I’ve taught music for nearly twenty years, but lately even my most entrenched ideas have been challenged by my four year old son, Dorian. Though certainly challenging, it’s not his constant barrage of ‘why?’ causing the rethink, rather my observation of his language development.
As children learn their mother-tongue, they go through many stages: cooing; babbling; repeating sounds; first words; simple phrases; sentences; unstoppable monologues… With reading, there is a similar learning curve: recognizing written letters; knowing the sound each letter represents; reading groups of letters, words, sentences, and so on. Traditionally the language of music has been taught very differently. Music students learn an instrument: how to hold it, play it, care for it, name its parts, etc. At the same time, they are expected to learn the arcane symbols and system of notation and how those relate to their instrument. Note by note, phrase by phrase, tunes are learned. Scales and arpeggios, the building blocks of melody and harmony, are also thrown into the mix. It’s a lot to take in and a bit like expecting a child to read aloud from a book before uttering a first word!
While the traditional approach works well for highly-motivated students (those driven to spend time practicing and playing their instrument), it can be overwhelming to others. What’s more, the necessary physical and mental development is generally beyond younger children. Preschoolers and Kindergartners are naturally curious and receptive to new ideas, yet serious music-making can still be years away. What a wasted opportunity! I’ve recently been searching for ways to bridge the gap between singing Wheels on the Bus while shaking a tambourine and instrument lessons.
Firstly, I want to help Dorian (and other young children) discover and explore the range of sounds different instruments produce; like a babbling baby discovering her voice. Rather than specialize too early, I feel kids should be free to try a wide variety of sounds and discover for themselves what is possible. Therefore, I decided to look for ideas that would work on any instrument. Of course, a child drawn to a particular instrument should not be forced to diversify; self-expression, after all, is very important in music. Secondly, I want to introduce the fundamental concepts of music (pitch, rhythm, harmony, tempo, timbre, etc) in an age-appropriate and fun way.
To help me, I adapted a practice aid I had previously devised for guitar students: repetitive pieces I call Shapesounds.
A Shapesound is a repeated section of music where a difference in performance follows a predetermined shape. The difference can be: fundamental (pitch, dynamics, tempo); physical (blowing strength, striking position, plucking position, etc); audible (range of timbre); or theoretical (harmonic, melodic, or rhythmic variation). Shapesounds can also be combined, giving texture and structure.
Shapesounds are much simpler than this all suggests. For example :
- choose three notes;
- draw a line on a sheet of paper, from the bottom left to the top right;
- repeatedly play the three notes on an instrument;
- start quietly and steadily get louder (following the line);
- stop when at maximum volume.
It’s so simple, a three-year-old could do it! As musicians advance, they can use more notes, a more complex shape, or a more demanding musical difference. This blog will primarily be about exploring some of these possibilities.
Further, I decided emphasis should first be on how to play, not what to play. I developed a method of simplifying music (‘Outlining’) so children can play along with music using very few notes. As they advance, they can move up through a series of increasingly demanding Outlines, until eventually playing the whole piece. It’s a great way to set goals, monitor progress and allow musicians of differing abilities to play together.
One final word: if you are new to music, I encourage you to join with your child and explore together. If you already have some musical background, why not try an unfamiliar instrument, technique or fingering? Most importantly, try something new. It is far more effective to model behavior for kids than show them what to do…and it’s fun to play with sound at any age.