Early Childhood Music Group Lesson

Listen, Play, Create

A Sonic Adventure with the Guzheng

Listen, Play, Create: A Sonic Adventure with the Guzheng is a 10-week early childhood group class programme for children aged 3–4, designed and facilitated by Dr. Natalie Alexandra Tse (Dr. Nat), founder of the SonicPlay™ Pedagogy. This programme focuses on nurturing your child’s natural curiosity, confidence, and creativity through sound.
Rather than teaching music as a set of techniques at this young age, we would like to invite your children into a fun, gentle, immersive relationship with sound—through listening, exploration, movement, and creative expression, using the guzheng as a central sonic material. Though the aim of this programme is not to teach your child how to play the guzheng in the traditional sense, it serves as a stepping stone to uncover your child’s true musical potential and to discover the musical genius within.

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Why Would You Want Your Child To Attend This Programme

Many of us, including myself, were introduced to instrumental techniques at a very young age. In many cases, the focus was placed heavily on playing the instrument itself – even before children were able to recognise simple musical patterns such as Do Re Mi. For some children, this approach can feel overwhelming, as technical instruction becomes the sole objective before a natural understanding of sound has time to develop. Early childhood music exposure plays a crucial role in a child’s musical growth – especially if you want your child to excel in any musical instrument. Before formal instrumental lessons begin, children benefit greatly from experiences that help them listen, respond, and understand sound in an intuitive way. This foundation supports long term musical development and helps children gain confidence and musical awareness as they grow. This programme is designed with your child in mind. It focuses on building a strong musical base, allowing children to explore what music can sound and feel like before diving into the technical demands of learning an instrument. By nurturing curiosity, listening skills, and creative response early on, children are better prepared to thrive when they eventually begin formal instrumental learning.

Neuroscience studies have proven that learning music in the early years of schooling helps children learn to read.²

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*Trial lesson is chargeable

What Makes This Programme Different?

At its core, this programme is guided by SonicPlay™, a pedagogy that treats listening as a foundational human capacity. Your child will not be taught what to hear, but will instead be supported to notice, respond, and create meaning through sound in their own ways.
Inspired by ancient Chinese philosophy, SonicPlay™ understands sound not as entertainment, but as a way of being in the world. As written in the Record of Music (《乐记》):

“凡音之起，由人心生也。”
All sound arises from the human heart-mind.

In this spirit, children are seen as already capable listeners who are attuned to vibration, rhythm, and resonance long before formal instruction.

What Your Child Will Experience

Across ten weeks, your child will journey through three interwoven phases:

These phases are not linear. They overlap and respond to your child’s curiosity, allowing learning to unfold naturally through play and inquiry.

Your child will have the opportunity to explore:

The wooden body of the guzheng and its resonance
The metallic strings, timbre, and contrasting sounds
Movement-based sounds such as glissando slides
Dynamics, pauses, silence, and tempo shifts
Percussive possibilities and collaborative sound-making

The programme culminates in a small, in-class sharing, where your child is invited to present a co-created sound journey without pressure to perform.

How Learning Is Supported

Sessions are facilitated in a calm, respectful environment inspired by:

Reggio Emilia principles, where the artist-educator acts as a sensitive listener and the environment becomes the “third teacher”
Soundscape education, encouraging children to notice how sound connects people, materials, and nature
World music pedagogy, nurturing curiosity and respect for diverse sonic traditions
Loose parts play, using real, open-ended materials that invite invention rather than imitation

Adults observe carefully, intervene minimally, and respond thoughtfully. Children’s sounds—whether quiet, bold, experimental, or still—are all treated as meaningful.

Why This Matters For Your Child

Through consistent experiences of being listened to, your child begins to:

Develop attention and emotional regulation
Build confidence in expressing themselves
Learn empathy through shared listening and co-creation
Understand that sound comes from materials, movement, and environment
Feel safe to explore, pause, and respond in their own time

As another ancient text reminds us:

“乐者，天地之和也。”
Music is the harmony of Heaven and Earth.

This harmony is not taught through instruction. It is cultivated through attunement.

Benefits For Children To Learn Music

More Than A Music Class

Listen, Play, Create is not about producing young musicians.
It is about nurturing thoughtful, attentive, and expressive human beings. it is about noticing the prodigy in each and every child.
By grounding musical exploration in listening, relationship, and attunement, this programme offers your child a quieter, deeper foundation for learning that supports not only musical growth, but emotional and social development as well.

Programme Recommendations

For children under 3, parental involvement is recommended but not compulsory.