Changes in Music Education for Lower Elementary Grades during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Review of Keyboard Instrument Activities Considering Children's Development

This study focused on changes in music education for lower elementary grades during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in keyboard instrument activities. It clarified the actual educational responses based on instructional constraints due to infection control measures and children's developmental characteristics. The results showed that while singing and wind/brass instrument activities were restricted to prevent infection spread, teachers implemented creative practices. These included introducing alternative keyboard instruments like mini-keyboards, shifting to lesson formats incorporating listening activities and non-keyboard instrumental activities. These adaptations enabled the continuation of music activities under constraints and proved effective strategies for maintaining children's interest and engagement. Furthermore, activities using mini-keyboards suggested contributing to deepening musical understanding by allowing lower-grade students to focus on melodies and sound structures while reducing physical strain. However, limitations in physical expression through breathing and tonguing—features present in the melodica—were noted. This highlights the need to compensate for the physical sensory aspects of music and to ensure a smooth transition to the recorder, which is introduced in the third grade, as future challenges.