Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T22:10:33.820Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Musical free play: A case for invented musical notation in a Hong Kong kindergarten

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2010

Wing Chi Margaret Lau  and
Susan Grieshaber
Wing Chi Margaret Lau
Affiliation:
Hong Kong Institute of Education, 10, Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong [email protected]
Susan Grieshaber
Affiliation:
Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Qld, 4059, [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Drawn from a larger mixed methods study, this case study provides an account of aspects of the music education programme that occurred with one teacher and a kindergarten class of children aged three and four years. Contrary to transmission approaches that are often used in Hong Kong, the case depicts how musical creativity was encouraged by the teacher in response to children's participation during the time for musical free play. It shows how the teacher scaffolded the attempts of George, a child aged 3 years and 6 months, to use musical notation. The findings are instructive for kindergarten teachers in Hong Kong and suggest ways in which teachers might begin to incorporate more creative approaches to musical education. They are also applicable to other kindergarten settings where transmission approaches tend to dominate and teachers want to encourage children's musical creativity.

Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Music Education , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , July 2010 , pp. 127 - 140
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

ANDRESS, B. (1998) Music for Young Children. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.Google Scholar
BARRETT, M. (1999) Modal dissonance: An analysis of children's invented notations of known songs, original songs, and instrumental compositions. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 141, 14–22.Google Scholar
BARRETT, M. (2003) ‘Musical children, musical lives, musical worlds’, in Wright, S. (Ed.), Children, Meaning-Making and the Arts (pp. 63–85). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
BOGDAN, R. C. & BIKLEN, S. K. (2003) Qualitative Research for Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
BREDEKAMP, S. & COPPLE, C. (2006) Basics of Developmentally Appropriate Practice: An Introduction for Teachers of Children 3 to 6. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.Google Scholar
BRUNER, J. (1986) Actual Minds, Possible Worlds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BRUNER, J. (2001) The Culture of Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
CRAFT, A. & JEFFREY, B. (2004) Creative practice and practice which fosters creativity. In Miller, L. & Devereaux, J. (Eds), Supporting Children's Learning in the Early Years (pp. 105–112). London: David Fulton.Google Scholar
CSIKSZENTMIHALYI, M. (1996) Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: Harper Collins.Google Scholar
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (CDC) (1996) Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum. Hong Kong: The Government Printer.Google Scholar
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (CDC) (2000) Consultation Document, Learning to learn: The Way Forward in Curriculum Development. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China: Printing Department.Google Scholar
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (CDC) (2001, June) The Way Forward in Curriculum Development – Learning to Learn: Life-long Learning and Whole-Person Development. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China: Printing Department.Google Scholar
CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (CDC) (2006) Guide to the Pre-primary Curriculum. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China: The Education and Manpower Bureau.Google Scholar
DAVIDSON, L. & SCRIPP, L. (1988) Young children's musical representations: windows on music cognition. In Sloboda, J. A. (Ed.), Generative Processes in Music: The Psychology of Performance, Improvisation, and Composition (pp. 195–230). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
DAVIS, G. A. (2004) Creativity is Forever. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.Google Scholar
EDUCATION COMMISSION (1999) Education Blueprint for the 21st Century. Review of Academic System: Aims of Education Consultation Document. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China: Printing Department.Google Scholar
