Music and the Child

Reviewed by Sharon Watkins, Adjunct Music Education Instructor, Newberry College on 10/24/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This is quite a thorough text, especially since the author states it is intended for general education majors studying how to include music. Each chapter ends with a comprehensive glossary, but there is no index. In ebook format words or phrases can be searched, but an index would be preferable, especially for the pdf or hard copy versions.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is well-researched and appears to be accurate in all areas. The author’s studies in ethnomusicology have allowed her to offer a rich perspective on children’s unique musical backgrounds, especially in chapters 1 and 13. .

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content is relevant and mainly up-to-date. Suggested discussion points/activities are included in each chapter to involve students. Special attention should be given to the hyperlinks. They are a wonderful tool for immediate access to additional resources, but I found some of them to be broken. Also, references to government education programs such as "Common Core" can easily change over time. My state has repealed those standards. Overall, these are minor changes and should be easily implemented.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written clearly and concisely. All technical terms, if not understood thoroughly by the reader, are included in the end-of-chapter glossaries.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is internally consistent. Each chapter is similarly organized and builds upon a common theme in a logical and organized manner.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is very clearly divided into thirteen chapters and each chapter is well organized by subheadings. This should easily accommodate student understanding if teachers prefer to reorganize class topics and reading assignments within the book.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics in the text are presented logically, beginning with an overview of music education in America, how it has developed through history, and then some excellent practical songs, activities, and lesson planning advice. The last several chapters cover music education concerns for specific age levels, inclusion, music integration, and diversity.

Interface rating: 4

I downloaded and read this text as an ebook. Navigation was flawless and all visuals and charts were in excellent form. My only frustration was that hyperlinks took me away from the text, and I had to re-access it each time. For a more professional presentation, it would also be nice to see all YouTube hyperlinks coordinated through a site that offers ad-free addresses.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There were just a very few typos, but no noticeable grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text is very inclusive and sensitive to the many differences students bring to the classroom. This is true not only as a text itself, but cultural sensitivity, diversity, and inclusivity are addressed as subject matter as well. (See chapters 1, 11, and 13.)

Comments

I found this to be a very relevant, thorough, well-researched, and well-written textbook for teaching music at the elementary school level. In my opinion, it could be a valuable resource for both general elementary education students and music education students who are anticipating K-12 general and choral music certification.

Reviewed by Sara Beck, Assistant Professor of Psychological Science, Randolph College on 4/6/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

See complete review below.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

See complete review below.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

See complete review below.

Clarity rating: 4

See complete review below.

Consistency rating: 4

See complete review below.

Modularity rating: 4

See complete review below.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

See complete review below.

Interface rating: 5

See complete review below.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

See complete review below.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

See complete review below.

Comments

I really enjoyed this book, and I think it provides an excellent introduction to the field of music education, as well as use of music in the elementary and preschool classroom to support learning more broadly. As a music psychologist who does research in the area of children's musical engagement, I was expecting more of a social sciences approach, and what I found was largely centered on practical classroom advice for teachers of preschool and school-age children. That said, I found the book extremely interesting, relevant, and easy to follow. In particular, Chapter 4 on approaches to music education was concise and would be useful for my psychology of music class as an introduction to how modern children are enculturated to music in the classroom. Additionally, Chapter 5 (entitled Children Singing and Children's Songs), provided a good introduction to musical milestones and also improvisation in the context of children's musical play. These are topics which are of interest within developmental psychology as well as musical education.

As a teacher of college students, I was intrigued by Chapter 6 in its coverage of arts integration, which was conceptually familiar to me, but not familiar as a pedagogical term. Overall, the ethnomusicological and pedagogical approach of the book offers many benefits to the teacher of music education and also offers some content to teachers of developmental music psychology, children's music perception, and the science of children's play (inclusive of musical play). A major strength of the book is the practical suggestions throughout for lesson plans centered on music situated to achieve multiple musical and non-musical goals. These are likely to be most useful to the reader who is already competent at reading and teaching music, however, despite a brief section that introduces note-reading and musical notation literacy to the novice.

From my perspective, the major shortcoming of the book is the fact that in-text citations were used only intermittently. There were many claims made without accompanying in-text citations, particularly around music therapy and use of music for children with special needs. In general, Chapter 7 (on music and the brain) and Chapter 11 (on music and inclusion) needed to be more thoroughly referenced throughout since they largely rely on empirical research findings which are easy to overstate. A curious reader will want to know exactly where to go to find more detail on these findings, and it is not easy to map each claim onto the end-of-chapter references.

