Start them young

Introducing the under-fives to orchestral music

Sarah McWatt, Director, NYMAZ

Age may just be a number but at youth music charity NYMAZ we believe in sparking a love of music from a very young age. This year we started exploring new ways of engaging early years children with orchestral music. Babies and classical music isn’t new - remember the baby Mozart craze? –but our partnership with Orchestras Live has centred on a live performance programme aimed at the under-fives.

So far, we’ve introduced young audiences to professional ensembles, including the Hallé and Sinfonia Viva, ‘face-to-face’ and also live-streamed a performance with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE). This is just the beginning –we’re building an ongoing programme, including more live-streams that can be accessed by all.

As a founding member of the Alliance for a Musically Inclusive England, we’re committed to ensuring children of all ages have equal access to music opportunities, regardless of their age or geography. Our early years work is long established, providing weekly sessions (currently online!) to in-need communities in North Yorkshire, as well as CPD for artists and teachers.

Like us, Orchestras Live is focused on bringing musical activity to under-served areas, particularly rural and coastal spots. They have been producing orchestral work around England for 50 years and in 2003 they began captivating young children with the award-winning Lullaby touring model. Together, we’re connecting with orchestras and creating a performance programme aimed at both regional and nationwide audiences.

The rationale for starting so young is explained by Becky West, Regional Producer North, Orchestras Live, “ It’s all about that positive first experience. Starting when children are very young helps underpin a positive attitude towards the music throughout their lives. It can also reach a new audience of parents and grandparents who may not have experienced live orchestral music.”

These sentiments are echoed by Steve Pickett, Education Director, the Hallé, “These are the formative years and it’s so important for any child to start their musical journey. We never water down the music we play to this age group and in our experience the children respond incredibly well. Also, by involving the parents we feel we have a chance for children to get a head start on this journey.”

For Peter Helps, Chief Executive, Sinfonia Viva engaging the ‘family group’ is vital:

“Our aim is for creating and making music to become embedded in everyday life and considered as a way of helping the personal, social and educational development of young people. We often give out books, CDs, music download codes and so on, to provide new activities for everyone to do at home or in the car.”

Youth Music is very supportive of engaging the early years and has been funding NYMAZ activity since the charity was founded. Their grants officer, Louise Henry, says. “Early Years has long been a strategic focus for Youth Music. We believe every child should have access to music making from as early as possible, not only to aid cognitive development, but personal and social, too. For many families, music provides an opportunity to better connect with their child.”

The orchestras all use a variety of techniques to engage the under-fives. Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment offers OAE TOTS concerts which include a hello song, a story or theme with a link song that is repeated at intervals in the show, a piece of baroque or classical repertoire, the opportunity for everyone to join in with actions and singing popular nursery rhymes and a goodbye song. And let’s not forget singing, as Cherry Forbes, Education Director, details, “ We do a lot of our work through singing. For example, we create songs that use well-known tunes and then write new words to describe our instruments, such as, a double bass has long strings and it plays low.”

Meanwhile, Orchestras Live has often used mostly existing orchestral repertoire within a theatrical narrative and interactive format to make events participatory, varied and fun for audiences. They have included one or more charismatic presenters, including a Deaf and Disabled music leader.

New approaches are emerging though, as Stuart Bruce, Senior Creative Producer, describes, “Recently we have moved towards more player-led immersive styles, still incorporating elements of classical and contemporary repertoire but in a more fluid way where the audience has a greater role to play in shaping the performance. We’re currently working on a non-verbal immersive music experience for families.”

Sinfonia Viva programmes a series of shorter pieces, interspersed with movement activity to hold the attention of its young audience. They’re also keen to introduce the instruments and players, as Matthew Lax, Concert Manager, explains, “With a usual minimum twelve to fourteen players, we are able to field ‘one of each’ which allows everyone to see each instrument, hear what it sounds like and meet a musician. We also play musical games, let children have a go on the instrument and try conducting.”

In the Hallé’s early years workshops and performances the children are given percussion instruments and taught a song, and often a simple dance routine too, so there’s multiple ways to get involved. They are soon to launch two new topical programmes focused on conservation and saving the planet, developed in partnership with Chester Zoo and the award-winning children’s writer, Tony Mitton.

Similarly, Sinfonia Viva enjoys placing music in a wider context - using it, for example, as a way of engaging with environmental issues or simple STEAM activities.

Live-streaming is another technique for engaging early years. We streamed our first live music concert for this audience in January in partnership with Orchestras Live. An audience of 4,400 children and families tuned in to the OAE TOTS performance of The Apple Tree, indicating a strong appetite for this type of content and auguring well for the future. Lockdown has also introduced more people to the concept of live music online.

Becky West, Orchestras Live, believes that live-streaming is a real opportunity for orchestras to develop new early years content and reach a much wider audience: “ It removes the barriers to accessing live performances presented by geography and costs. It also enables the under -fives to engage and respond to high-quality musical experiences in a familiar environment in their own way.

“A live-streamed experience is by its nature different to a live performance, but it has the potential to touch more children and even inspire settings to make music a regular part of their programmes.”

Along with our partners, we’ve learnt lots about how to make more music happen for children at Early Years Foundation Stage, here are a few pointers:

If you would like to enjoy live performances in your setting:

Find out what’s on offer in your area –your local Music Education Hub can help you contact orchestras, music ensembles and instrumental tutors who can perform, hold workshops etc. Hubs can also signpost educational resources and possibly access to instruments.

Create a comfortable environment –bright cushions, beanbags and tactile materials make a cosy space. It’s important that children know they can wiggle around, move, sing and show their appreciation –it’s not about sitting quietly!

Don’t underestimate the children –they will usually be happily engaged for 45-minutes with an orchestral performance which is designed for their age group and has a good variety of activities, from doing and listening to singing.

Make it part of something bigger –think about how the performance element can be part of a larger classroom-based activity, rather than just a stand-alone event.

Emphasise the joy –children and their families can have so much fun and learn a lot through music.

If you are running your own music activities:

Make music part of your daily routine –enjoy music together every day by introducing sounds to your setting, both familiar tunes and new music.

Create interactive & participatory activities - you can include singing, classroom percussion, body percussion and movement. Children love exploring sounds using physical instruments –why not make some shakers?

Structure your session carefully–when do you want the music to invigorate and excite? When do you want it to soothe and settle?

Extend the theme –use toys and other props as part of the activity and think about how music can form part of every project you do.

For future live broadcasts, see www.connectresound.live and follow us on Twitter @NYMAZmusic