Musical Interaction

Musical Interaction is an approach in which music and props are used to engage children through fun , familiar experiences and song. It enables children to express their emotions and their personality through musical play whilst also developing fundamental social and communication skills.

The aims of Musical Interaction are:

To enjoy and engage in an experience of shared play and fun with a familiar person.
To develop communication skills, such as eye contact, turn taking, imitation and initiating interaction, at a level appropriate to the individual’s need.
To develop the use of pre-verbal conversational skills such as shared attention, use of eye contact, imitation, anticipation and turn taking which provide the framework for later social communication.
To develop rewarding and reciprocal relationships.
For children to develop an awareness of themselves, make choices and communicate their views.
To develop conversation and social ‘flow’, e.g. recognising when to take a turn or when to initiate an interaction.
To promote a child's self-awareness, choice making, self-esteem and general emotional well being

See example songs and download below.

Row Your Boat!

Row, row, row the boat,
Gently as can be,
If you’re not careful,
You’ll fall into the sea!

Splash!

Sing the song and during the last line over exaggerate

the words before spraying water spray and saying

‘Splash!’. Your child may like the water spray on

their hands/feet or they may like to feel the mist on their face.

Silly Noise!

Who can make a very silly noise?

(Name) can make a very silly noise

Use a prop that makes a silly noise such as

a horn or a whoopee cushion. As you say

‘silly noise’ throughout each line make the

‘silly sound’. During the last line say your

child’s name and support them to be involved

in making the silly sound themselves.

Buzzy Bumble Bee!

Buzzy, buzzy, buzzy, buzzy bumblebee,

Buzzy, buzzy, buzzy, buzzy, bumblebee,

Flies through the sky,

What does he see?

Looking for a…. (body part),

Whose will it be?

Use a toy bumblebee and make it fly around the air as

you sing the song. In the line ‘Looking for a…’, name a

body part, allow your child to anticipate the interaction

and then make the bee land on that part of their body

on the last line of the song.

Flapping Ghost!

Here’s a flapping ghost,

Sitting down for tea.

‘ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo’

Save a plate for me!

(Name) Where are you?

Boo!

Sing the song and flap a material sheet up and

down like a ghost. During the last line of the

song place the fabric over your child and see if

they pull themselves from behind before saying ‘Boo!’.

Musical Interaction