I found this book to be consistent and informative, and I hope to use a chapter or two in classes moving forward. As a stand-alone book, I believe it would be best suited for a class in the field of music education or elementary teacher education.

Reviewed by Melissa Ryan, Assistant Professor of Music, DePauw University on 1/7/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text offers a research-based and practical approach to teaching children through music. The author provides an informed framework and rationale for music in education and for creating educational environments for children in which they can grow as humans. As a music educator, I appreciate the author's dedication to music in education as a vital aspect of a holistic approach to teaching young students. Sarrazin walks us through each chapter with clear and practical examples of how to accomplish this very thing.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The text is accurate, well-researched, and more than sufficiently referenced.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Most of the content is up-to-date. However, some of the links that the author provided for more detail are out of date and/or are no longer functioning web pages. Additionally, some of the folk song choices and language used in the "inclusion" section may need to be reconsidered in light of shifts and changes in appropriate educational terminology and philosophy.

Clarity rating: 5

The author uses clear and accessible language throughout the text. It is appropriate for the targeted audience of teachers and professionals with little or no formal musical training or education.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent throughout with no glaring or distracting discrepancies.

Modularity rating: 5

The way the content is organized within each chapter certainly lends itself to stand-alone use of chapters or sections for any particular course needs.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

A university instructor could easily follow the text in the order it is written and use it as a guide to chronologically and pedagogically organize their course content.

Interface rating: 5

The interface was easily navigable and very reader-friendly.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There were no distracting grammatical errors in the text.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

While there is an entire chapter dedicated to music multiculturalism and diversity, it seems the musical choices in the text miss the mark on this goal. The author mentions that 21st century, progressive educational goals are broader than a Western-centric view, but the majority of the musical examples illustrate a bias in that very vein. The inclusion of minstrel songs ("O Susannah") also indicates a reevaluation is needed in order to reflect more current philosophies toward these historically problematic tunes. Multiculturalism and cultural relevance in education is much more than tacking on a chapter at the end of a text.

Reviewed by Lisa Maynard, Associate Professor of Music Education, James Madison University on 7/31/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

“Music and the Child” by Natalie Sarrazin provides a thoroughly comprehensive, well-written, researched and referenced, overview of Music Education history, practices, planning, procedures, and possibilities in relation to creating meaningful music learning experiences for children of all ages in pedagogically-appropriate ways. The wealth of content is impressive, as is the thoughtfulness of planning that went into the inclusion of resource and vocabulary lists associated with each chapter. In addition, multiple links are included throughout the text of each chapter with the purpose of offering more in-depth study of certain topics, as well as access to a large number of incredibly useful related resource links for each chapter. The musical examples and diverse repertoire included in the book are a huge resource in and of themselves. While targeted for classroom teachers teaching music classes, I think this book also would certainly be appropriate to use in an introductory class for Music Education majors as well.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content of this textbook is remarkably error free, especially given the large amount of material included in it. The influence of the author’s own background both as a music educator and ethnomusicologist are clearly seen in the selection of ethnically diverse musical examples.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

While the topics covered in this textbook span a wide time period, covering important historical developments and approaches in the field of Music Education (both around the world and in the United States), one of the author’s stated outcomes is to prepare teachers of music classes for successful 21st Century teaching. She certainly does this by providing such a wealth of information and including the resources necessary to create positive learning experiences for all students in music classes. The layout of the text and instructions provided in relation to actions and movements associated with many of the songs included in the book make it accessible and practical.

Clarity rating: 5

While Dr. Sarrazin’s textbook is both research and practice based, her writing style is easily accessible while not overlooking the relevance and importance of specific terminology that is clearly defined in each chapter’s vocabulary list.

Consistency rating: 5

The overarching framework used for this textbook was consistent throughout, with each chapter following a similar format despite the change in topic. This added continuity for the reader. I found myself looking forward to reading the glossary of terminology at the end of each chapter, and also found it hard not to click on the links embedded throughout the chapters. I can imagine my student’s wanting to do the same thing in their thirst for further knowledge about the various topics included in the book’s content.

Modularity rating: 5

While the order of the topics included in the various chapters are already laid out in a sequentially effective way, they could certainly be reordered according to the tastes of an instructor who is using the text for one of their classes. The subtopics within each of the larger topics could also lend themselves to discussion in smaller bytes for a class meeting multiple times a week. The inclusion of suggested class activities throughout each chapter provides additional embedded content and learning opportunities for meaningful student reflection, discussion, and collaboration.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The information and resources included within each chapter are logically presented and well-ordered. While some topics are understandably covered in more detail than others, those offering introductory information in relation to a subtopic tend to offer links to more information for those wanting to learn more. The reference lists and index of songs included in the book are also hugely valuable and well-organized content.

