4 posts tagged “learning”

Traditional music education puts note reading high on its list of priorities. Despite the lack of the ability of many children to sing in tune or to move rhythmically and with style, we teach them to decipher the code of musical notation. "F is the first space. A whole note gets four counts. Etc." Furthermore, we complicate the process of music making by teaching executive skills to them at the expense of teaching musicianship. "Push this button down to get this note. Tap your foot. Sit up straight." The last thing the student is being directed to do is to make a musical product.

If you draw an analogy to language learning, it's as if you're asking a toddler who does not have command of his/her language to learn the alphabet as a way to make him literate. Or consider this question: Ever hear a child read every word of a paragraph and then when you ask him to tell you about what he read and he can't tell you? Where's the comprehension? It was in the thinking (or lack thereof) that accompanied the reading. With music, all the necessary skills are for naught if there is no musical "thinking." Understanding music doesn't come as a byproduct of traditional instruction. It's fundamental and must be taught.

Can we learn to focus on this as a priority in our music teaching?

In this blog, among other things, I'm going to discuss how.

Because the popular press and music education proponents have tried to justify music education on the achievement of children in other subjects. What about children whose natural talent is IN music and yet their other propensities are relatively lacking? Don't they deserve to learn music despite their other delays?

Any questions?

At least there's no research to support that yet.

Kindermusik, a very popular early childhood music program (They can stamp out programs—and "certified" teachers—like McDonald's does burgers.), asks potential teachers if they believe that "music is a key to all kinds of learning."

All?

Do they really think that Mozart was socially intelligent? or that musicians are all good at math? or that  was an eloquent speaker? or, conversely, that Einstein or Hawking would have to be good musicians? As if music causes one to have other kinds of intelligence? Forgive the rant, but they've got to get with the current research on neuroscience and cognitive psychology! Really. It's bothers me that they, and many others—so-called leaders in music education—perpetuate a [potential] myth: that music will somehow enhance children's cognitive abilities.

In my experience, there are several children in every school who have exceptional music talent, and yet have very low achievement in all, or almost all, of the traditional school subjects. Does that not ring true to anyone? And so, because these children do not succeed in math, or reading, they are systematically denied the opportunity to participate in the one thing in which they would have success.

It's saddening.