MUSICAL EXPRESSIVENESS – ARTICULATION (LEGATO
& STACCATO)

Making music is
natural and spontaneous for young children!  It begins within, and then
emerges in the form of self-expression.  ‘The joy of creating something is
exhilarating.  Children, especially, enjoy the creative process, loving
every minute of the making.  Creative thinking and personal emotion
combine into an individual’s artistic expression – a kind of expression where
there is no right of wrong… Making art fulfills… a need for
self-expression… Children crave the creative outlet that making things
provides.’ – Kids Create!: Art & Craft Experiences for 3-9 year olds, by
Laurie Carlson, p. 6
When we offer your child choices, in Kindermusik class, such as ‘fast, or
slow?’ and ‘legato, or staccato?,’ we are offering her choices which help her
to create the song in a way that expresses her own unique view of the song on
that day. 

On our blog – read 4 Benefits of Music for Preschoolers (including self-expression!)
Kindermusik@Home:

  • Log in to your Kindermusik @ Home account, and Be a Butterfly! How does your child move as a
    caterpillar?  What color cocoon does he prefer?  Does she like
    flying up high best, or down low?
  • Next, play Which Two! 
  • Then, cue up ‘Come Fly With Me,’ from your
    home CD.  Take turns flying in a legato, smooth, connected
    way, and then hopping/looking for worms in a staccato, bouncy,
    disconnected way.