Interface rating: 5

I found the links included in the textbook to be significantly free of navigation problems. While I did find a few links in the Resources list of Chapter 6 to no longer be working, I think this is not surprising given that they are outside links over which the author has no control. These could easily be updated in a future edition of the book. However, given that so many of the links worked without problem, this was a minor issue, and could be easily remedied with some internet searching by the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The written content of the text was free of grammatical errors. I did find one incorrect spelling of Shinichi Suzuki’s first name in a subheading but the correct spelling was used later on.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The author has included a diverse collection of songs from a variety of countries in the text which is commendable. Dr. Sarrazin discusses and emphasizes in detail the importance of including culturally relevant repertoire into the context of music classrooms so that the music learned is reflective of those who are the student stakeholders in each classroom. Revision of some of the American historical song content – specifically in relation to war songs included in the text – could be a consideration for the next edition of the book.

Comments

Dr. Sarrazin should be congratulated on the huge amount of scholarly work and expertise that went into envisioning, researching, and writing this excellent Open Library Textbook resource. A potential chapter to add for the next edition could be one that provides a brief overview of instrumental music in the schools. I also think it would be good to include some content about the El Sistema method to the chapter on various approaches (e.g. Kodaly, Suzuki, Gordon etc..) in a future edition. Overall, I found this book to be a well-written and informative text that I believe university students would find engaging, interesting, and practical.

Reviewed by Jennifer Vernon, Faculty, ECE Filed Supervisor, Portland Community College on 6/29/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The author is clear in the content and gives context of the material through links to various Ted Talks, Youtube videos and articles to further dig deeper into the concepts discussed.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

This textbook is thorough in providing unbiased information while keeping in mind how music is our sense of identity that provides contextual culture and self worth.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The activities provided throughout the textbook are relevant and provide the reader to take an active role in the information provided through hands on learning.

Clarity rating: 5

I found the textbook was clear and concise without the use of jargon while providing fundamental definitions along the way.

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook build upon itself through each chapter. Beginning with the fundamentals and continuing on chronologically with age and development.

Modularity rating: 5

I found the author provided multiple ways for the reader to learn the material. The activities where in colored boxes to break up the reading and the videos proved more context for the content. There were multiples ways in which to learn the concepts.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization was presented clearly and concisely as a reader to follow and engage in the content.

Interface rating: 5

I found the interface engaging and easy to navigate while all of the links were working and free of problems.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I found this textbook free of grammatical errors, professionally written and well edited.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

I truly appreciated the inclusion of various conversations and topics of multiculturalism and diversity throughout the textbook as music is so intrinsic to our own identity.

Comments

I am planning on using this textbook to support my students understanding music and the brain with a cultural understanding.

Reviewed by Sarah Burns, Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Education, Augustana College on 6/19/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text is fairly comprehensive as a textbook for a music methods textbook intended for elementary education majors. Some content knowledge is assumed: for example, certain elements of the fundamentals of music are taught while some are merely mentioned (staff, clefs, etc.). More information about instruments, specifically orchestral and band instruments, listening experiences, and classroom management would be helpful.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

Bias
“As an extension, the book also touches on some multicultural aspects of music, and considers the broad role of music and its importance to humanity, thus avoiding an insular and myopic Western Culture view of the musical child.” (p. 3)

While it may reveal the personal attitude of the author, the last part of this statement (after the word “humanity”) could be removed and thus avoid bias. The holistic, global content of the text contradicts this one phrase and renders it unnecessary.

Many inaccuracies regarding musical/song examples were identified – missing time signatures (pp. 29, 30), uneven metrical phrasing (pp. 27-28, 93-94), chant with no lyrics (p.67), incorrect key signature (p. 70, 183), rhythmic lines with key signatures (p. 76), incorrect notes/rhythms (p. 95, 155, 160, 177), misplaced accents (p. 96), title does not match chant (p. 147), song phrases out of order (pp. 154, 155), unfinished songs (pp. 233, 234, 237, 269).

Attention to these and other musical issues would produce a well-varied song collection for the elementary education major.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

Though this text occasionally tangents into areas beyond the scope of a music methods text for elementary education majors, its content is relevant to the intended audience. Chapter 11: Music and Inclusion may need to be revisited from time to time to stay current with gender issues and recommendations for students with special needs. Some of the folk song content may need to be edited or replaced in light of today’s changing attitudes.

