The aim of this contribution is to present key starting points for the creation of music for babies and toddlers, based on the practical experience of composers. To gain a deeper understanding of the creative process of composing for young children, we decided to carry out qualitative research to fill the gap of scientific studies in this field. The research involved five composers, two males and three females, who had created musical works for young children in the context of the B-AIR project. We were interested in their insights into their own creative process; we wanted to know how they went about it, what was their inspiration, how competent they felt, where they drew the necessary knowledge for developmental adaptations for the youngest, what they found challenging in the creative process and how they experienced the performance of their own musical works. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, on the basis of which thematic strands were developed starting from the grounding theory. As the experiential moment was at the forefront of our analysis, we also used the phenomenological method. The composers’ responses suggest that their process of creating music for the youngest was not markedly different from their usual process of creating music for other audiences. Based on a four-phase creative flow(preparation, incubation, illumination, verification), significant differences emerged especially in the preparation phase, where the composers wanted to acquire knowledge in the field of perception and cognition of music in youngest audiences through various sources. The most inspiring for the composers was the verification phase where they were surprised by the rich reactions of the young children to their musical works. Composers stressed the importance of collaboration between all the co-creators in creating for the youngest. Close cooperation with three actors stood out the most: the text author, the director, as well as experts in the field of child development.Other outstanding themes were the establishment of a safe and loving sound environment, the universality of musical language, the use of natural sound elements and voice, and the notions of enchantment and fluidity.
Characteristics of creating music for babies and toddlers – composers’ perspective
Tara Maja Simonič, Maruša Laure and Katarina Habe
