Do You Have a Music Area?

Have you heard about the idea of a music area but you just don’t know where to start?

A music area is such a wonderful place for independent learning.  Over the years I have experienced, seen photos, read and listened to various ways of approaching this enjoyable, worthwhile and highly creative area.  It doesn’t need to be scary or difficult to set up.

What is it?

A place where children can:

• explore their musical ideas
• experiment with songs and ideas that they have been learning as a whole group
• interact musically with an adult 1 to 1
• interact musically with their peers
• explore different musical instruments

What goes in there?

Listening material on a device that the children can access independently.  Headphones if you would like quiet listening.  Or if you would like the children to move to the music, and you have the space, set it up so that there is an area for them to move to the music.

Props.  Any that you have been using during your Music Time that are suitable for individuals to interact with: puppets, scarves, pom poms, images…

Instruments. Any that you have been exploring with the children during their Music Time.  I wouldn’t however put in drums or triangles as these can be difficult to control and keep at a reasonable volume.

Recording device.  You may need to do this under adult supervision if you are using an iPad.

Change the props, listening material and instruments each week based on the musical activities that you are doing that week.

Where can you set it up in your early years setting?

It can be as simple as just a table, or an area of your indoor or outdoor classroom.

What would work for you?  Depending on the amount of space you have will determine what will work best but it does need to be something that is available every week; maybe not every day but at least once a week.

Table

If you don’t have a part of the room that you can set up all the time you could create a portable area.  On the day/s you wish the children to access the music area select a table that’s near a corner and put on the music area activities.  I would probably limit the number to 4 children.

Indoor Music Area

Dedicate a corner or table in front of a wall that you set up as a permanent music area. You may like to have a display on the wall of photos of the children taking part in musical activities, images of instruments that they have been looking at, pictures to represent songs and rhymes….

Outdoor Music Area

It may be that you are lucky enough to have some outdoor instruments; I have seen a few of these posted on the web.  Some settings are lucky enough to have a big enough space so that children can do movement in response to music. 

You could create a portable music area on a table outside.  Just put your activities on the table and let the children explore. 

Happy Music Making!