Andrea Apostoli and Edwin E. Gordon composed this small collection of songs and chants without words according to the guidelines of Dr. Gordon’s Music Learning Theory—how we best learn music informs how to best teach music.

These songs and chants are an excellent resource for bringing young children through the various stages of preparatory audiation, from acculturation to imitation and assimilation.

Written in different tonalities and meters, these songs and chants present a rich and varied musical syntax, and they are also a great way to hold a child’s attention.

Intentionally without lyrics (so children concentrate on the music and are not distracted by the words), these songs should be sung by an adult using a conversational and relational approach rather than as a formal musical performance.

If left free to move around the classroom and to enact movements while listening to these songs, young children will spontaneously babble and vocalize—the earliest forms of autonomous “creation” in response to the music.

Edwin E. Gordon is known throughout the world as a preeminent researcher, teacher, author, editor, and lecturer in the field of music education.

Andrea Apostoli is an author, musician, and educator living in Italy. He is president of the Italian Gordon Association for Music Learning (aigam.org).

Major; Minor; Dorian; Phrygian; Lydian; Mixolydian; Aeolian; Locrian; Multitonal/Multimodal; Duple Meter; Triple Meter; Unusual Paired Meter; Unusual Unpaired Meter; Multimetric