MUSICAL INITIATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
SCHOOLBAND
WORKSHOPS FOR SENIOR CITIZENS
MUSICAL INITIATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
Reason and Importance
Musical expression in preschool is of great importance in the development and learning of children who, at this age, are naturally receptive to music, without any pressure or prejudice. Being constructed with rhythms, strong and weak sounds, high and low, music predisposes children to carry out mental processes through which they learn, intuitively, to be able to listen, perceive and react in a cycle of constant intellectual evolution, where cognitive, social and motor development are provided.
Objectives
The offer for nursery and preschool age groups has a core group of experienced teachers with specialized training in this area, who use a varied repertoire including content and original adaptations for these specific ages. This offer aims to provide a set of development opportunities for children that transcend the strictly musical scope, providing contributions to the construction of their personality, to their cognitive and emotional development and to the capacity for motor coordination and social and cultural integration.
The aim of the sessions is to:
– Develop important skills such as concentration, listening, creativity and imagination;
– Promote interdisciplinarity between musical expression and the different domains of learning, as well as greater involvement with the educational projects of partner schools;
– Stimulate interaction, work and cooperation in groups through active listening to musical works, group dynamics and musical games;
– Develop language, creativity, mastery of sensations, emotions and social skills;
– Learn basic notions of music theory;
– Experiment with different ways of producing sounds: body percussion, handling alternative materials, identifying everyday sounds, exploring different types of musical instruments;
– Recognize the voice as an important and versatile instrument, exploring some of its potential;
– Learn children’s and popular songs of a traditional and local nature, accompanied by choreography, gestures and movements;
– Promote and encourage family involvement in school life, more specifically through musical projects in which parents take on active roles.
Methodology
All activities are designed and developed jointly by a team of teachers, based on a learning structure derived from specialized pedagogical practices and aimed at the age groups in question.
Our sessions are always accompanied by a mascot brought by the teacher with the intention of ensuring narrative continuity: the structure of the classes is carefully designed to maintain a thematic thread that allows for greater involvement on the part of the children, with this narrative being appropriate to the themes and activity planning of the schools in question.
The intervention we propose is careful to involve the general and particular levels of the school structures where it is applied: individual assessment of each child is foreseen in the case of preschoolers, and, if the schools wish, our participation in celebrations and school activities at both the nursery and preschool levels is also contemplated.
Expected results
With the implementation of this project, we expect to create a space where children feel free to play with music, being properly guided to make the most of the proposed activities and finding in music a way to have fun and communicate. The aim is for children to build musical and social skills for life, acquiring tools for lasting enjoyment and musical participation, for a culturally and socially richer life.
SCHOOLBAND
Reason and Importance
Music is a universal phenomenon and an integral part of the daily lives of communities, manifesting itself in different ways and developing significant content for the integral development of individuals. Based on the enormous knowledge of the role that music plays in our society, the investment in this project is justified, since access to learning music should not be a privilege only for those who are considered to have a natural aptitude or for those who have the financial means to finance this learning and acquire the respective instrument.
It is therefore considered that the implementation of this project proposal is of extreme importance because it is innovative in pedagogical practices and enhances the involvement of participants and the community in cultural enrichment activities. Underlying this aspect, the dimension of social inclusion, which is strongly enhanced by this project, stands out. By consolidating constructive behaviors of being and integrating a group, the course of the sessions promotes a substantial increase in several transversal skills across all their circles of belonging, namely the school context, in the case of children, where improvements in performance tend to be seen.
Objectives
The SchoolBand’s fundamental mission is to bring musical practice and learning to as many people as possible, seeking to contribute to their integral development through art, regardless of their cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. Since the teaching of the various musical instruments – which are provided by Grupetto – is conducted in collective and cooperative sessions where all participants learn and play together, this practice involves ongoing teamwork. The specific objectives are:
– Learning to play a musical instrument
– Interpreting and playing musical themes, fostering perseverance
– Awakening a taste for music and promoting the creation of new audiences
– Acquiring general knowledge about music, its performers and its history
– Knowing and appreciating the variety of musical manifestations
– Promoting inclusion by fostering group spirit, mutual assistance and a sense of belonging
– Improving body posture
– Improving abstract thinking and auditory and musical perception
– Developing logical reasoning and understanding musical language
– Developing emotional and spatial intelligence
– Developing laterality, motor coordination and memory
– Developing concentration levels
Methodology
The methodology to be used and which gives the project its name – schoolband – is characterized by its permanent cooperative and collective dynamics. Based on the classband method, widely applied internationally, our methodology is the result of several years of experimentation in the specific context of Brazilian schools, and is the culmination of several adaptive processes that best serve to achieve the stipulated objectives. The musical instruments we teach are from the wind family: transverse flute, saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, French horn, trombone, euphonium and tuba. Given that they require a close connection between hearing, breathing and motor skills, these instruments imply the development of very complete cognitive processes, which cultivate a complex proprioception along a rapid evolution curve. Step by step, participants evolve and become aware of their capabilities and the potential of the musical instrument they explore from session to session. We found that this dynamic brings participants closer together, improving interpersonal relationships by facilitating communication between peers and fostering a spirit of group and mutual assistance.
