Children tend to love music, they like to dance, to sing and to play on instruments. Really, they just have to show up at the lessons wanting to learn and curious to explore. By all means try out instrumental lessons with your child, but if he or she doesn't want to continue, please don't make them. Instead help them find what they do want to do. When a child wants to learn an instrument it's essential they choose one they like the sound of since they will spend a lot of time playing it. Parents can help by playing all sorts of music and even giving children the opportunity to try some out - advice here! Peter and the Wolf is a good piece to introduce children to various orchestral instruments, as is Carnival of the Animals.
Music is an entire language and just as children took years to learn to speak full sentences so will they take years to learn the language of music. This doesn't mean it can't be fun, engaging and fulfilling (which is the teacher's job; we'll look at that next week), from the beginning but reaching the dizzying heights of Grade 8 is hard work! As well as showing up willing to learn, children need the parent's and teacher's support to develop:
Please remind your child not to be afraid to ask if he / she doesn't understand something and also to let their teacher know if they are not enjoying a particular approach or piece. Good teachers who have undertaken professional development can adapt their approach and can easily provide different repertoire to better suit the child. We are not mind readers and while we can 'pick up' on undercurrents we don't always succeed. So much of the child's experience in learning an instrument depends on the quality of the teaching and if the child can develop the attitudes discussed above and is supported by their parents they will be well on their way with their musical journey. Next week I'll look at the final part of the triangle - the teacher. What is your child's experience of music lessons? Are they developing the attitudes they need to succeed? Is there anything you can do to help them even more than you are already? If you missed the parent's role in the learning journey read it here.
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Over the last few weeks we've looked at the benefits of learning music; what good music teaching looks like; and how it is possible to measure progress without relying solely on exams. Today we're considering the needs of today's children and how a novel approach to piano lessons incorporating all aspects of musicianship meets those needs. Please do share if you think your friends will find this interesting. As renowned music educator Paul Harris says, today's children have a wealth of choice in terms of activities they can choose to fill their time and many of these give instant gratification. Learning an instrument does not always give instant gratification and so, if taught by a teacher who doesn't understand music education thoroughly, it is not something children are going to choose to fill their time. Lessons with Surrey Music School offer children activities they can do well, 'now' - they learn to sing a song, they move to the beat, they spend all week singing the song and they play games together while singing the song - often they can't get it out of their heads! When they know the song really well they work out the pitches (the sounds that go higher and lower) and work out how to play it by ear on the piano. Because their ear is being developed through all this singing and playing they begin to work out how to play it. So a task that could be difficult - playing a song and reading it from notation - becomes easy because they have had lots of fun learning it thoroughly and when it is time to play it they know it really well. Children are then curious to know work out how the song can be notated (written down), so they are given resources to help achieve this and again, what could be difficult becomes easy. Children happily and independently working out rhythms to songs The piano is a pretty exciting instrument to play and explore, so not only do children get to play songs they have learned to sing but they also explore the whole piano through improvisation.
Children learning in this way not only get a really great musical foundation for the future but also get to play real music 'now'! Of course we do not advocate having everything now, but this approach has the dual benefit of enabling children to make real music while developing all the skills necessary to become confident rounded musicians.
