Music comes alive for nursery children when a member of a national orchestra is calling the tune. Joyce Reid sees the effects of a session in the universal language
Not many three- and four- year-olds can recognise an oboe, but those at Sighthill Nursery in Glasgow can. And if they think 'Oh no, I've forgotten', they will quickly remember 'Oh no, it's an oboe.'
That was one of the little gems they picked up when Clare Cushing of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) came to visit. Clare wanted to begin with pulse (which is fundamental to everything else). The children will surely remember this little ditty - 'Hocus, pocus, I'm a diplodocus, plodding through the swamp, chomp, chomp, chomp.' As soon as Clare introduced her diplodocus and its rhyme, the children automatically joined in, clapping their knees, then their tummies, then their shoes. And when the swamp got muddy, they all slowed the rhythm right down.
Then it was time to stand up, hold hands and make dinosaur steps. Big dinosaur steps, little dinosaur steps, dinosaur-wearing-his-slippers steps - the children loved them all.
Four-year-old Patrick was wide-eyed with excitement, but there was something better to come. Clare explained that her oboe could speak dinosaur language and tell the children what to do. 'Stretch up tall,' sang Clare, playing a tune that went higher and higher. When the children had stretched up high, the oboe told them to 'pretend you're small', with the tune going lower. 'We're all going to the dinosaur ball,' sang Clare, following it with a punchy tune. The children quickly knew what the oboe was saying; Clare didn't need to use her voice any more.
'The children love this,' says head teacher Mary Garry. 'Some of our ethnic children don't speak English very well, but the music transcends that.'
Mrs Garry used funding from Glasgow City Council's arts initiative grant to pay for Clare's visit. Last year a double bass player came, bringing with him an old instrument that he laid out on the floor for the children to play. 'That experience let us see how good these kinds of things are for the children,' says Mrs Garry.
Back at the music session, it was time for the children to make their own music. They shook their tambourines, clackers, maracas and bean-filled tins for all they were worth. Then they all put down their instruments immediately when the music stopped. It was obvious that they were all listening carefully and enjoying themselves so much that they would do whatever Clare asked.
The RSNO Education Department arranges these visits as part of its on-going work with children from nursery age right through to secondary school. They also put on special concerts for three- and four-year-olds, with magical names such as 'Monster Music' and 'Rumble in the Jungle'.
On nursery visits, Clare is happy for the children to touch her instrument. 'I encourage them to come close,' she says. 'By and large, they are very gentle with my oboe.' Jenna and Josh loved the opportunity to 'press the switches' to make the dinosaur music, while Clare blew at the other end.
The dinosaur theme coincided with Sighthill's current topic. Clare has also been asked to cover Chinese New Year, healthy eating and friendship.
She is in no doubt about the value of her visit for children. 'It extends their experience,' she said. 'I use rhymes a lot because at this age they are playing with sounds, often making up their own rhymes.' She also likes using the 'higher 'and 'lower' sounds because at this stage some children don't readily vary the pitch of their voices.
By using the nursery's own percussion instruments, supplemented with some from the orchestra, Clare ensures the nursery staff can do some follow-up sessions after her visit. At Sighthill, this may come in very useful for their planned sponsored sing. The RSNO will arrange for one or two musicians to visit a nursery at a cost of 100 or 200 plus travel expenses. For details contact the RSNO Edu- cation Department in Glasgow.
