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I n 1960, Jerome Bruner, a psychologist at Harvard University, wrote a small book called The Process of Education, in which he challenged educators to rethink what and how they were teaching. He stated his belief that "Any subject can be taught effectively in some intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development" if the teaching represents "the structure of the subject" and is presented "in terms of the child's way of viewing things" (p. 33). Bruner was suggesting that to be effective, teaching is dependent on knowledge of two major things: the basic structures of a subject and how the learner learns. While the book is old, the message is still very important and one worth revisiting in relation to teaching music to young children.

In many schools, classroom teachers are responsible for the music experiences of young children. Children may learn songs, but may not learn how to sing. This article outlines simple teaching strategies to help young children develop listening and vocal habits leading to beautiful singing. The article discusses how the kindergarten classes at one elementary school succeeded, and includes recordings of children’s singing.

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