Clarity rating: 5

This text is presented in a professional, conversational-style prose. It is written as though the author is speaking to the reader with understanding of the reader’s experience and knowledge of the subject matter without appearing condescending. Terms that may be considered jargon of the music field are promptly defined in the text as well as included in the chapter and end-of-text glossaries.

Consistency rating: 5

The consistency of this text is satisfactory throughout.

Modularity rating: 4

This text has clearly defined sections though it would be helpful to have the subsections for each chapter included in the table of contents and a topical index at the end of the text. This would facilitate identifying subsections more readily.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

This text has clearly defined sections though the placement of some sections is problematic. For example, in Chapter 6 the classroom instrument section seems out of place in a chapter on lesson planning and the classroom management section just seems like an add-on without a place of its own.

Interface rating: 5

This seems to be satisfactory. It would be helpful to have links printed out for use with the printed form.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Very few grammatical errors were observed.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

An entire chapter is devoted to Musical Multiculturalism and Diversity. This chapter offers a detailed to incorporating world music into the classroom with specific examples given from West Africa, India, and Japan. Song examples throughout the text represent a global collection of folk songs.

Comments

This is a thoughtful, research-based text with the undergraduate student in mind. The content is presented in a reader-friendly writing style that is easily understood. In addition to a collection of over 100 children’s chants and songs, this text includes scripted lesson plans which gives guidance for incorporating music into the elementary curriculum. As a result, the beginning teacher can achieve successful music making in the classroom.

Reviewed by Erin McKee, Online Instructor, Concordia University Portland on 5/21/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text, Music and the Child, is a comprehensive overview of understanding the developmental connections between music and children. The author Sarrazin states, “children are inherently musical.” Sarrazin guides the reader to understanding the importance of music education in the classroom setting, regardless if there is a formal music program present or not. The text covers an overview of musical concepts and vocabulary and easy to implement activities and lesson ideas. The author helps readers find joy in musical education and recognizing the many benefits of learning music.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Sarrazin supports her text with citations and references to a variety of well-known musical scholars, and pedagogical approaches to education. There are some minor misspellings throughout, though it does not deter the reader from comprehending the text.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The text is up-to-date and relevant to educators today. Many concepts of the text will remain relevant overtime, such as the song repertoire, history of musical education, and musical concepts and vocabulary. Concepts such as assessment, approaches to lesson planning, multicultural learning, and lesson ideas could be updated without any concern.

Clarity rating: 5

The author presents the text in a way that is easy to understand. The text is primarily written for educators without extensive musical knowledge. The author concludes each chapter with helpful musical definitions and vocabulary terms, helping readers to understand more technical musical concepts.

Consistency rating: 4

The text is written in a easy to follow format. The chapters begin with a summary and end with resources, references, and vocabulary definitions. There are also embedded activities to try out to help with understanding or as readers learn about lesson ideas and activities.

Modularity rating: 5

The 13 chapters are easy to navigate and do not overwhelm the reader. The chapters could be assigned at different points in the course, and rearranged in an order that would be applicable to different reading purposes.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The overall organization of the book is sequenced in a way that is clear and logical. As other reviewers noted, it may be more relevant to move the last few chapters up in the sequence, particularly the last chapter on multiculturalism and diversity, and allow for the integration chapter to be at the end.

Interface rating: 5

The text is easy to read, free from any significant interface issues. The links embedded in this text are readily accessible, as well.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text is free from grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text does a nice job highlighting the cultural relevance of music and music education. There are several references to pedagogical approaches from different cultures, and instruments and songs from diverse cultures. The author provides relevant resources and ideas to incorporate multicultural music lessons in classrooms.

Comments

I recommend this text to other readers. I would utilize this text in my music and movement course, for undergraduate students, studying to be early childhood educators.

Reviewed by Ann Marie Stanley, Associate Professor, Louisiana State University on 6/20/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

Sarrazin wrote, “This book is intended to aid those who have little or no background in music, in order to increase their comfort in integrating music into the curriculum.”  I have taught many of these students in various “Music for the Classroom Teacher”-type courses and I can agree that the musical background of many pre-service and practicing elementary school classroom teachers is quite limited. I have used several texts through the years and I can honestly say that Sarrazin hits the perfect balance here between “need-to-know” and “too much overwhelming information.” Her strength is in summarizing and codifying dense topics. The breadth of topics across the chapters is quite inclusive. Yet Sarrazin (thankfully) omitted much of the arcane how-to instruction that makes up a large part of competing texts: how to tune an autoharp, how to select between a flutophone and a recorder, how to teach solfege, etc. I would use this book in the future just because of this feature.

