Your Toddler and Concepts and Contrasts

Toddlers use their emerging body mastery to learn about rhythm about such basic musical concepts as "high and low," "loud (forte) and quiet (piano)," and "bumpy (staccato) and smooth (legato)." And now that their sensory systems have settled in, most (but not all) children this age will want to be challenged more than they did as infants. Toddlers learn musical concepts kinesthetically, that is, they learn them by feeling them in their bodies. When you and your child moved to Doot Doot Deedle-eet, first smoothly and then bumpily, your child used his whole body to sense the difference. He may not be able to say "smooth" and "bumpy" (that's why we say it for him, over and over), but his body know just what to do.

Your Infant and Concepts and Contrasts

As parents of newborns, we're constantly monitoring our infant's environment and mood. Is the room too hot or too cold? Are the lights too bring or too dim? Is the baby hungry or did I giver her too much food, too fast? At the same time, your child is learning to control her environment by closing her eyes, going to sleep or letting you know when she's uncomfortable. This "too much or too little" aspect of infancy is a study in contrasts that has its musical counterpart in concepts like smooth-bumpy, high-low, and loud-quiet. Newborns, for the most part avoid extremes and like things mellow. But within a few months your child will enjoy dangling high over your head and then swooping down low, and will laugh delightedly when you bounce her on your lap. During Family Time you can help your baby discover these contrasting concepts, but feel free to take her to a quiet corner of the room if the toddler's rhythm instruments get too noisey. It's all about discovering the difference (and balance) between loud and quiet.

What Are Music Concepts?

They're like different flavors of music, adding distinction and particularity to the song or dance. Volume could be a swirl of chocolate, making the beat more or less intense depending on how much you use. Use a dab of lemon to change the pitch: how high or low do you want to go? Then sprinkle the rhythm with chopped nuts if you want something a little bouncy, or leave the nuts off if you prefer your music smooth. So many choices. So many dimensions. So many possible combinations.

Choose a musical cupcake that is right for the occasion. The bounce-along beat of Belfast Hornpipe is perfect for a car ride, while the softer lilt of Home Sweet Home makes a lovely bedtime song. The good news is that you have an endless variety to choose from, all are delicious, and none is fattening.