Early musical education for children: What is a music garden?
Bells, tonewoods, rattles or drums – together with the children, these instruments play the main role in a music garden. Here you can find out what exactly happens in the music garden, what early musical education means, and what attending this sound-intensive baby course should teach your child.
What is the Music Garden?
The music pedagogue Dr. Lorna Lutz Heyge developed the idea of the music garden. Initially, she started with this offer in the USA. In 1994, the first music garden courses were offered in Germany.
Various concepts of “early musical education” in general have been used since 1900. Already at that time, a better musical, creative or communicative development of babies and toddlers was associated with the idea of early intervention. In Germany, “early musical education” is particularly associated with the composer and pedagogue Carl Orff. Together with Gunild Keetmann, he shaped the idea of “early musical education”. Since the 60s, this concept has spread strongly in Germany.
Early musical education: What happens in the music garden?
“Making music together” is the motto of the Musikgarten. Even the youngest children should be encouraged to make music together with their parents. There are various possibilities for this at the Musikgarten course. Dancing and singing together are just as much a part of it as musical children’s games or simple instruments. This is not only fun, but also promotes development.
Early musical education in the Musikgarten course focuses in particular on three aspects:
- Your child should build a relationship with music.
- The bond between you and your child should be strengthened by the music.
- The parents should be familiarized with the idea of “playful music-making”.
In the course of the lesson, the music garden director thus becomes a role model for the adults who imitate his movements, songs and games. The parents then become a role model for their children and show how it works. As a rule, 10 to 13 children take part in a music garden course with their caregiver. Singing, dancing and listening, music can be experienced and your child’s interest in music is awakened. In many cases, you can also fall back on song books and CDs that will bring the music garden home for you and your child.
Why take a music garden course?
The Musikgarten is about early musical support in infancy and early childhood. An early encounter with music can have an impact on one’s whole life. Therefore, many experts are convinced that early musical experiences are very significant.
Promoting your child’s development musically means that you sensitize your child to sounds and rhythms. Your child perceives sounds differently through musical training of the ear and develops a more intense relationship with singing, rhythms and tones. This allows your child to get to know his environment better. If such a course is of particular interest to your child, you will soon be able to observe it in your own singing and drumming experiments. This promotes your child’s creativity and communication.
Where and when to take a music garden course?
- Suitable for:Â The music garden courses are divided into three age groups, so that the offer also fits the respective stage of development of your child. A distinction is made here between the music garden for babies (up to 18 months), music garden phase 1 (for children from 18 months to three years) and music garden phase 2 (for children from three to five years).
- Time:Â One hour in the Musikgarten course takes about 30 to 60 minutes. The older the children, the longer the course times of the music garden.
- Provider:Â Music garden courses are offered by various institutions. For example, you can find such a course at music schools, family education centers or community centers. However, many of these offers do not necessarily correspond to the original music garden by Dr. Lorna Lutz Heyge. If you are looking for “the original”, you should pay attention to the colorful logo of the music garden.
- Cost:Â The costs for the courses, which usually take place around 17 times, range between 50 and 100 euros, depending on the provider.