ABSTRACT

It is important to teach children how to create music, since these activities help children to learn various musical concepts, express themselves creatively, and develop their creativity. This paper proposes a teaching program for children`s creating music in kindergarten and early elementary school classrooms, after studying various methods of music education and considering developmental characteristics of children. Methods of Dalcroze, Kodaly and Orff are surveyed with Bruner`s conceptual learning theory. And creative environment and skills necessary for creative experience are discussed and exploratory experiences are suggested. In teaching creating music, it is better to start with rhythm creating activities, since music educators think rhythm is the most primitive and natural element for human beings. When children create music, they begin with imitating. Thus children should have enough music listening experience. Also it is much more effective to learn creating music with a close relation to other musical activities. Therefore, a method of creating activities should be developed with singing, listening, moving, and playing.