Rhythm is innate

Nurture children’s innate rhythm through music during their earliest years, says musician and educator Fraser Stone. It’s an opportunity for them to stamp their beauty on the world.  

Rhythm is one of the fundamental building blocks of music but runs much deeper – it is a natural part of every child’s life whether they are aware of it or not. There is no movement without rhythm; no life without rhythm. It’s not affected by demographic or social environment and there is real opportunity to nurture this innate quality during children’s earliest years.   

Through my work as a practitioner, I look to address a child’s natural response to rhythm, often a subconscious quality, which has been continuously developing since the second trimester of their foetal development.   

The focus of my workshop The Colour of Sound is to help very young children explore their natural response to music. We explore how young children connect with their innate rhythm by enabling them to create large-scale visual art using vibrant paint and other objects in response to the music they hear.  

Whatever the children create, it is big, colourful and visceral – and it is their natural response to the sounds that they hear and feel. The activity is multi-sensory, stimulating, inclusive, fun and provides children with a stress-free environment to explore!   

Music in early years, whether it’s singing, playing instruments or listening, helps children develop a sense of identity, build self-confidence, communicate their feelings, connect with others and regulate emotions. It can amplify simple or intricate offerings of outward expression.  

Music can be used as a platform for change and offers an opportunity for children to stamp their beauty on the world. 

This blog was written as part of Starcatchers‘ campaign Making My Mark, a celebration of the role that arts and creative experiences can play in helping our youngest citizens learn about their rights.

Fraser Stones delivers training for Starcatchers’ Creative Skills programme and Starcatchers’ Commissioned Training.

Download Starcatchers’ Commissioned Training Booklet