Expected results
Participants are expected to acquire social and musical skills, in addition to extensive development of cognitive processes involving proprioception, memory development, and auditory and postural sensitivity – all without the need to purchase an instrument.
WORKSHOPS FOR SENIOR CITIZENS
Concept
The Music Workshops for the Elderly are aimed at an adult audience, who do not have any prerequisites other than being over 60 years of age. Although it is an artistic intervention project, no prior knowledge or experience in the designated areas is required. It can be easily implemented in pre-existing structures, such as Senior Universities and Associations. The profile of the individual idealized in the conception and implementation of this project is anyone interested in integrating practices that lead to sustainable aging and in exploring creative and cooperative work dynamics. According to the project planning, the sessions will include moments of individual musical development (instrumental, vocal and motor practice) and moments of development of group dynamics and cooperative musical creation.
Importance of music in old age
Musical activity encompasses an infinitely inclusive scope of methods of interaction between individuals with a view to building bridges between people and the personal development – emotional, physical and social – of participants. Applied to old age, this aspect translates into the possibility of integrating any person – despite possible physical, motor or social obstacles that, in other contexts, could condition the participants – in the conception and presentation of a musical show.
The appreciation of past experiences and the construction of new skills and experiences ensure that, by integrating and actively participating in the composition and conception of musical moments in partnership with others, music workshop moments provide a complete break with routine, stimulating an active and meaningful life.
Objectives
The main objective of music workshops for seniors is to cultivate practices that promote sustainable aging. The impact of these workshops involves the creation of social bonds and the stimulation of the capacity building and autonomy necessary to promote self-esteem and well-being. From an artistic point of view, the aim is to foster habits that value creativity and interpersonal sharing.
The social objectives include:
1) Inclusion through regular and prolonged contact with a diverse work group, with group dynamics and games;
2) Increased skills
a. Acquisition of musical knowledge and skills, at the vocal, instrumental and physical levels, individual and collective;
b. Development of musical themes (composition of music/lyrics) with the appropriate guidance of monitors and respective public presentation in the form of a project;
3) Integration through:
a. Dynamic and active participation in the construction of musical themes, performance, sharing of ideas and design of presentation format;
b. A permanent appreciation of each person’s experiences and personal stories, through the invitation to integrate and enrich the musical elements.
Methodology
This workshop model follows an intervention methodology through art that is flexible and sensitive to the participating individuals, seeking to ensure, first and foremost, human and social cohesion among the established group. Designed to be implemented in two weekly sessions of one hour to ninety minutes, this methodology is designed in 5 stages:
1) Development of personal skills
a. First contact for diagnostic assessment of participants:
to perceive their possible previous skills, their goals and their interests;
b. to provide participants with contact with new vocal, instrumental and physical practices;
2) Development of group dynamics
a. Collective exercises and games to break ice and develop group dynamics: creating interpersonal bonds, building a safe space;
b. Survey, through playful activities, of common interests and relevant topics to be developed;
3) Creative work
a. Creative deepening of one of the themes identified in 2.b: brainstorming, sharing stories, moments of theatrical improvisation, collective thinking, etc.;
b. Development of musical themes and lyrics alluding to the chosen theme according to the practical aspects worked on by each participant throughout point 1;
c. Collection of elements of the individual musical heritage of the participants (popular songs or themes that they know, etc.);
4) Collective Practice
a. Collective practice of the original materials;
b. Collective evaluation of the artistic results created;
c. Design of a show coherent with the various elements created;
5) Performance
a. Public presentation of the work developed.
Expected results
Through the implementation and development of this project, it is expected to generate social cohesion and ensure the integration of motivated individuals committed to healthy and sustainable aging practices. The final presentation of the project aims to capture the interest of the surrounding community in the importance of the arts and their pivotal role in a dignified and cohesive society. The social ties strengthened by collaborative work throughout the sessions are no less important, and the creation of conditions for the establishment of support and mutual aid networks that transcend the space of the sessions is expected.
Partnerships
MUSIC INITIATION IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
D. Dinis School Group (Santo Tirso) – Kindergarten and Elementary School of Campinhos (2022/2023)
Solo Guidelines – Grupetto Association
AAAF – Sampaio Elementary School
Saber Crescer School
Baby Surprise – Daycare and Kindergarten, Association
Santo André de Sobrado Social and Parish Center
APEECA – Parents and Guardians Association Education Department of the Campinhos-Agrela School
Social and Parish Center of Santo André de Canidelo
SCHOOL BAND
Ermesinde School Group (2020 to present)
Valongo City Council
Alijó School Group (2021/2022)
Alijó City Council
Ermesinde Parish Council
9G Choices Program
MUSIC WORKSHOPS FOR SENIOR CITIZENS
Maia Music Conservatory (2018 to 2020)
Nogueira e Silva Escura Parish Council
Nogueira e Silva Escura Recreational and Cultural Association
Senior University – USES (2020 to 2022)