2023 Author: Anita Thornton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-22 03:30
Stimulating a sense of rhythm in a child (and an adult!) can have positive effects on their overall development. In addition, children have an innate sense of rhythm. Here are some ways to expand it.
Rhymes
The nursery rhyme is a little rhythmic and musical poem. Often, the whole body is involved in reciting the rhyme, since there are accompanying movements. There are a myriad of nursery rhymes: Passe-Partout, among others, has often sung them and, if you are a child of this generation, chances are you still remember them.
Henriette Major, author of numerous children's books, is passionate about nursery rhymes and, to date, she has published several book-discs dedicated to the nursery rhyme. You will have a lot of fun singing along with your child these classic songs, as well as the more current ones.
For the little ones, get Elsa Fouquier's sound books, My Songs and My Rhymes.
- 100 nursery rhymes, Henriette Major, Fides editions, 9782762120820, 24, 95 $
- My ditties: 6 songs to listen to, 6 images to watch, Elsa Fouquier, Gallimard,9782070657391,18,95$
- My nursery rhymes: 6 nursery rhymes to listen to, 6 images to watch, Elsa Fouquier, Gallimard, 9782070657384, 18, 95 $
Musical instruments
Even if your child is still too young to take their first piano lessons, there are all kinds of instruments that will suit their age. Little, he can already start beating on the skin of a drum: invite him to follow the same rhythm as you! Prefer percussion. The triangle, the maracas, the claves, the xylophone are all good first instruments that will not only awaken him to music, but to rhythm. To avoid breakage, there are also all kinds of instruments in the form of toys, specially designed for the sometimes indelicate gestures of toddlers.
Cookware, with wooden spoons, can also be transformed into an instrument!
Dance
Dancing is not only fun, but it's also a complete exercise, perfect for sharpening our sense of rhythm! Put on some music and dance with your child. Invite him to identify the rhythms present in the music, the percussions, the guitars… Follow these rhythms with your movements.
Of course, you can also offer her dance lessons.
Stap your feet and hands
Even without music, you can do exercises with your child. Create rhythm sequences by clapping your hands, tappingfeet, on the ground, and invite your child to reproduce them. Go faster and faster, then slow down.
If you don't have "rhythm in your blood", you can use a metronome, or a free app, like Epic Metronome.
Music Shows
Music shows for children are also a great way to awaken their sense of rhythm. Since the shows are specifically created for them, the children usually react a lot, singing, dancing and, of course, clapping their hands. Well surrounded, they can thus join the rhythm of the crowd, feel its fluctuations.
African music and world music, in which there is a lot of percussion, speak a lot to children, as evidenced by the success of the show Kattam and his tam-tams.
Listen to music
Listen to music with your child, it's never too early to start! Go from one musical genre to another: pop, okay, but also invite him to listen to rock, rap, hip-hop and even classical music, like Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, which consists of several movements. Through these, you'll experience all sorts of rhythms, frantic and moderate.
Apps
And of course there's an app for that! For the older ones: Drum Challenge. Your phone or tablet turnsdrums, on which your child (or you!) can play and take up challenges, while discovering different genres and rhythms of music.
For the little ones, there is Baby Drums App, a free app that also turns your tablet or phone into a drum set.
You can also play CLAP! mania, a game where, as its name suggests, the child will have to follow the rhythms by clapping their hands. Multiple difficulty levels.
