Posts Tagged ‘Help’
During the long history of mankind, a song was always a kind of technique, which helped people to transmit knowledge, wisdom and information from one generation to another. For the peoples, who had no written language, their songs constituted a valuable part of the oral tradition. The messages of the oral tradition may take different forms. For example, it may be folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants. Even nowadays, a song helps to preserve the national identity of numerically small peoples, who have no national writing systems. Often a song may transmit the precise information of human activities. The well-known example of this fact is a work song. There are many types of work songs: agricultural work songs, industrial folk songs, sea shanties, cowboy songs, African American work songs and others. Often work songs conveyed the information about skills that can be learned by anyone through singing. The songs took their rhythms from the work being done and helped people working together.
Why did people employ songs for transmitting the information through generations?
The answer is obvious – people had no alternative technique for transmitting verbal information without altering its text. Only songs can save the integrity of verbal information while passing from generation to generation. The opportunity that a song can be changed haphazardly is very low, because any unintentional alteration in the text of lyrics violates the rules, in accordance with which any particular song has been written.
This question has been debated for as long as time has existed. Even the great Greek and Roman philosophers approached the question: is music something that should be taught and does it help the development of children? Plato answered “I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for in the patterns of music and all arts are the keys to learning.” And again “what then is the education to be? Perhaps we could hardly find a better than that which the experience of the past has already discovered, which consists, I believe, in gymnastic, for the body, and music for the mind.”
In all cultures of the world music plays an important role. While these roles may change depending on the culture it is impossible to separate music from the life of an individual. While some may argue the role of music in our lives it is impossible to escape it. Even in the popular culture of Australia it is impossible to go shopping without hearing music. Music provides a means of communication and expression of culture and individual identity. Children are immersed in music from birth and will be for their entire life. If this is the case why teach it? Is not the constant immersion in music enough? To this I say; is the fact that we witness the results of scientific principals on a day to day basis result in the understanding of those scientific principles? No it does not and likewise for music it does not either. The day to day encounters we have with music can move us but the understanding of this music can help us grow as individuals.
In many cultures the family plays the main role in music education. Families are most commonly the ones that teach children the music of their culture. As young children, we are commonly sung nursery rhymes. These provide entertainment for the child and often information in small repeated fashion. Children learn through the repetition and structure that the information was delivered in. many nursery rhymes teach fundamental life lesson and therefore sets music up as a means of educating. Children learn from music from a young age and will continue to for the rest of their lives. In a world where globalization and consumerism are dominating cultural identities are drifting into the background and children are more likely to be sung pop songs as lullaby’s than nursery rhymes. The benefit of nursery rhymes and progressive learning has become an issue. Children are missing out on fundamental learning opportunities.