Welcome!

I love children and I love music. I am an early childhood music teacher and college music educator, teaching a range of students from infants to those pursuing their doctorates in music education.

My philosophy of music education rests on three principles: everyone is musical, music is important, and there are many ways to be musical. I am dedicated to increasing access to music for young children, particularly in my community of Cleveland, Ohio. My research focuses on musical parenting and parenting musically.

Music Play Zone is all about creating spaces for musical play for the children in our lives. On this website you’ll find resource lists for families and teachers, a blog with commentary on a range of topics related to early childhood music, and links to research I’ve published on topics related to musical play. Enjoy your time here in Music Play Zone!

In a newly published piece in General Music Today, I make the argument that saying “you get what you get, and you don’t get upset” is a problematic approach to take when children want to choose their own colors. Yes, it can be difficult and yes, there are downsides, but allowing children to express agency (power, control, and authority) is important at home, at school, and in the community.

CDs

Putumayo World Music Playground series (Caribbean Music Playground, French Music Playground, New Orleans Playground, World Music Playground, etc…)

Gift of the Tortoise: A Musical Journey through South Africa, Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Jambo and Other Call and Response Songs and Chants, Ella Jenkins

Multicultural Children’s Songs, Ella Jenkins

You are My Little Bird, Elizabeth Mitchell

The World Sings Goodnight (I & II), various (Rounder Kids)

The McCaughley Septuplets: Sweet Dreams, various (Sony)

Philadelphia Chickens, Blue Moo, and Dog Train, Sandra Boynton, Workman Publishing Co.

Children's Literature

Barnyard Dance, Sandra Boynton, Workman Publishing Company.

Hush! A Thai Lullaby, Minfong Ho, Orchard Books.

The Seals on the Bus, Lenny Hort, Henry Holt & Co.

How Much is That Doggie in the Window, Iza Trapani, Whispering Coyote Press.

Mary Had a Little Lamb, Iza Trapani, Whispering Coyote Press.

What a Wonderful World, Weiss and Thiele/Bryan, Atheneum.

My Family Plays Music, Judy Cox, Holiday House.

Summertime, Heyward/Wimmer, Simon & Schuster.

January Rides the Wind: A Book of Months, Otten/Doney, Lorthrop, Lee & Shepard Books.

All Things Bright and Beautiful, Alexander/Heyer, Ideal’s Children’s Books.

Sleep, Baby, Sleep and other Well-Loved Lullabies, ill. Lacome, Silver Dolphin Books.

Mole Music, David McPhail, Henry Holt & Co.

Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, Moss/Priceman, Aladdin Paperbacks.

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? Martin/Carle, Holt & Company.

Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain, Verna Aardema, Dial.

De Colores and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children, arr. Orozco, ill. Kleven, Dutton Children’s Books.

Off to the Sweet Shores of Africa and Other Talking Drum Rhymes, Unobagha/Cairns, Chronicle Books.

Follow the Drinking Gourd, Jeanette Winter, Knopf.

The Remarkable Farkle McBride, John Lithgow, Simon & Schuster.

The Farewell Symphony, Anna Harwell Celenza, Talewinds.

Music books for parents and teachers

Music Play, Wendy H. Valerio, Alison M. Reynolds, Beth M. Bolton, Cynthia C. Taggart, and Edwin E. Gordon, GIA Publications.

Songworks I: Singing in the Education of Children, Peggy D. Bennett and Douglas R. Bartholomew, Wadsworth Publishing Company.

Roots and Braches: A Legacy of Multicultural Music for Children, P. S. Campbell, et. al., World Music Press.

Teaching Kids to Sing, Kenneth Phillips, Schirmer Books.

Rubber-Band Banjos and a Java Jive Bass, Alex Sabbeth, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Sources for Instruments and Props

Music is Elementary (instruments, books, recordings) - https://musiciselementary.com/

West Music (instruments, books, recordings)- http://www.westmusic.com/

Oriental Trading Company (scarves, other props) - http://www.orientaltrading.com/

S&S Worldwide (scarves, balls, etc) - http://www.ssww.com/

Lakeshore Learning – echo microphones

Note: Some of the clickable links are full publications that are publicly available; others can be accessed through library databases or books.

Koops, L. H. (in press). The Enjoyment Cycle: A Phenomenology of musical enjoyment of 4-to 7-year-olds during musical play. Journal of Research in Music Education.

Koops, L. H., Kuebel, C., & Smith, S. (in press). Mama’s Turn: A Mother’s musical journey. Research Studies in Music Education.

Koops, L. H. (2016). Förderung der musikalischen Entwicklung bei Kindern von der Geburt bis zum 5. Lebensjahr. Schnittpunkte von Forschung und Praxis (Supporting children’s musical development, birth to age 5: Intersections of research and practice). Frühe Bildung (=Early Education), 5, 125-133. doi: 10.1026/2191-9186/a000278

Koops, L. H. & Keppen, H. (2015). Planning for joy in the general music classroom. General Music Today, 28(3), 12-17. doi: 10.1177/1048371314563828

Koops, L. H. (2015). Balancing Enjoyment and Student Control in the Music Classroom. TRIAD, 82(3), 50-51.

Koops, L. H. (2014). Songs from the carseat: Exploring the early childhood music- making place of the family vehicle. Journal of Research in Music Education, 62, 52-65. doi: 10.1177/0022429413520007

Koops, L. H. (2012). “Ñungi noss (They are enjoying)”: Enjoyment and socialization in Gambian children’s music making. In P. S. Campbell & T. Wiggins (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Children’s Musical Cultures, pp. 266-280. New York: Oxford University Press.

Koops. L. H. (2012). Creating Music Play Zones for children. Perspectives: Journal of the Early Childhood Music & Movement Association, 7(3), 11-15.

Koops, L. H. (2012). Music Play Zone II: Deepening parental empowerment to be music guides for their young children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 40, 333-341. doi: 10.1007/s10643-012-0513-1

Koops, L. H. (2012). “Now can I watch my video?”: Exploring musical play through video sharing and social networking in an early childhood music class. Research Studies in Music Education, 34, 15-28. doi: 10.1177/1321103X12442994

Koops, L. H. (2011). Music Play Zone: An online social network site connecting parents and teacher in an early childhood music course. In S. Burton & C. C. Taggart (Eds.), Learning from Young Children: Research in Early Childhood Music, pp. 181-194. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Education.

Koops, L. H. and Taggart, C. C. (2011). Learning through play: Extending an early childhood music education approach to undergraduate and graduate music education programs. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 20(2), 55-66. doi: 10.1177/1057083710373578

Koops, L. H. (2011). Perceptions of current and desired involvement in early childhood music instruction. Visions of Research in Music Education, 17. Retrieved from www-usr.rider.edu/~vrme/v17n1/visions/article4.

Koops, L. H. (2010). “Deñuy jàngal seen bopp (They teach themselves)”: Children’s musical learning in The Gambia. Journal of Research in Music Education, 58, 20-36. doi: 10.1177/0022429409361000

Koops, L. H. (2008). Teacher as learner: Becoming an early childhood music student. TRIAD, 75(5), 68-69.

Music Play Zone

Enriching Musical Play for All Children

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"You Get What You Get"?

6/20/17

Grammy Foundation Grant

5/09/17

Resources for Parents and Teachers

CDs

Children's Literature

Music books for parents and teachers

Sources for Instruments and Props

PUBLICATIONS

Q&A Forum

About Music Play Zone

Lisa Huisman Koops, Ph.D.

Music Play Zone

ENRICHING MUSICAL PLAY FOR ALL CHILDREN