Kindermusik with Kathy's Music in Pittsburgh, PA
Foundation of Learning Principle of the Week: Steady Beat Development
One of the first musical skills to develop is the ability to keep a steady beat. Of course the ability to keep a steady beat is essential for future musical experiences, but it is also important in everyday life. Think of all we do that requires regularly paced repeated motion (a sense of steady beat!) – walking, running, riding a bicycle, cutting with scissors, bouncing a ball, playing sports, and more. Music relies on steady beat more than nearly any other activity, making it a perfect skill-builder.
Kindermusik supports your child’s steady beat development for 7 years!
Our goals in Kindermusik expand as your child grows. Be amazed at how your child’s ability to keep a steady beat will grow and expand throughout the 7-year Kindermusik program:
Village (0 to 18 months): “It began as a heartbeat and sprouted a rhyme…” (Do-Si-Do, by Susan Frye) The first seeds of steady beat development are sown as parents dance, bounce, and play instruments with and for Baby. Aided and even manipulated by the parent, these early experiences in Village begin the process of helping the child associate internal feelings with external sounds.
Our Time (1.5 to 3 yrs): Toddlers still need their parents to engage and model for them, but the children are beginning to do more on their own. As they take the opportunities we give them in class and at home, the children become increasingly able to respond on their own, compelled to imitate or match the beat as they try to synchronize their internal beat with external sound.
Imagine That (3 to 5 yrs): Here begins the next step, as the preschooler becomes more able to adapt his own sense of rhythm or beat to external sounds. Just as the children’s social and emotional development moves from being all about “me” to including others in their world, so their steady beat capacity grows to allow them to participate in a world outside their own beat.
Young Child (5 to 7 yrs): Whether moving, singing, or playing an instrument, most children are now capable of consistently matching their own responses to an external beat. But since small muscles are still developing and the beat is best experienced through the large muscles, Kindermusik uses a deliberate process with every activity that allows the children to experience the beat first in their bodies before adding the next layer of difficulty of playing an instrument as part of an ensemble. Skills are more finely tuned, and the YC graduate is more than ready to take the next step in his or her musical education.
Contact us today for a free Preview Class to learn more about how Kindermusik promotes the development of your child!
(412) 344-0535
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