Exercise: The folk tradition

From a very young age I can remember being exposed to a range of nursery rhymes and other traditional songs by singing with my family or at school.  I believe that these very simple songs probably instilled my passion for music and taught me countless lessons about rhythm, pitch and tone.    Despite not being religious, I also learnt a number of hymns which, being very simplistic in form, create an excellent stepping stone for children’s vocal training.

However, working with an educational environment, I have recently taken some time to reflect on the ‘traditional Nursery Rhymes’ and look at whether children today are still aware of these.  After working with some Reception, Year One and Year Two children, I was surprised at the children’s lack of awareness of basic nursery rhymes such as London’s Burning and All Around the Mulberry Bush.  Whilst it seems that the children have a good knowledge of tunes such as Twinkle Twinkle or Baa Baa Black Sheep, a large number of the older ‘classics’ have now been lost.   Even in the Department for Education report: The Impact of Parental Involvement on Children’s Education (2008), the Government clearly state the importance of nursery rhymes on a child’s development.

When reflecting upon this I wondered whether it was parental influence that has caused this shift.  Parents today are busy and often have careers, meaning they spend less time with their children and potentially don’t have the opportunity to teach these tunes.  Alternatively, with the expansion of social media, etc. the world seems to be growing ever smaller – so have we lost the need for a national identity as we move into a ‘worldwide age’?