Music education gold: Teaching ages two through four

It wasn’t always the case I felt this way. Coming out of music school with a performance degree, I was entirely ill-equipped to teach young beginners to play the violin, and I knew it. My irrational fear of teaching little ones (What if I can’t get them to settle down? What if they are not potty trained?) grew out of my respect for them. I knew what all they couldn’t do at two, three and four. But what COULD they do? Where are their minds at that age? 

It was soon after I got my Master’s in Music/Inter-related Arts Education, Child Development and Early Childhood Education that I ventured into teaching young children. For someone who rarely babysat or had much to do with toddlers before that, it was a huge learning curve. Theory meets application. All the things I learned in graduate school were put into action, but really, what I knew had very little to do with how children grow, what they are needing at that age, and how to meet them in a meaningful way. In fact, this specific age—two to four—Jean Piaget refers to as the “Preoperational and Preconceptual” Stage of child development. It is defined literally in terms of “pre” functioning in thinking and in overall socio-emotional development. Once again, I am faced with what children ages two-four can’t do with no guidance into what they are capable.

The last thirty years have been a journey into this world of the toddler. Indeed, they are quite accomplished by the age of two in language, they already possess a huge vocabulary of movement, and twos are creating a sense of self separate from the world (“mine, mine!”) Because of these emergent functions, children are captivated by all things sensory: poetry, chant, words, texture, color, shape, level, movement, sound, and so forth. It is through their sensory awareness toddlers relate to their world. It is also how they create a greater sense of self agency, self identity, and the ability to self-express ideas, feelings and emotions. Play is critical in linking their world and their sense of self within that world to music. 

It is useful to keep in mind the windows of learning at ages two, three and four.

1. Language and communication

2. Self-regulation of strong emotions and feelings

3. Kinesthesia including large and small muscles

4. Sensory experience

5. Self-sense 

6. Imagination/fantasy vs reality

What we can extrapolate from this list is this. Young children are developing a sense of themselves in the world. They can best be supported in doing so through safe, interactive sensory experiences that encourage connection with self and others. One example we could employ as music teachers is providing a small group class experience that explores music, movement, story, and art through the body. Singing, chanting, moving, dramatic play, listening, drawing, and story-telling not only reach young children where they are, but present musical concepts in a ways that make them concrete and knowable. As this is done, children identify and create a relationship with music that is utterly unique to them that promotes self growth, self awareness and self agency within the learning music. 

And, the impact of sensory learning doesn’t end at two years of age, but extends well into preschool and early elementary. Self-regulation, for instance, increases a child’s resilience in the world, As children acquire a greater understanding of and response to musical concepts, they begin to experiment with it in fascinating and developmentally powerful ways. For example, a child moving to a dynamic piece of music is not only connecting with the gradations in musical expression, but is “auditioning” ways of being. A rise in dynamic and increase in tempo accelerate our movements, breathing and heart rate to a more dysregulated state. Similarly, the music guides us back into calm with softer dynamics within a slower pace, and our emotional balance returns. Children learn the path to self-balance not only by their interaction with others, but directly through the rise and fall of the musical phrase. 

Which brings us to discipline, setting boundaries for young children and redirecting unwanted behavior. This, too, is part of learning at this age. How do we discipline little ones with compassion and connection? We don’t. We model, we guide, we redirect, we talk, we set clear limits for everyone’s safety. As group music moves into private instrumental instruction, young children are apt to test the parameters of their new situation. In Somatic Psychotherapy this is called “orienting.” Orienting is primal; getting a feel for your environment and finding safety in it means becoming familiar with it. Children will possibly open doors, touch things, or peer into private areas of the room at this stage, and it is up to you, the teacher, to set limits that keep you both feeling safe. Another item to keep in mind is this: children want to be seen, heard, comforted and safe. That want their feelings and needs met. Once again, it’s the role of the teacher to understand this as normal and set boundaries according to comfort and safety while still acknowledging the feeling. “I am not here to feed you, but I can help you feel safe.” “I am not angry with you but I am wondering what you are needing that you are acting in that way.” These connections are an integral part of the lesson, for you are creating in them the ideal student for you to teach while showing them that you can be trusted. Laying down the psycho-emotional ways of being that you want to cultivate in your student that promotes his self esteem, self worth, and ability to self control will nurture his creative, technical and motivational drive on the instrument. They are inextricably linked. 

I heard a story once about a highly esteemed Suzuki teacher calling a three year old student “unteachable” because he was unsettled in a lesson. She sent him home twenty minutes early without hesitation. To me, that is a missed golden opportunity to discover an untried connection with that child. Maybe nothing comes of it, but more likely, something would reach him that is new and fresh encouraging and engaging him in a different musical direction. A rhythmic chant. An improvised tune to sing. A movement break (rocking for calm; jumping for energy.) 

It’s not about what children are unable to do, but what they are excited about doing well! Find those, and children develop a passion for music that lasts a lifetime!