There are many kinds of sounds around us. Alarm for timer, notice sounds for kitchen equipment, tv and other nature sounds. Many children love music, but they have difficulty to do in a big group. When we provided the music activity, some of them showed overcast expression first. We played the castanets to the sound of the words, musical chair, drumming follow music, and so on.
We expected it might be hard for them to follow and hit the sound of the words, but they listened to the teacher and were able to follow the words. For example, Strawberry (ICHIGO in Japanese) they hit the castanets 3 times. Depending on the sounds of the words, they hit the castanets in different rhythms. Also, we asked some questions by sound to answer what words teacher tried to express. Some children surprised us because they could answer all questions straight away.
Beat the drums and play some musical instruments to the music was fun too. Some children knew a game, ‘Taiko No Tatsujin’, and they played like that game. Or they did music lessons in their preschool and they know how to play. No teachers stopped them even though they played wrong rhythm, so they enjoyed playing music freely. We focused they enjoyed the music, not on following the rhythm.
Through this activity, we hope they don’t feel stress playing music, but they love to hear and play music. Also, we hope they enjoy and notice many kinds of sounds in their life.