Embodiment in Early Childhood Music Education

Nijs, Luc; Bremmer, Melissa

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-17791-1_6

Cited by 18 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 40 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In recent years, insights gained from theoretical and empirical work on the embodied nature of human interaction with music are gradually finding their way into the domain of music education (e.g., Bresler, 2004;Bremmer, 2015;Van der Schyff et al, 2016;Nijs, 2019;Nijs and Bremmer, 2019). Within the scope of music educational research, few studies focus on embodiment and instrumental and vocal music education from the perspective of the learner (Nijs, 2017;Schiavio and Van der Schyff, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of the Body in Instrumental and Vocal Music Pedagogy: A Dynamical Systems Theory Perspective on the Music Teacher's Bodily Engagement in Teaching and Learning

Bremmer

Nijs

2020

Front. Educ.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Instrumental and vocal teachers often employ their body in teaching to facilitate sensorimotor engagement with the voice or an instrument. Yet, teacher's bodily engagement in instrumental and vocal education is scarcely addressed in music educational research studies. In our view, this scarcity is related to the lack of a framework about the role of the music teacher's body in instrumental and vocal education. In this article, we will adopt a dynamical systems theory perspective to set first steps in conceptualizing the role of the instrumental and vocal teacher's body in teaching and learning music. From this perspective, learning processes are viewed as emerging from the learner's goal-oriented, situated, adaptive actions in the learning environment. Teachers play a significant role in that environment, due to the different types of constraints (e.g., environmental and task constraints) they can introduce to aid learners in finding a solution for a musical task. In this article, we argue that different types of teacher's bodily engagement can act as constraints in instrumental and vocal music learning, thereby facilitating the learning process in non-verbal ways. To demonstrate this, we describe four types of bodily involvement: physical modeling, action demonstration, pedagogical gestures and touch. In summary, based on existing theoretical and empirical research, the article will present a first conceptualization of the role of the music teacher in instrumental and vocal education viewed from a dynamical systems approach.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of the Body in Instrumental and Vocal Music Pedagogy: A Dynamical Systems Theory Perspective on the Music Teacher's Bodily Engagement in Teaching and Learning

Bremmer

Nijs

2020

Front. Educ.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Piaget, Vygotksy and Bruner already developed influential theories on learning and development that stress the embodied and situated nature of cognition (Nijs & Bremmer, 2019). Building on those theories, contemporary researchers taking an embodied cognition approach want to emphasise the interplay between body and environment in shaping cognition (Gallagher, 2005;Keijzer, 2009).…”

Section: An Embodied Cognition Perspective On Pckmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where’s the body? Reconsidering the concept of pedagogical content knowledge through research in music education with Dutch specialist preschool music teachers

Bremmer¹

2020

Brit. J. Music. Ed.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article reports an investigation into the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of Dutch specialist preschool music teachers with regard to teaching and learning rhythm skills from an embodied cognition perspective. An embodied cognition perspective stresses the intimate relationship between body, mind and environment. Through stimulated recall interviews, video analysis tasks, notebooks and semi-structured interviews, the PCK of six music teachers was explored. Regarding the content, a new form of bodily based PCK was found in the data: instructional gestures, representational gestures and guiding gestures that facilitate the learning of rhythm skills of preschoolers. Regarding its nature, this study demonstrated that the music teacher’s PCK presents itself as a multimodal form of knowing, distributed over language, sound, gestures, body positioning and physical actions. This study raises the question whether the body is marginalised in current conceptualisations of PCK.

show abstract

“…Music is an intangible, time-based form of art, and due to its nature, pupils may have difficulty grasping the meaning of music (Bremmer, 2015): they cannot see music, may have trouble physically feeling the beat, and can have a hard time orienting themselves in a stream of sound. In recognition of this problem, there is a growing interest in how music teachers can promote meaning-making in music through multimodal teaching strategies (Bremmer, 2015; Lamers et al, 2018; Nijs & Bremmer, 2019; Schmid, 2015). Empirical research studies have only recently started exploring how music teachers can draw on language, sonic, gestural, and bodily resources to bridge the invisible world of music to a visible, physical, and concrete one (Simones, 2017; Van den Dool, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, a music teacher can chant a rhythm, use a gesture to visualize it, and ask their pupils to walk to that rhythm— pupils then hear, see, and physically feel the rhythm simultaneously and have the opportunity to grasp the meaning of music through (the integration of) different modes. From this perspective, multimodal musical experiences can stimulate the meaning-making processes in music of pupils and help them understand the internal structures and expressive qualities of music (Nijs & Bremmer, 2019; Schiavio & Van der Schyff, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…She notes that musical experiences and meaning-making processes in music are in part implicit and embodied. Through conscious and unconscious body movements, children physically incorporate, experience, and come to understand music (Bowman, 2004; Nijs & Bremmer, 2019). Therefore, Schmid presses the need for a somatic approach to music education and for music teachers to include gestures, whole-body movements, and body percussion in their music lessons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The charmed dyad: Multimodal music lessons for pupils with severe or multiple disabilities

Bremmer

Hermans

Lamers

2021

Research Studies in Music Education

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This multiple-case-studies research explored a multimodal approach to teaching music to pupils (from 4 to 18 years old) with severe or multiple disabilities. By combining music with, for example, tactile stimulation, movement, or visuals, meaning-making processes in music of these pupils was stimulated, helping them to understand the internal structures and expressive qualities of music. Three music teachers and a social worker participated in this study. Individual and collective video reflections and microanalysis were applied to gather data about their multimodal teaching practice. The data were analyzed through Schmid’s framework (2015) of “multimodal dimensions of children’s music experiences,” developed for general music education. This framework consists of four dimensions: narrativity, sociality, materiality, and embodiment. Based on the findings, Schmid’s framework could be revised for special education, thus providing music teachers with a tool for designing multimodal music lessons for pupils with severe or multiple disabilities.

show abstract

Embodiment in Early Childhood Music Education

Cited by 18 publications

References 40 publications

The Role of the Body in Instrumental and Vocal Music Pedagogy: A Dynamical Systems Theory Perspective on the Music Teacher's Bodily Engagement in Teaching and Learning

The Role of the Body in Instrumental and Vocal Music Pedagogy: A Dynamical Systems Theory Perspective on the Music Teacher's Bodily Engagement in Teaching and Learning

Where’s the body? Reconsidering the concept of pedagogical content knowledge through research in music education with Dutch specialist preschool music teachers

The charmed dyad: Multimodal music lessons for pupils with severe or multiple disabilities

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About