The scientific conference "Children's Music in Ho Chi Minh City" organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Music Association, taking place on August 16, brought many thoughts on the current scarcity of children's music products.
Almost forgotten
Musical performance for children is an important part of the comprehensive development of children, helping them develop physically, intellectually and mentally. However, currently, composing children's songs is almost forgotten, causing a serious shortage of new, quality music for children in the market. At school, students only learn old musical works.
Children's music and dance competitions and performances mainly use compositions that are several decades old. Young musicians are only interested in composing adult and emotional music, while musicians who are passionate about children's music cannot find outlets for their works and do not have the funds to invest in and release new compositions. Therefore, many songs that are created remain only on paper. Some musicians cannot keep up with the development of children's lives today, so their songs cannot spread. Meanwhile, district and county children's units always have a need to use new songs, but their budget is limited and they cannot order compositions.
A performance at the Vietnam - Laos - Cambodia Children's Festival in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: BUI DIEU
Due to the lack of good children's songs, children often watch and listen to adult music, international music (for the purpose of learning a foreign language) or foreign children's music. This can have a negative impact on children's perception and behavior. The appeal of children's music is currently limited. Some television programs and music stages for children have not attracted the attention of young audiences.
Musician Nguyen Quoc Dong admitted: "Currently, there are musicians writing for children, but due to many limitations, these works have not been widely popularized and have not had a strong influence. Many musicians do not have the financial ability to produce their own songs; music programs on radio, television, and online platforms do not devote much "space" to children's music programs...".
Need to understand child psychology
According to experts, in recent years, there have been some songwriting competitions for children, with many entries but lacking good songs like those written for children by previous generations. Because writing music for children is both difficult and inexpensive due to the low royalty mechanism and it is difficult to become famous. In addition, there are almost no playgrounds to introduce new compositions for children.
Musician Van Thanh Nho affirmed that composing songs for children is a field that requires many skills and understanding of children's souls. Children have a different way of perceiving and feeling the world than adults. To compose songs suitable for children, musicians need to understand their psychology, interests and needs.
Children's songs need to have cheerful melodies that are easy to sing and remember, and gentle, easy-to-understand lyrics. However, simple melodies and lyrics do not mean a lack of creativity. Musicians need to be creative in making songs that are attractive and appealing to children. And this is not an easy task.
Dr. - Director Pham Ngoc Hien (Art Department - Performance Organization of Ho Chi Minh City Light Music Center, Head of Theory and Criticism Department of Ho Chi Minh City Dance Artists Association) commented: "The development of technology and diversification in cultural life have brought many new opportunities but also posed many challenges for children's music. It is necessary to understand that composing music for children has its own unique characteristics to best serve the needs and receptive abilities of children.
Not simply creating cheerful and lively melodies, composing for children requires meticulousness in selecting age-appropriate content, language and melody. These characteristics help children's songs not only become interesting spiritual food but also an effective educational tool, contributing to the comprehensive development of children. Music for children plays an important role in the formation and development of children's personality and soul."
Experts say that to revive children's music, many issues need to be raised and the whole society needs to join hands and contribute.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/trang-am-nhac-thieu-nhi-o-thi-truong-196240816195812632.htm
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