Content Accuracy rating: 3

While I liked many of the links to external material, I had some concern about the quality and longevity or stability of others. Some are very worthwhile: for example the link to the Kennedy Center for arts integration information, the link to another open text book for auditory science material and research. Some are really questionable: for example the Global Alliance for Transforming Education doesn’t exist any longer apparently, and the theory site for explaining texture takes one to a cached “wayback” site that doesn’t work well. In addition, care should be taken to examine the political overtones and subtext of other sites, as even the non-profit ones may have an educational reform agenda that may be seen by some as problematic. Not everyone in the profession is on board with the 21st century skill movement and its extensive list of corporate board members, nor the core standards, etc. Professors should check the links in each chapter before assigning the readings.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Other than the point above about the links that may not be as appropriate or functional as they could be, the book is highly relevant to its intended population. The classroom teacher who wants to learn more about music education will have many of her questions answered, and the book is quite usable.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is clear and concise. None of the chapters seemed overly long or padded. I liked the vocabulary words emphasized for each chapter as well as the glossary. The text boxes (“Try this” etc.) are a nice off-set to the larger amount of more scholarly text. For me this book reads really well.

Consistency rating: 5

This is a strength in the way she consistently chose multiple non-Western-classical music examples to illustrate musical concepts, and linked these to interesting videos (Qu’uran singing, Tuvan Throat singing, etc) In the text itself, she really pulled out some terrific children’s tunes from other cultures: (ex. several Indian counting games which were new to me and which I will try immediately with my own class). I found this broad and multicultural approach refreshing and contemporary.

Modularity rating: 5

Each chapter can be used on its own. I would imagine several chapters (such as the music cognition section) could easily bolster required reading in a class for music education majors.
Chapter 7 is particularly nicely done, in the way Sarrazin is able to summarize complex research. She also treads ethically around area of the question, “does music make kids smarter?” and points out the innate reasons to make music, not just the supposed extrinsic benefits. The arts integration chapter should be required reading for every elementary classroom teacher!!

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

I read comments from another reviewer about changing the sequence of the chapters, and I concur. The order and the titles of the chapters could be edited for clarity. Chapter divisions are fine, though.

Interface rating: 4

Excellent, easy to read. I read it online using my laptop and had no issues. I wish that clicking on a link would open up a new window so I could click back and forth between the link and the text without having to use “back” button. Perhaps that’s how I have my browser set, rather than the interface; I'm not sure.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No problems.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

See my points under “Consistency” above, for high praise. However, the learning disabilities/Special needs music education section seems a bit dated already (e.g. the behaviorist positive and negative reinforcement for management techniques for students who experience Autism) and the tone is unnecessarily “label-oriented.” The categorization of student needs with specific techniques is good but seems a bit arbitrary. (Students with higher learning potential = offer advanced ability ensembles/acceleration? Not that practically helpful for the classroom teacher.) This section will need to be accompanies by a more nuanced classroom discussion facilitated by a knowledgeable instructor.

Comments

I recommend this text and I believe I will use it in the future.

Reviewed by Mei-ling Lee, Instructor, Lane Community College on 6/20/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This text book “Music and the Child”, written by Natalie Sarrazin, is well organized in its content. It covers a wide range of topics on teaching music for younger children. The whole book consists 13 chapters, and each chapter has its own clear subject, but also related to each other. Many music examples and charts are provided throughout the book. It is easy to read.

I found it is very useful that the sections of Vocabulary, Resources, and References are placed at the end of each chapter. This make it much easier to explore more information. Through out the book, there are hands on activities listed in the book. They are very helpful and fun to do.

This book is a great resources for music educator. Most contents are related to younger child, but I also found there are many materials, suggestion can be used for order kids, even young adults.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content of the book seems accurate, according to my knowledge.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

New music is written every day, every hour and every minutes. But there are some basic concept and ideas about music teaching will stay the same over years. This book covers a lot of ideas of how to make the music fun in younger children’s learning process. They can be very useful for a long period of time. However, it would be nice to see more current music repertoire.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is written in very accessible prose. At the end of each chapter, the Terminology section is very helpful to make all the concept to be understood easily.

Consistency rating: 5

The written style and structure of each chapter in this book are very consistent.

Modularity rating: 5

This book has 13 chapters. Each chapter can be used as a stand along module. Each chapter is focus on one stand along subject related to music teaching in early childhood.

