Sing, Play, Move! - Preparatory Music

singPlay3

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sing, Play, Move classes are postponed until we can safely gather again. We are offering monthly virtual (Zoom) sing-a-longs. Please contact the director for more information at baird@hnu.edu.

Sing, Play, Move classes offer babies and young children a wonderful opportunity to foster and deepen their blossoming music skills in an engaging and age-appropriate way.

Young children are primed for absorbing and learning from their environment. They readily engage with and respond to music. Through the body, voice, mind and ear, our young musicians develop an enduring enjoyment and love of music as they establish foundation skills for more formal aspects of music learning: singing, beat/rhythm, structure, style and expression.

Sing, Play, Move classes are taught by early childhood music educators with specialized training in Kodály philosophy, and who are practicing musicians.

As teachers we:
• Center the children in our instruction
• Have a responsive approach to teaching: Paying attention to the background, needs, and skills of the specific students in front of us
• Have a keen awareness of the developmental stages of our students and the appropriate sequential progression of musical materials
• Work together as educators to increase our own understanding of how to bring cultural-responsiveness and anti-racism into our own teaching
• Are conscientious in the materials that we choose: Researching where we get our songs and additional resources, acknowledging the lineage, and taking into account how to show our students (and families) a variety of cultures and musical styles
• Share videos of our class songs and activities to encourage and support music-making at home, putting in context lyrics, translation, and history, wherever possible
• Value the contributions of parents and families

Using activities that engage the whole child– intellectually, socially, emotionally and musically – Sing, Play, Move is a program that is developmental, sequential, child-centered and fun! Research demonstrates that interactive music-making reinforces a broad range of skills, including math, speech and language, empathy, and motor skills.

1Physical development

In Sing, Play, Move classes, children use their whole bodies to engage actively in music-making. They develop strength and coordination, balance, and a sense of their bodies in space. Activities are designed to engage fine and gross motor
skills and reinforce fundamental coordination and cross-cerebral movements.

2Language/vocabulary development

Through singing and chanting, children explore and expand their vocabulary. Repetition via interactive musical activities help these young musicians form the foundation of language. They develop communication skills when they respond to the teacher, their parent and with other children in the class.

3Cognitive development

Music can have a profound effect on brain development and cognitive function. Research shows that interactive music-making strengthens synapse connections and assists in the development of temporal-spatial cognition.

4Math/patterning development

Music is comprised of patterns and sequences: rhythmic, verbal, melodic. Young children learn to aurally discriminate patterns, reinforcing this through singing, playing simple instruments and moving.

5Beat/rhythm development

Beat, pulse and rhythm form the foundation of music. Children and parents practice and refine beat, pulse and rhythmic understanding through singing, playing and moving in a variety of ways.

6Social development

By sharing music with other children and parents each week, young children develop social skills together. Singing games and chants that involve partners and groups provide opportunities for young children to interact with each other. They develop a range of social skills that help the group bond and work together: listening, eye-contact, waiting, anticipation, turn taking
and co-operation.

Faculty

Masumi Maei Hayashi-Smith

Masumi Maei has a masters in music with a focus on Kodály pedagogy from Holy Names University, a BA from Brown University in Africana and Development studies. She received a Fulbright Fellowship in 2011 to research education in Sri Lanka. Masumi has a passion for multicultural music, and spends her free time researching ways to diversify her repertoire. She teaches at Vivace Youth Chorus in San Jose and Berkeley Rose Waldorf School. In the past, she has sung in the choir for St. Lukes Episcopal Church in Los Gatos, and taught private voice and musicianship lessons.

Maree Hennessy

Maree Hennessy holds Masters in Music Studies & Bachelor of Education degrees, and an Australian Kodály Certificate. She is the Director of the Kodály Center at Holy Names University, overseeing and teaching in the Masters in Music Education program. She has extensive experience in teaching and learning music in multi-level contexts across educational sectors, and has worked in Early Childhood, Primary, Secondary and higher education, and community contexts. Maree sees that engaging the very young in experiential music opportunities creates firm foundations for future success in music study.

Lisa May

Lisa May has wide-ranging experience as a classroom music instructor, having taught music classes for pre-school through middle school grades. For the last 15 years, she has specialized in music enrichment for special education classes. At the Holy Names Kodály Summer Institute she received a Level 1 with additional coursework in early childhood music. She is also trained as a Music Together teacher. As a performer, Lisa has sung with theatre and choral groups throughout the San Francisco Bay Area including Lamplighters Music Theatre, San Jose Lyric Theatre, 42nd Street Moon, San Francisco Opera Chorus, American Bach Soloists Choir, and San Francisco Renaissance Voices. Lisa is music director and soprano soloist for the vocal quartet at St. Thomas’ Anglican Church in San Francisco. In addition to classroom teaching, Lisa teaches voice privately in Castro Valley. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in music from Scripps College and a Masters of Music in voice and opera from Northwestern University.