1. Inclusivity in the Foundation Phase

Music education offers unique opportunities for addressing inclusive goals in education. Although the focus of this module is not inclusive education and special needs as such, it is important to be aware that, although you might one day teach in a mainstream school, your learners will still have diverse needs, and some might have unique needs in terms of learning strategies, movement abilities, traumatic or adverse childhood experiences, poverty, attention deficit challenges, dyslexia not yet diagnosed or in a mild degree, might fall on the autism spectrum or experience hindered sight or hearing.

Through music, we can address these unique needs of our learners by encouraging learners to engage with all their senses when engaging with music (hear the sound, feel the instrument or vibration, move to the music, smell the wood smell of instruments, see the instruments, look at images), using various types of movements, singing in various languages, playing different games, including various patterns during rhythmic and body percussion activities to enable all learners to experience success (a group could only play on the beat while others play rhythmic patterns such as Taa Ti-Ti- Ti-Ti Taa, etc.). The structure and patterns of music can also have a soothing effect on our learners as it is somewhat predictive in that sense. Also, consider how you can create a welcoming, safe space for your learners through music and fun music activities. A space where everyone is welcome and valued. Where different abilities are celebrated. In the Foundation Phase especially, it is paramount that our learners feel cared for if they are to have meaningful TL experiences and be open for learning new skills, acquiring new knowledge and moving outside of their comfort zones (think zone of proximal development).

Inclusivity, however, goes beyond accommodating physical or cognitive and learning-related challenges. Inclusivity is also largely about ensuring that every learner feels equal in your class. We need to ensure that every learner, regardless of religion, race or socioeconomic status, feels welcome and able. Consequently, we have to take care when selecting the songs and music that we will use in our classrooms. We also have to consider the types of activities that we present. It is important to ensure that, when working with South African indigenous songs and games, for example, that these are presented in an authentic manner – played by the correct rules, words pronounced correctly, meaning of the game shared with learners. Pease note that if you are not sure about the context or pronunciation that you can ask one of the learners from the class to teach a song that they grew up with, to the class. This will contribute toward learners feeling proud of their heritage, fostering appreciation of different socio-cultural heritages and music as well as fostering increased self-esteem and confidence among our learners. This also works toward doing away with hierarchies where some musics are seen as more important than others (Western art or classical music, for example, is not more valuable or more important than indigenous or contemporary commercial music).

I want to encourage you to continuously consider ways that you can address various social and political agendas and inequalities in your teaching by advocating for equality, inclusion, appreciation and acceptance. To this end, it is also important that you learn about the backgrounds of your learners. Some might, due to religious reasons, not be comfortable with or able to engage with secular music or certain dances. Furthermore, we need to be aware of our learners’ interests. It is a misconception that Foundation Phase learners will enjoy engaging with or even know certain folk songs or nursery rhymes. We need to learn about what music learners want to engage with. What songs do they listen to at home or during break-time? What songs do they enjoy singing? We need to utilise these in our teaching. Our teaching-learning and assessment strategies and content must, first-and-foremost, accommodate our learners’ needs and interests. Only then will we be able to facilitate activities that not only support them in learning new skills, but that they will ultimately enjoy and find meaningful.

Music elements

Music elements are the building blocks in music. Through combining the different elements, we can create music. Tone refers to a specific music element that gives music its characteristic sound and through which we differentiate between music and noise.

The basic elements of music are:

• duration (of tone) – including music concepts of beat, meter, rhythm and tempo
• pitch (of tone)
• intensity (of tone)
• quality (of tone)
• Texture