Also, having the information of references at the end of each chapter also make each chapter to be it’s own module easily.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The structure of the book is very well organized. The print is clear. All the charts and pictures are large enough to be seen clearly.

Interface rating: 5

I see no problem of the interface issue. the whole book is very easy to navigate. The diagram and charts are printed large enough for easy navigation.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

As non-native English speaker, I found this book is very east to read. I see no errors on the books grammar. Personally, I really like the writing style of the book. All the information can be digest easily and the ideas are delivered clearly.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

This book is mainly written for music educators to use in US. All of the music examples are based on Western culture. It will be very nice if some of the music examples can drawn from other culture / country.

Comments

No

Reviewed by Tinamarie Ivey, Faculty, Linn Benton Community College on 6/20/17

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book is a good resource and guild for anyone choosing to work with children whether in an academic environment or other setting. And though it focuses on how to teach music, It also offers the reader the advantage of knowing more about how to apply music (without being a 'music major') to an academic lesson in order to enrich a child's cognitive abilities while building on a 'process' rather than a 'product' objective. Though each chapter builds onto the next, a reader is not required to read from cover to cover in order to utilize the information and to have direct application in an educational setting. The author has consolidated a remarkable amount of information and direct application opportunities yet it is not overwhelming to the reader, very organized and concise.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Every author has some opinion upon the subject matter they write and therefore cannot be completely 'unbiased'. That being said, any perceptions made by the author are well supported by citations and offer the reader an opportunity to reflect upon the thoughts shared by the author. That being said, I took exception to the section that indicates that a teacher should discourage a student from singing in their chest but rather ask them to sing in their head. There is little evidence that this technique is helpful to insure good singing in the future though I understand why the author has come to this conclusion. The text has minor misspellings but does not deflect from the content.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The topics explored, activities offered, and sited materials is more relevant than ever and will continue to be so as western schools battle the ever present decline in students' love of learning. It is especially helpful that the author lists the '21st Century Skills' which identifies particular areas of focus which are essential for future learning as identified by the Kennedy Center, The Partnership for 21st-Century Skills, 21st-Century Schools and the Global Alliance for Transforming Education. This text helps a teacher know how to make learning fun, to allow students to become leaders, collaborators and corroborative learners. The arts are often narrowly defined as part of an elitist community. This excludes the arts from a consideration of their multiple contributions to our daily lives and the role they play in discourse regarding social/cultural issues. The evidence of this is in the consistent funding cuts to local and national arts agencies and for arts education in elementary and secondary school settings. This disjuncture suggests that the common perception is that the arts are outside of the normal boundaries of daily living and problem solving and are instead reserved for extra-ordinary components of life related to special events associated with rites of passage as well as national and religious celebrations. Because of this the text is enormously relevant without risk of becoming out of date anytime soon.

Clarity rating: 5

The text is clear, easy to understand and accessible. The technical terms and terminology are presented in a way that the reader is not required to be a music aficionado - clearly defined with direct application opportunities. I especially like that the author has included the key terms and definitions, as a vocabulary section, at the end of each chapter. There is a warmth to her writing, a true love of the work and a thorough understanding of the importance of music in a child's life.

Consistency rating: 5

The framework of the text is excellent, comprehensive and consistent terminology used throughout. The author takes the reader on a journey through guided probes in how music connects all of us as human beings, with consistent opportunities for direct application. Each chapter is similarly structured, making it easy to navigate each topic.

Modularity rating: 5

The text offers the reader easy access to smaller categories of material by well defined sections. The smaller sections are consistent along all the chapters, with blocks of text clearly identified with subheadings. This text can be utilized as a companion text to courses such as Creative Drama for the Classroom/Teacher.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The chapters could be organized a little differently and rather than list every chapter and where it should be placed I will add just this: The reader may be better served by having Chapter 11, 12, 13 offered earlier in the chapter order. And consolidate the Lesson Plan development later in the reading.

Interface rating: 5

The text is of free of significant navigation issues, charts and examples are very easy to decipher. The links for further reading and resources within the chapters are especially helpful to the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text has minor grammatical errors mostly due to spaces between words.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The author pays close attention to cultural sensitivity and awareness. Many examples, philosophies, resources and materials are provided within the chapters. These cultural samplings include teaching approaches and philosophies of Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Hungry. I also appreciate that the author offers a chapter 'Music Inclusion', which touches on Gender, Therapy & Healing, Special Needs and her chapter: Musical Multiculturalism and Diversity.

Comments

The author states, "understand the role of music in children’s lives through play", which is what first captured my interest in this text. I believe children learn best through play, through physicalization and collaboration. This text is a perfect fit in any early education training.

