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Learning movement through music

Moving to music is a very natural, and often subconscious, response. Some of us are unable to listen to particular pieces of music without tapping our feet!

Learning movements

Many children who have special needs are able to perform movements with rhythmic support that they would find difficult or impossible to do without music. The music stimulates the movement, and we can help them to control and develop it.

Give the children opportunity to use movements that they can already do well – this helps to build confidence and success. Find out from the occupational or physiotherapist what you can expect from a particular child, and ensure that your activities include plenty of repetition so they can demonstrate their abilities – children do not tire as easily of repetition as adults do!

Movement session pointers

Make sure you have enough room for children to move freely and easily, and that you can accommodate children who may enjoy wheelchair dancing.

You could start a movement session with small movements, such as moving eyes, fingers, head, or hands. Think about the possibility of using props, such as scarves, parachutes, and friendship rings, to motivate movement.

If you are doing action songs, keep the songs and movements slow enough, and with frequent pauses, to allow time for the children to respond. If you can’t lay your hands on a suitable repertoire, and you’re not confident producing original songs, you may only need to make adaptations to familiar songs to make them just right for what you are trying to achieve.

Selecting and playing suitable music

Select music carefully when you are asking a child with special needs to make or imitate a particular movement. Every element of the music – beat, rhythm, tempo, melodic line, texture, dynamics and harmony – will all have an impact on the child's physiological and emotional response, and therefore on their ability to move.

If these terms are not familiar to you because you do not have a formal musical training, do not panic! If we respond to children carefully and intuitively, our own innate musicality will guide us to the most appropriate way to accompany them. To test yourself, try lifting your own arms up while you are singing a downward melody – you will find it very difficult! So you are likely to intuitively choose an upward melody for an upward movement.

For those of you who wish to understand our basic premise in more detail, we offer the following example. A child who has difficulty lifting her arms due to low muscle tone is trying to reach up, so you might support her by:

  • using a strong, uplifting beat at a moderately slow tempo
  • using an anacrusis (preparation beat) or triplet rhythm to emphasise the strong beat in the music on which the movement is to occur
  • using an upward-moving melody
  • starting quietly and gradually building up the dynamic (loudness) to give strength to the movement
  • staying on a harmony that sounds 'unfinished' – that 'leads' to the next chord (such as interrupting a cadence) – until the child has made the desired movement, then celebrating their success with a strong tonic (home key) chord.

So if, for example, you are adapting the words of a familiar song to aid particular movements, keep in mind these concepts regarding the suitability of the music for the purpose.

If necessary, recorded music may also be used to structure movement. Although it is not ideal, there are many good recordings available that have been produced with movement in mind.

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