This book explores the narratives of a group of four-year-old children in a composition project in an Australian early learning centre. The participants, centre staff and a composer, Stephen Leek, contributed a number of music sessions for the children, including five original songs. The book showcases young children’s communicative ability and sensitivity to wider issues. The staff in the centre have a strongly voiced philosophy that is enacted through arts-based pedagogy and incorporates...

Musical Childhoods is a culmination of more than a decade of research driven by the fact that music has been neglected in early childhood programs in favour of literacy and numeracy. Recent research has identified a connection between academic performance and musical programs and this has given music a renewed status in many schools.This book promotes the idea of children’s competence in the use of the language of music and argues that all children have a right to participate in mu...

This book focuses on the importance and role of adults in promoting music in the early years. Designed to promote the idea of the value of music in the early childhood years, the research discussed in this book explores the experiences of a number of adults working with children from birth to age 8.The initiatives discussed in this work all focus on adults who have encouraged the development of musical identities ranging from music in the home, to musical play in the preschool year...