The aesthetics of simplicity: An artistic approach to childhood and music making

Abstract

Something is considered simple (from Latin simplex, literally ‘onefold’) when it is not complex or demanding. Yet some philosophies challenge this view, emphasizing the holistic and even divine nature of the number one. In music pedagogy, pursuing the elementary as a path to the nucleus of music takes the shape of a polyaesthetics or synaesthetics; it is physical and expresses itself through shared exploration, communication and improvisation. This article investigates the notion that this very aesthetic of simplicity – the basis of early childhood music instruction – is not only useful with regards to age-appropriate learning, but also makes it possible to recognize the very foundations of music and challenges us as an ‘open work’ of art (Umberto Eco).