O ensino do canto infantil: contribuições da educação musical

Abstract

My interest and involvement in singing since childhood, and later in Music Education, led to the following research question: how can music education principles and practices contribute to improving the teaching of singing to children? Thus, the general objective of this research was to analyze how principles and practices of Music Education can contribute to the teaching of singing to children. The research's main theoretical references were the studies on the children's voice by Schimiti (2020), Williams (2013), Behlau (2008) and Carnassale (1995) and texts related to the subject of the research - teaching singing to children and music education - identified through a literature review. The research was carried out at the CMI - Centro de Musicalização Integrado of the UFMG Music School, where 15 individual singing lessons were given by the researcher to 4 children aged 8 and 9, selected for the research. These lessons were recorded, and the most significant examples were selected for typicality and oportunity. These scenes were analyzed by music educators/singing teachers, who implemented Product Analysis. The result of this analysis was submitted to the Content Analysis technique, to identify recurring categories in the professionals' statements, addressing principles and practices of Music Education used in the classes, and their comments on the improvement of the students' vocal performance throughout the investigation. The professionals identified 4 categories related to the principles and practices of Music Education: (1) Playfulness; (2) Pedagogical strategies; (3) Bodily experiences; (4) Affectionate relationship between teacher and student. A fifth category referring to the students' vocal improvement was also outlined. It was concluded that the Music Education practices and principles identified were relevant to promoting the vocal improvement of the students and that the categories identified in the research were confirmed by the theoretical framework studied. The child's voice is an accessible instrument and may be the only one present in a music class. Consequently, it is necessary for music educators to have knowledge on children's singing. It is important to understand vocal techniques, to be a good vocal model, as well as to know how to pass on knowledge, considering the universe and individuality of each student, so that to value their potential. It is hoped that this work will instigate discussions about teaching singing to children, which will certainly contribute to improving the students' vocal performance in a motivating and enjoyable environment.