Hello! How does music support social and emotional learning?  There are so many answers to this question that it is challenging to pick just one.  Today I am going to focus on the dis-comfort and an-ti-ci-pa-tion of music. 

Before doing so, though, other social and emotional learning music support to think about, look for, and incorporate into your daily life include, turn turning with instruments, passing games, confidence in solos,  in formal training being part of a whole greater than oneself, i.e.: an orchestra, choir, band, the sheer confidence in being able to keep a beat and dance in a social setting, the joy and fun that fills the heart and soul, thus making us all happier human beings.

Today though we focus on the dis-comfort and an-ti-ci-pa-tion of music. 

When I am waiting for a song to resolve by ending on the resting tone, or final note of the song resolving in it's tonality, I physically ache to hear that note.  It's simply incomplete.  We play musically in a way that helps tune children's ears to find that resting tone through audiation before we sing that final note, but what else are we doing?

How patient is your baby, toddler, or preschooler?  Most are not known for their patience or ability to stand in dis-comfort.   As we play musically and create space in time with silence before singing that final note, literally building the tension and stand in dis-comfort, we are building our children's ability to practice that discomfort in a fun, playful, and developmentally appropriate way.

I encourage you to find ways to play with this idea at home.  I'd love to hear your experiences. Thank You! -Wendy