The Importance of Exposure of Music and Musical Play in the Early Years, Part 2

By Susan Bialek
This article is part of the Awakening the Natural Musician in Your Child series. ¹

What if all students understood a concept because the teacher stood at the board and explained it? In reality, teachers face the challenge of finding the right pathway to understanding for all students, who receive, learn and assimilate information differently. Teachers must observe students, assess their learning styles and progress, then find or invent ways to present material, striving to reach each child.

Early Music Exposure is Important

Music instruction may include singing, decoding and deciphering, reading and writing musical notation, listening to music analytically, recognizing the sounds of different instruments and ensembles, movement and dance, composition and improvisation and playing instruments. There are elements in this list that are good matches for nearly every kind of learner. The future enthusiasm, enjoyment and success for a child in music can depend rather critically on the early exposure to it and what kind of enrichment or instruction comes first.

Every Child Learns Differently

I remember a very young kindergarten child whose parents insisted on piano lessons. This child could truly not sit still for more than 15 minutes, did not yet have the fine motor control to play the piano and was far

more enthusiastic about the pictures on the pages of his piano book than the notes. That child enjoyed creating little tunes on the piano by ear for fun. Knowing what I know now, it was not the time for piano lessons
for that child, not yet. He needed to be in a young children’s music class, where short spurts of singing songs and stories, dancing, learning basic rhythms by ear and using his entire arm to play on a xylophone would have served his entrance into a musical journey best. He would have been much more successful to start with a lively music class, ignite his love for music and then be introduced to piano instruction a year or two later. Certainly there are six year olds who are ready for formal piano instruction. The point is that the best match for each child at the start will yield a better experience, more meaningful learning, more fun, and, hopefully, a longer desire for and commitment to musical participation.

Visual Learners

“I see” is an interesting choice of words synonymous with “I understand”. Visual learning occurs when children use what they see to understand something new. Pictures, charts, flashcards, colors, and designs all inform this child’s thought process and are paths for transmitting information. Even if the child can’t read yet, books of pictures that are prompts for song lyrics are engaging. Creating one at home for favorite songs would be a fun project and treasured keepsake. Visual learners usually do well with learning to read music. However, it is important for parents to remember that learning to read music is not the only component of becoming a well-rounded musician. I recall a piano student who once said to me after being asked how she thought something she had just played sounded, “I have no idea what that sounded like, I was too busy reading the music.” It would be important for this child to have experiences listening to short phrases, describing what he or she hears and trying to duplicate them. A next step would be to create original melodies by ear to then remember, duplicate and write in musical notation. This may avoid creating a young musician who then becomes somewhat paralyzed away from the printed page.

Auditory Learners

Auditory learners understand and remember what they hear. This child likely remembers lyrics, lists, phone numbers and sequences of verbal directions easily. This child loves live music and theater performances and probably will aspire to perform in them. He or she will remember lines for a play by saying them aloud much more successfully than silently reading and studying. This child probably can pick out a familiar tune on an instrument with ease. She hears things precisely and can hear a melody accurately “inside” her head, which is called audiation.

This is an excellent trait for a musician, but also comes with a warning. It is important to find a music program that builds complimentary skills laying groundwork for learning to read music, which for an auditory learner can prove challenging. A teacher or program that allows the auditory learner to continue to hone their natural talent, but also begins to teach ways in which those sounds can be visually represented; such as through Curwen hand-signs and giving pitches names in solfege (do-re mi) makes the transition to reading musical notation far less daunting.

Kinesthetic Learners

There are children who truly cannot fully engage in thinking without moving. I think of a student who could not sit in the circle on the floor or in a chair in early elementary school. He had to at least walk. I came to realize that if I let him stroll around the perimeter of the classroom, moving and picking up things on shelves, he could focus. Allowed to move, he was quiet, attentive and calm. Most enlightening of all, he knew exactly what was going on in the class and could answer questions and engage in discussion during his classroom travels. This learner will do well when participation in music is active. For young children that need kinesthetic input, parents should look for a music program that includes movement, dance, playing of instruments that use large motor movement, such as xylophones and drums and of course singing. Older children may do well with dance instruction or playing an instrument that allows for playing with others in a group rather than as a solitary activity.

It would be helpful for parents to reflect on their own learning styles. There is some evidence to suggest that some aspects of learning style and types of intelligence are, to some degree, hereditary. When parents and teachers work together to make the most informed decisions choosing programs that will feed children’s strengths and find ways to use those strengths to boost weaker pathways and skills, the child will be set up for the most positive learning experiences.

FEATURE IMAGE: Beginner students in class, 2011.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Susan Bialek, Artistic Director of Children’s Chorus of Maryland, has over 22 years of experience as a choral music teacher, BA in Music from Vassar College, MA in Teaching, Music Education from Manhattanville College, and Kodály certification from the Hartt School of Music.

1. This article is part of Awakening the Natural Musician in Your Child series. Originally distributed as a newsletter in 2016-2017, the article portion is re-published here. This project was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and created by the music faculty of the Children’s Chorus of Maryland and School of Music.