Reviewed by Molly Weaver, Professor of Music (Music Education), West Virginia University on 12/5/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

In describing her work, author Sarrazin states “This book explores a holistic, artistic, and integrated approach to understanding the developmental connections between music and children. This book guides professionals to work through music, harnessing the processes that underlie music learning, and outlining developmentally appropriate methods to understand the role of music in children’s lives through play, games, creativity, and movement. Additionally, the book explores ways of applying music-making to benefit the whole child, i.e., socially, emotionally, physically, cognitively, and linguistically.” Although this may seem like an ambitious goal for a single book, my review of Music and the Child confirms that it does indeed explore connections and applications, and guide instructors, childcare workers, students, and others to work with children through music. As a single volume it is very comprehensive. The 13 chapters comprise considerable breadth, and each individual chapter has depth appropriate for readers whose discipline may not be music education.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

Book content is accurate and unbiased. The various chapters are supported with citations of eminent scholars in the arts, music education, developmental psychology, ethnomusicology, and other fields. The text does contain some misspellings, and some lists of resources and references are not fully alphabetized.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Book content is relevant. Much of it will remain so over time, especially regarding music fundamentals, approaches to music education, the child’s singing voice, song repertoire, classroom management, the roles of music in early childhood and lower elementary stages, and musical play. Necessary updates to content such as assessment, lesson planning strategies, music and the brain, musical cultures, creativity, inclusion, arts integration, multiculturalism, and diversity should not be problematic.

Clarity rating: 5

Text clarity is excellent. The prose is accessible by a range of readers, in particular by those whose discipline may not be music education. Each chapter begins with a Chapter Summary that functions as a concise overview of chapter content and organization. Technical terms have appropriate context, and throughout each chapter there is strong emphasis on vocabulary relevant to the topic(s) of that chapter. Moreover, nearly all chapters end with a Vocabulary section comprising a list of key terms and their definitions.

Consistency rating: 5

Text consistency is excellent. The theoretical framework is that children are inherently musical, and that those of us who work with children through music must continuously search for ways to tap into their natural enthusiasm for listening/moving/singing/playing in the interest of facilitating their physical, social, emotional, cognitive, linguistic, and musical development. This is first articulated in Chapter 1, “Perspectives and Approaches,” and is systematically addressed in subsequent chapters. The terminology is consistent throughout. Each chapter emphasizes relevant vocabulary, and nearly all chapters feature a list of key vocabulary terms and their definitions.

Modularity rating: 5

Book modularity is excellent. Each chapter can stand as an independent work on its topic(s). Throughout each chapter there are activities that engage readers beyond chapter content as well as links to supplemental readings and videos. Each chapter ends with a list of resources to consult for greater depth, and a copious list of references to the literature. Individual chapters could be reordered within a course without compromising readers. Particular activities within each chapter could be reordered or omitted, again without compromising readers.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 2

Two areas of book organization/structure/flow can be improved: chapter titles and chapter order.

Several chapter titles could be edited as follows to better represent the actual content and order within each chapter:

From
1. Perspectives and Approaches
to
1. Arts and Educational Approaches and Perspectives

From
3. Assessment and Learning Goals
to
3. Discipline-Based Assessment and Professional Self-Assessment

From
4. Approaches to Music Education
to
4. Pedagogical Approaches in Music Education

From
5. Children Singing and Children’s Songs
to
5. Teaching Children to Sing: Methods and Materials

From
6. Creative Activity and Lesson Planning
to
6. Creative Approaches to Successful Music Lesson Planning

From
9. Music and the Older Child
to
9. Music in Middle Childhood: Methods and Repertoire

From
10. Children’s Musical Play: Musicality and Creativity
to
10. Children’s Creativity: Musical Play and Improvisation

From
12. Music Integration
to
12. Music Integration in the School Curriculum: Concepts and Strategies

From
13. Musical Multiculturalism and Diversity
to
13. Culturally Diverse Music Teaching: Rationale and Applications

As well, chapter order could be revised as follows to improve book organization/structure/flow:

1. Arts and Educational Approaches and Perspectives
2. Music: Fundamentals and Educational Roots in the U.S.
4. Pedagogical Approaches in Music Education
6. Creative Approaches to Successful Music Lesson Planning
5. Teaching Children to Sing: Methods and Materials
3. Discipline-Based Assessment and Professional Self-Assessment
7. Music and the Brain
8. Music in Early Childhood Development
9. Music in Middle Childhood: Methods and Repertoire
10. Children’s Creativity: Musical Play and Improvisation
11. Music and Inclusion
13. Culturally Diverse Music Teaching: Rationale and Applications
12. Music Integration in the School Curriculum: Concepts and Strategies

