ABSTRACT
This chapter invites teachers, young children, parents, and caregivers to consider the ways in which they might create their own music based upon experiences with the world’s musical cultures. Improvisation involves the on-the-spot creation of music based upon specific parameters. This chapter outlines activities that invite young children to improvise vocal sounds, movements, and instrument play. Composition refers to the intentional creation of a musical work and implies the use of notation to record the compositions. Child-friendly means for composing music are presented in this chapter, such as using icons or pictures to represent sound rather than traditional music notation.
