recommend a tote bag for carrying your workbook and puppets so they stay neat.

Although your teacher will give weekly home-fun suggestions, homework is not required or graded like in LPM. Some students love coloring and cutting, and others don't.

Digital Downloads: Each semester includes a CD of songs from class and beginning Fall 2016, a digital download of the CD.  Songs are easy to sing-along with and include traditional folk songs, classical pieces, and original compositions. We want to make it easy for you to get the songs in a format that works for you in your home.

Instrument Day: Children experience performing in front of a group in their own mini recital and have the pleasure of hearing real instruments on the final day of class.  After studying the instruments and their sounds, it's a pleasure to touch and try them.  Each semester also includes a take-home small instrument for the student to use during the semester and keep.

Superb Teachers: Our teachers are carefully selected, then trained in person to present our games and activities.  Teachers always have a support team and an online community of teachers available for idea-sharing and problem-solving.  Networking and support help us improve continuously.

What we Value: Our values are at the core of Sound Beginnings and Let's Play Music, shaping our decisions and attitudes. When you know what we care about, you'll know what to expect here, and have confidence that you're choosing a quality program.

• We play! (and we understand its benefits)
• We embrace the process of learning
• We give consistent effort
• We focus on abundance
• We make the most of our time
• We communicate openly and honestly
• We pursue quality
• We celebrate accomplishment
• We face challenges with optimism
• We purposefully cultivate relationships

Let's Go to Class!  

Although there are no prerequisites for Let's Play Music classes, students who spend some time at home or in SB class playing with skills like singing and making rhythms have an easier time meeting the demands of LPM. 

Would you like to have a special time each week for bonding and playing with your child, while increasing your knowledge and confidence about creating a musical environment at home?  Sound Beginnings classes could be perfect for you!

Find a teacher by searching our database.  Many teachers even have a video of their class you can watch, and most teachers welcome you to come visit for a sample class.  Semesters begin in Fall and Winter, but teachers may be flexible about adding students, so it doesn't hurt to ask if you can enter even if the semester has begun. 

Unlike Let's Play Music, there is no multi-year commitment for Sound Beginnings class.  You could try it for a semester and even take a semester off- so there's really no reason NOT to give Sound Beginnings a try.  I hope you give it a try and feel inspired to play and sing music with your toddler even more often.