Encouraging Teamwork through Music It is very important for children to learn how to work effectively with others. From encounters at school to later working experiences, they will be required to work with others in a respectful and appropriate manner. If they are unable to do so, they will struggle to maintain friendships and intimate relationships and their career choices will be severely limited. Clearly, learning to work with others as part of a team is something that every child must learn from an early age in order to avoid these negative consequences.
There are a lot of ways that children gain real world experience with teamwork. Oftentimes, they start learning from birth if there are older siblings in the home. They learn to share their toys, their food at mealtimes, and the affectionate attention of parents and other adults in their lives. Yet, working with others outside of the family environment is quite different because they will be forced to work as a team with people who are not intimately bonded to them. That is where the real challenge of teamwork comes into play.
The good news is parents and schools can use music to teach children valuable lessons in teamwork. It may start out with a children's musical program which teaches the little ones to listen as others make music. They learn to sit still and appreciate what others have to offer, while enjoying their turn in the spotlight as well. This teaches basic cooperation which will carry over into other phases of life as the child grows.
As the child grows, they may be encouraged through a musical program to play music along with others. They may be handed an instrument and taught to play one part of a song while others play other parts with other instruments. They may