Music In Bloom

We Are All Connected

by Maureen Conlin

To be connected means to be joined, attached, or linked. Through song and musical activities we join together to become one voice, linked through music and attached by the connection of sound.

During music class I asked my young students what it means to be connected, and their response was “to plug something in.” I love this answer, because when we connect with someone or something, there is wonderful electricity that happens as we all “plug in” together. Music is a wonderful connection that we can all share, no matter who we are or where we live. It truly is a universal language. Music is a thread that is woven from child to child, teacher to child, parent to child, friend to friend, and on and on. When children sing together they connect and become one voice. When they play instruments together, they connect through sound. As parents and teachers it is important for us to foster that connection.

Provide the children with drums and invite them to explore the different sounds they can make. Then have them count and play a steady beat, all joined together to create one sound from many drums. Play softly, loudly, then fast and slow while continuing to count the beat from one to ten, with the goal of having them all play in unison.

Give the children opportunities to explore their own voices individually by using speech-amplifying “telephones.” I use a 3-inch piece of PVC pipe with a connecting PVC elbow that fits on each end. Children can whisper softly into one of the elbow piece while holding the other end to their ear. Ask them to say, then sing, their own name, so they are able to hear how their voice sounds. After they have had the opportunity to hear their own voice, ask the children to sing together. Sit in a circle and, as a group, sing or chant the names of the other children in the circle. Use a cell phone to record their voices so the children can listen to the playback and hear how they sound when they all sing in unison.

Let the children feel another kind of connection by playing a foot game to music. Children find a partner and put their feet together, then pretend to ride a bicycle to Leroy Anderson’s “Syncopated Clock” as they push forward and back with the other child. When the music shifts and changes, ask the children to join hands and slowly continue in a circular motion to the flow of the music.

Music is a perfect way to help children connect with others in the community. Plan a field trip to the local senior center so that the children can share their songs with the older residents in the community. Have them spend time making cards with the seniors that reflect the themes of the songs the children sing. Choose a song that the adults might enjoy singing with the children, such as “You Are My Sunshine” or “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” and watch how young and old connect and join together through music and song.

Share with the children how individual notes can be connected to create a melody, become a chord, or create rhythmic patterns. Extend the exploration using hand bells or a xylophone for melody, drums or wood blocks for rhythmic patterns, or voices to create a melody.

Ask the children again what they think it means to be connected and turn their ideas into a simple song. These amazing little minds can come up with some very creative ideas!

We Are All Connected
© 2018 Maureen Conlin

CWe are all connected, Fone big famiCly
CWe are all connected, Ffriends like you and G7me
CWe are all connected, from the Fmoment of our Cbirth
CEach and every one of us, G7sharing life on Cearth

We G7share a world toCgether, G7each and every Cone
G7Living under Ctwinkling stars, the G7moon and the Csun

CWe are all connected, Fone big famiCly
CWe are all connected, Ffriends like you and G7me
CWe are all connected, from the Fmoment of our Cbirth
CEach and every one of us, G7sharing life on Cearth

G7Kindness helps conCnect us, so G7share a smile or Ctwo
G7Music weaves a Cthread that goes from G7me to Cyou

CWe are all connected, Fone big famiCly
CWe are all connected, Ffriends like G7you and Cme

Ask the children to add additional verses to share with one another and watch how music blooms with the little ones on their musical journey.