However, one thing I always try to plan in the day is time for my kids to rest. Time for the baby to take a nap and the rest of us to snuggle up in my bed to read books and work on schoolwork. Most parents make sure there is rest time for their young children. It is a necessary quiet time for the children and the adults. Think about the days when your child does not take a nap. You probably didn't get chores, phone calls, emails, or some other adult quiet time activity done. Most Mom's don't like to think about their little ones not napping. We need that quiet.
Similarly, we need that quiet in music too!
Often in early childhood music we talk about the sounds and movements the children are producing. The lesson plan moves quickly (and hopefully efficiently) from one song to the next. There are songs with more movement and some with less but we are making noise and moving continually. Sometimes the rests are forgotten.
When I teach preschool children I have begun to have them lay their head on their hand like they are resting during rests in the music. Saying SHHHH for the rest still puts a noise there, which defeats the purpose. Shhhh might prepare us for listening, but it is not quiet.
When I sing a tonal pattern or speak a rhythmic pattern to you in class, you need a moment of silence (even if it's a tiny one) to audiate that in your head and prepare to sing or speak it back to me. If I filled that necessary silence it would impair you brains ability to process what I asked you to copy, consequently making it difficult to repeat back to me.
So I encourage you to think about silence in music this week.
The other day I was frustrated with my kids. Their needs were continual. There was no silence in the house. So I stopped talking. Not to be mean, I just needed quiet. What happened next was amazing. As they played outside together, near me, they would ask questions, then answer them themselves. They would ask where something was, then go find it themselves! When I didn't immediately jump up to get it for them or continually interject words between theirs they did things (they were able to do) for themselves! And after being quiet for awhile my nerves were calmer too!
So I encourage you to think about silence in general this week.
I actually had a hard time finding songs with good silences in them.
In class our play along was Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious which has a part where the music stops and one of the characters continues speaking. We typically stop playing instruments and listen during that part so that will suffice for a type of silence.
Similarly, when we danced to the song Jump In the Line the music stops (around 2:45) and the beat continues, giving you another type of silence to listen for.
STOMP is a rhythmic group. If you have never seen them before I encourage you to search for them on YouTube. They keep complex rhythms going together with fun found objects. As discussed above, they must have some silences to be able to process what comes next and how to stay together. Look and listen for the silence in this video.
And lastly, this was a video I stumbled across that is a relaxing reflection on silence.
