Little Arpeggio’s Values

Little Arpeggios values are quite simple – its about having fun through listening and moving to music. In essence children love to play and we love to nurture their curiosity through music and movement. Children are encouraged to listen to the music, play with the music and move to the music. Children and parents get to experience the Little Arpeggios beliefs and values first hand in music classes that provide participation, learning, entertainment, relaxation and a sense of community. Children will develop musical appreciation – they will learn new songs, movement and dance; they will develop cognitive, emotional and social skills;  and cultural and environmental awareness is encouraged through the song topics.

Little Arpeggios Musicplay incorporates what we know about children’s development, what works, and being mindful that parents need to be engaged in the play as well. And it’s also about being “now” – incorporating various musical styles right through from traditional nursery rhymes that you will recognise from your childhood, through to music you listen to now.

The Little MusicPlay Pedagogy

Music provides a medium to play and learn and have fun.  Children learn when they are having fun.  They remember what they have learnt when they are having fun. To have fun children play.  Hence the fundamentals of Little Arpeggios – music – play – dance. Not only are children learning about musical elements – rhythm, melody, dynamics, form, texture, and harmony – but they also learn mathematical concepts and language.

Little Arpeggios Musicplay takes the research into consideration and uses it in a practical and fun way.  It provides the musical tools to allow children to explore and learn. It also takes into consideration the parents of today and the busy lives we lead.  How do you incorporate fun throughout the day even when you are so exhausted and just want to get the task done, get them into bed and asleep. Singing and music makes the process fun and calming and becomes a learning experience all in one.  In the classes parents are shown ways to make music a fun part of every day.

Little MusicPlay Classes – Structure

The program has been developed by an early childhood music specialist after considering research findings into children’s development and early childhood music teaching.  It has taken these findings and put together a program that is appealing to children and parents alike. It provides a medium for children to imagine, create and learn in a nurturing environment that helps them learn more than just music.

The classes are 30 minutes long and have a maximum of 12 children in a class.  A wide variety of musical styles are used in the classes including familiar nursery rhymes, traditional folk songs, classical, right through to jazz, blues and pop as well as original N.Z. music written specifically for Little Arpeggios by a music specialist. Each song has specific learning objectives, weaving Te Whariki and the Early Childhood curriculum into them.

An interesting mix of resources are used to encourage active movement including chime bars, drums and other musical instruments as well as puppets, parachutes, bubbles, books, organza and more. Children can come from as early as birth with classes grouped by age and stage. We also offer a class with mixed ages so that siblings can attend the same class.  The classes are structured in such a way that we are considerate of the group and their level and we utilise improvisation musicplay.

Lisa Tregenza – Founder / Principal / Early Childhood Music Specialist – B.C.M., IRMTNZ Diploma Early Childhood Music, Registered Music Teacher IRMTNZ

Lisa’s background is varied and diverse.  From a musical perspective she has passed numerous Piano (Grade 8) and Flute (Grade 7) Exams with Distinction grades along the way as well as top marks in Christchurch.  She has studied music theory (Grade 6) passing exams on this front as well.

In 2011 she completed her Diploma in Early Childhood Music through the Institute of Registered Music Teachers, New Zealand.  She has also been a member of orchestras, chamber groups and musical productions.  Her love of music spreads across many genres from classical to pop. You will see her one week at a Piano Concert and the next at a rock concert or the ballet.  This love of music has inspired her to show others how music can be a part of their lives and their children’s lives and how it is such a wonderful learning tool.

She also wanted to demonstrate that everyone is musical, you just may not have realised it.  She wants to show you how to find it and have fun with it. From a career perspective she has worked in numerous industries from telecommunications to farming to fast moving consumer goods, including food products and health and fitness. Across those industries she has worked in sales, marketing, management and recruitment.  And it is music where her passion lies.  She has gone full circle and is now at a place where she feels inspired and motivated everyday knowing that one more person may have found their love of music and incorporated some musical learning into their day.

Lisa finds it rewarding observing the effect music has on the children and knowing that she has been a part in that.  It is an inspiration to be able to guide children to show them the potential they hold and to see their faces and minds light up. She also enjoys seeing the parents reactions to their children’s development and watching them taking ideas and music home that they have learnt through the Little Arpeggios music classes.  Little Arpeggios started in Christchurch, New Zealand and is on a wonderful journey.  The full music score – the journey – is still in production and it is exciting seeing it coming to life.

Music from a Parent’s Perspective

Becoming a mum myself has opened a whole new world to me. It took me into the child’s world and showed me how to look differently at the challenges children face growing up and activities we take for granted that we know how to do. As a busy mother of three children I approach parenting by playing and having fun through music. Feedback from parents is that they want to take their children to a music focused class that is different, that is engaging and that takes the parent and the whole family into consideration. If the parent enjoys the class as well as the child then the parent will want to carry their learning through into day to day activities. And the results can be quite moving.

I look at my own experience with my daughter and see her response to music from birth and how that has continued to develop. Her ability to pick words up at an early age moved me. I investigated why this was and I determined it was the musical tone to my voice in the words I was using that she was able to identify with from such an early age.

Simple commands she understood and responded to and she started relating her sounds to the correct objects and also using sounds in the right context. I use the term sounds because the word was not completely formed but it was quite clear and different from other sounds she was making. I then analysed how she had picked these words up. It was through repetition of the same words related to certain objects or actions and the tone I had used was different for each one. She was repeating the pitch. We would also always have babbling conversations anywhere.

Whether we were in the supermarket or walking through the park and she would babble to me I would babble back. I would repeat her noises to honour what she was saying. She was telling me a story and I wanted to hear more, so by actively participating in the conversation she would continue. Not only was she communicating with me and we were interacting on a verbal level, there was eye contact and turn taking and listening. All important development skills to take into a more formal learning environment such as school.

– Lisa Tregenza

If you can associate with Lisa’s story and would love to facilitate a Little Arpeggios MusicPlay class in your area contact us.