Of course they will have to apply themselves, it will not always be easy, but it will be much easier than going the route of 'traditional' piano lessons which involve setting a tutor book in front of a child and expecting them to read and play without any musical foundation at all. In these instances the eye takes over from the ear in the effort to decipher the notation and all thoughts of music making are absent in the struggle. Over the next few weeks we'll be looking at everyone's roles in the learning process - the parent's, child's and teacher's. A lot of parents want their child to do piano exams. I have two really important questions for you: 1) Why do you want your child to learn the piano? 2) Why does your child want to learn the piano? I wish I could have your answers before I continue writing this post, however I'll make an assumption* that you want your child:
* based on goals nearly always expressed whenever I receive a new enquiry I'll also assume your child wants to learn because he or she likes / loves music and really wants to play an instrument. I think it's unlikely you want your child to learn because you want him or her to get onto an exam treadmill where the sole purpose of playing an instrument becomes passing exams that get harder and harder and, very sadly, can have the opposite effect of what you're looking for for your child. So now we have a problem. Much instrumental tuition revolves around exams because they really are one of the only absolute ways of measuring progress. This means that parents also become exam focused because it is the only way they have been told progress can be measured, and doesn't everyone know that if you learn an instrument you 'have' to take exams. But things don't have to be like this. Following exam syllabi is very different to delivering a rounded curriculum and cannot possibly be a substitute. Even Ofsted has finally come around to the view that good exam results 'do not always mean children have received the subject knowledge they need' and the focus on exams is at the expense of 'rich and full knowledge'. Read the full article here. Children who learn using an exam focused approach often find they do not enjoy their learning, it is hard and they do not have a foundation on which to tackle harder and harder pieces. They often give up around Grade 3 or so because they just don't have the right musical foundation in place. If they are lucky enough to want to continue they tend to develop the opinion that, once they have reached Grade 8, their learning is complete and they do not need to play anymore. Rather, Grade 8 is just the start - this is when the door opens to most of the truly wonderful piano repertoire. Incidentally, I was this student. I did not have a good musical foundation, I found piano hard and would only practise for exams. Once I reached Grade 8 at age 16 I felt I was pretty much done. Fortunately I eventually fell in love with the piano and especially teaching the piano. I did course after course and practised a lot to become the piano teacher I wanted to be. I teach piano so that children can have the joyful, rich, musical experience that I did not have. Surrey Music School love students love playing piano, making music and their piano lessons, they come full of excitement for each lesson and leave full of joy. So let's return to your goals for your child.....Surrey Music School provides a a well structured curriculum where progress is clear and many areas, including creativity and self expression are developed (not just reading music and passing exams!). Teachers can also add to and adapt the curriculum so it meets additional goals they or their students may have. Exams have their place and are very useful formal benchmarks for measuring progress, however they must not become the focal point of instrumental tuition because this does not lead to the enjoyment, rounded development and the lifelong love of music you want for your child. At Surrey Music School we use exams judiciously so that they become special occasions to mark achievement and not just run of the mill yearly activities. If you would like your child to learn piano within a structured curriculum, in a group or 1:1 environment, where the focus is on developing a love of music and all round musical skills through piano playing then please do get in touch. Last week's blog discussed the benefits of music teaching but raised the fact that the benefits do not occur when the teaching is unstructured and poor quality. Read on to find out what bad music teaching looks like and discover what makes good music teaching.
The Kodaly approach to music teaching is very similar to how children learn to speak. As babies they listen and begin to explore the sounds they can make. As they grow they start imitating words they hear and finally they begin to put words together to make their own sentences. Imagine if they were not allowed to make any sounds until they first learned to read! It sounds ridiculous however this is what 'traditional' music teaching expects. With no musical foundation children are expected to interpret musical symbols - is it any wonder that they struggle and don't enjoy it. What did your music lessons look like? Did you learn through songs and games, developing your musical skills away from your instrument or were you a victim of traditional teaching and expected to somehow 'know' all these things without being taught? Next week's blog looks at the importance of teaching musical skills and concepts within a framework; so that the learning is structured and progress can be measured other than using exams. In the meantime if you're interested in reading more about the damage that traditional piano teaching causes why not check out this excellent article 'How Traditional Piano Lessons Cripple Our Children'.
Listening to and making music is a wonderful experience, with many benefits. Read on to discover them and learn about the health warning that can negate the benefits. a) Music reshapes the brain
b) Musical training helps progress 'Children who experience musical training have an advantage across all subjects except sport'
c) Music has a direct link to our emotions ‘It reaches the parts of the brain other things can’t do’.
But, what about the teaching? All the benefits come with a vital health warning: 'If the quality of music tuition is poor and unstructured there is no impact' Even worse, the impact of poor music tuition goes even deeper and may have: 'negative outcomes' Next week we describe what good music teaching looks like to help you find a teacher and approach that will deliver the benefits music can bring when done well. What has your experience been of music lessons? |
Caroline BlountDirector of Surrey Music School. Archives
January 2024
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