FROST, J. L., WORTHAM, S. C. & REIFEL, S. (2005) Play and Child Development. 2nd edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
GRAY, D. E. (2004) Doing Research in the Real World. London: Sage.Google Scholar
HENNIGER, M. L. (2002) Teaching Young Children: An Introduction. 2nd edition. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall.Google Scholar
ISENBERG, J. P., JALONGO, M. R. & STAMP, L. N. (2006) ‘Engaging children in music, movement, and dance’, in Isenberg, J. P. & Jalongo, M. R. (Eds), Creative Thinking and Arts-Based Learning: Preschool Through Fourth Grade (pp. 132–175). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
JEFFREY, B. (2001) Primary pupil's perspectives and creative learning. Encyclopaideia, 9, 133–152.Google Scholar
JEFFREY, B. & CRAFT, A. (2004) Teaching creatively and teaching for creativity: Distinctions and relationships. Educational Studies, 30 (1), 77–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JENSEN, E. (2000) Learning with the Body in Mind. San Diego: Brain Store, Inc.Google Scholar
KEMPLE, K. M., BATEY, J. J. & HARTLE, L. C. (2004). ‘Music play: creating centres for musical play and exploration’, Young Children, 59 (4), 30–37.Google Scholar
KENNEY, S. H. & PERSELLIN, D. (2000) Designing Music Environments for Early Childhood. Reston, Va.: MENC.Google Scholar
LAU, W. C. M. (2007) Strategies Kindergarten Teachers Use to Enhance Children's Musical Creativity: Case Studies of Three Hong Kong teachers. Unpublished PhD thesis. Brisbane: Queensland University of Technology.Google Scholar
LAU, W. C. M. (2008) ‘Using singing games in music lessons to enhance young children's social skills’, Asia-Pacific Journal for Arts Education, 6 (2), 1–30.Google Scholar
LIANG, A. & PANG, L. (1992) ‘Early childhood education in the People's Republic of China’, in Woodill, G. A., Bernhard, J. & Prochner, L. (Eds), International Handbook of Early Childhood Education (pp. 169–174). New York: Garland.Google Scholar
NG, A. K. & SMITH, I. (2004) ‘Why is there a paradox in promoting creativity in the Asian Classroom?’, in Lau, S., Hui, A. N. N. & Ng, G. Y. C. (Eds), Creativity When East Meets West (pp. 87–112). Singapore: World Scientific Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PETERSEN, E. (2001) Encouraging Creativity. http://www.earlychildhood.com/Articles/index.cfm, retrieved 9 July 2001.Google Scholar
RUSS, S. W. (1996) ‘Development of creative processes in children’ in Runco, M. A. (Ed.), Creativity From Childhood Through Adulthood: The Developmental Issues (pp. 31–42). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.Google Scholar
SILVERMAN, D. (2000) Doing Qualitative Research: A Practical Handbook. London: Sage.Google Scholar
SINGER, D. G. & SINGER, J. L. (2006) ‘Fantasy and imagination’, in Fromberg, D. P. & Bergen, D. (Eds), Play From Birth to Twelve: Contexts, Perspectives, and Meanings (pp. 371–378). New York: Taylor & Francis Group.Google Scholar
STERNBERG, R. J. & LUBART, T. I. (1995) Defying the Crowd: Cultivating Creativity in a Culture of Conformity. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
UPITIS, R. (1992) Can I Play You my Song? The Compositions and Invented Notations of Children. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Google Scholar
WONG, S. S. & LAU, W. C. (2001a) An Innovative Movement and Music Approach for Preschool Curriculum in Hong Kong. Paper presented at the International Conference Rejuvenation Schools through Partnership, Hong Kong: Chinese University.Google Scholar
WONG, S. S. & LAU, W. C. (2001b) Creativity in the Teaching of Kindergarten Eurhythmics: A Case Study in Hong Kong. Paper presented at the Second Symposium of Child Development, Creativity: A moment of Aha! Hong Kong: Hong Kong Baptist University.Google Scholar
WONG, S. S. & LAU, W. C. (2008) Innovative changes in early childhood curriculum: creative rhythmic education. New Horizons in Education, 56 (1), 95–106.Google Scholar
WOODWARD, S. C. (2005) Critical matters in early childhood music education. In Elliott, D. J. (Ed.), Praxial Music Education: Reflections and Dialogues (pp. 249–266). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
WRIGHT, S. (Ed.) (2003) The Arts, Young Children and Learning. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
YIN, R. K. (2003) Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage.Google Scholar