Musics of the World - Module 6 Blog Entry

(a) Title of Piece: Jump rope rhymes
(b) Performer(s): Children enrolled in Instituto Souza Motta
(c) Culture or Origin: Brazil
(d) Orchestration: Children's voices chanting rhymes
(e) One paragraph reaction to the piece that makes connections to course readings/discussion.

Specifically for week six, discuss what 
role play has in socialization.

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"Play is an important medium for learning in young children's lives - wherever they may be. It assists them in their development language and reasoning skills, and it fosters social competence and peer-group interaction" (Campbell & Lew, 2005, p. 58). In this video, we see children from the Instituto Souza Motta in Brazil learning the English language through the rhythmic rhyme of a classic American children's rhyme while jumping rope. Is this musical play? How is this type of play immutably related to socialization? According to Niland (2009), one of the categories of musical play is "'kinesthetic music play,' in which children focus on movement or dance as a playful response to music" (p. 18), and the video ineluctably demonstrates this type of musical play. Tarnowski (1999) explains the importance of musical play in the development of children:

First, play enhances the cognitive development of the child. If, for example, a child is building a tower of blocks, he or she explores many ways to keep the tower from falling. This is a problem to be solved through divergent thinking patterns. ...Secondly, play gives children the opportunity to interact socially and 'de-center' their thinking from themselves by focusing on a playmate. They learn how to play together, be patient, take turns, and cooperate. This social development is closely tied to the emotional development of the child. Music may allow children to express their feelings as well as cope with them. Musical play can often be intrinsically motivating for children. It may offer positive experiences that allow the child to build self-esteem while taking risks. Finally, the physical development of the child is enhanced through movement in which gross and fine motor control and eye-hand coordination are practiced in a musical play setting. These processes of problem solving, concept development, divergent thinking, language development, and creativity are all part of the cognitive development of the child. (p. 28)

Therefore, an example of children jumping rope while chanting in a foreign language, as above, incontrovertibly demonstrates cognitive development through the gross motor control and eye-hand coordination activity of jumping rope, language acquisition skills through the activity of simultaneously chanting the rhymes, and social development skills through the required cooperation with peers. This video is an example that unquestionably signifies a role that socialization may manifest in musical play.


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References:

Lew, J. C-T. & Campbell, P. S. (2005). Children's natural and necessary musical play: Global contexts, local applications. Music Educators Journal, 91(5), 57-62.

Niland, A. (2009). The power of musical play: The value of play-based, child-centered curriculum in early childhood music education. General Music Today 23(1), 17-21.

Tarnowski, S. W. (1999). Musical play and young children. Music Educators Journal 86(1), 26-29.

Teacher Gabby. (Dec. 14, 2012). Jump rope rhymes (fun!). [From CCAA Caxis/Instituto Souza Motta, Brazil.] Video retreived from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udg4YbZtl60