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标题：Singing and Literacy: An Initial Investigation in St. Vincent and the Grenadines
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作者：Martha A. Gabriel ; June Countryman
期刊名称：The Phenomenon of Singing
出版年度：2011
卷号：8
期号：0
页码：42-56
语种：English
出版社：Faculty of Education
摘要：Music � making music, singing music, listening to music- is a human activity deeply rooted in who we are as people. Blacking (1973) proposed that �Musicmaking is an inherited biological predisposition which is unique to the human species� (p.7). One important focus of music exploration has become �using ethnomusicological insight and approaches in order to understand the character of a music culture- its subcultures, such as children�s music and community music (Dzansi, 2002, � 2). There have been a number of studies of musical play of children in a variety of geographical locations, such as Ghana (Dzansi, 2002), Australia (Marsh, 1995), the United States (Campbell, 1991; 1998), Great Britain (Opie, 1985), and Jamaica (Hopkin, 1984). Even so, Campbell (1998) has suggested that �Children�s engagement in music frequently is paid minimal attention by teachers and parents, even when it may be the rich repository of children�s intimate thoughts and sentiments� (p. 5). In this study, one of the researchers collected �musicking� (Small, 1987) from children and teachers at an elementary school in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The musical pieces that were recorded included chants, singing games, and hand-clapping songs. In analyzing these pieces, we have investigated the connections between the songs, singing as communication, and children�s literacies. Strong connections may be made between what children sing, and their comfort level in learning to read and communicate. We have found that singing as a literacy is frequently underestimated. The singing of children provides a richer experience of literacies for the schoolchildren of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.