Interface rating: 5

Book interface is excellent; there are no navigation, distortion, or display issues.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Text grammar is excellent.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The cultural relevance of the book is strong owing in large measure to content in several chapters, including Chapter 4 (pedagogical approaches from Germany, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, United States), Chapter 6 (classroom instruments from Western and world cultures), Chapter 9 (the section American Children’s Games and Game Songs), Chapter 10 (the section The Singing-Game: Children’s Musical Creativity in Play), Chapter 11 (addresses several types of musical inclusion), and Chapter 13 (entitled “Musical Multiculturalism and Diversity”). Also, the song repertoire throughout the book represents diverse cultures.

Comments

I recommend this book as an excellent resource for early childhood and elementary education specialists who teach music as part of their curricula.

Reviewed by Lewton Jones, Music Teacher B.S. Arts/English, PCC on 8/21/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Natalie Sarrazin sums up her twelve chapters of the many facets of the book with the statement~"Children's creativity is the heart of this book and is the most important factors to consider when creating pedagogical material"
In each chapter she does box diagrams with two sides and multiple songs to address. She also has a definition of terms- and documents her sources after every chapter rather than at the end of the book.
Each chapter is a condensed version of what could be a book in itself. She summarizes numerous methods and scientific and cultural. linguistic and historical idioms as good as one could with these topics.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

It is accurate and already documented information for the most part. She is promoting a holistic approach interweaving old and new theories with social, and the physical activity of music. I am not sure with her comment about Mozart only stimulating the IQ for fifteen minutes. I think comments like that need more documentation. Also the evolution of a child's awareness smacked of sociology rather than holistic possibility. In academia all her proofs are backed up by her choice of authors. She writes~"If you can walk you can dance" "If you can talk you can sing" She uses the term of the mother tongue aka natural environment. Like many texts, it might not be totally true but it is accurate.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The longevity of western music theory and historical timelines of change and and discovery are strong in this book. It can be a reference for curious readers and parents of young children. The ethnology and brain information will keep the book relevant for a while.As the globe shrinks and science keeps toppling old beliefs these are good topics. The use of holistic is a bit old school jargon and hints at Jung and Doctor Spock regarding a sky's the limit of possibilities ie. to conjure a musical connection to a computer ridden mindscape of micro minions.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is good for one chapter at a time and class discussion primarily because the mix of musical terms and child philosophy
in an altruistic methodical and highly organized fashion. She defines her purpose very well with statements like~"In short, scientists say that nothing we do as humans uses more parts of our brain or is more complex as plating an instrument."
She is very clear in her purpose with another statement~"Children's linguistic development is related to their musical development." Her documentation regarding these clarion calls is more than adequate.

Consistency rating: 4

The book is consistent in its structure regarding its context. It is not a ground breaking book but rather leans on things like the original person already knows what music is and is shaped by the rules and visuals they are introduced to. The theme of the child as our focus seems to turn into a recipe for contrasts in theories such as Dalcroze, Zoltan, Kodo'ly. Orff and Suzuki and like she is consistant in her summation of theses theories resting on what seems to be her preference Eurhthmics. She is consistent to the human child as being dancing with the sound be it scientifically proved or culturally proven.

Modularity rating: 4

The book is perfect for singular group discussions. Each chapter has a narrative, examples of forms and a dictionary of terms.. It is a good group text book. I would advise a prep book on certain subjects like the history music, audiology, speech therapy, music therapy and cognitive brain science. It is very condensed chapter to chapter with a barrage of information regarding the chapter's heading. As a novel it would fail.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

Extremely well organized almost to a fault. The real gems are the assertions by the author about creativity and music outside the western lexicon such as the great section on Indian and Japanese scales and and phonetic annotations. The structure is very logical but I think the theme is scattered by including too many directions. Maybe three small books on the more grand topics could have worked better.

Interface rating: 4

The book could have been larger in its pages because of the vast amounts of clarification of ideas that followed the narratives.
There is no interface problems except for a better or larger print in the publishing.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The book is solid regarding language and research.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The book is progressive and spends the last chapter on ethnicity and the linguistic implications of being from other cultures and hearing and seeing different phenomena yet having a common denominator called music to integrates us..

Comments

The author is very well read and gives a great peripheral scan of how children use music to include all facets of life making for a better world with smart empathetic people growing towards adulthood.