The Young Child

I've been trying to become an 'expert' in childhood development. While I am FAR from it I have learned a lot on my quest and have really enjoyed the reading and studying I've been able to do. Something I read about a year ago kind of bothered me, but after I've studied more about it and thought about it I've come to a better understanding, and now it makes great sense. Here is what I've learned.

I read that young children should not learn to read music, AND learn an instrument at the same time. It's too much for most little kids (under 7 or 8) brain to take in the information on the page and internalize it, then immediately perform an action like playing the piano. I've taught private piano for almost 6 years and I can totally see this. There are a lot of anxious 5 and 6 year olds that want to be grown up and just sit down and play the piano like an older sibling or a friend, but when faced with all the components of comprehending and interpreting music on a page, while then needed to play something can be very overwhelming. I'm not saying they can't do it or that we should only give our kids easy things to do. I am saying at such a young age music should be very enjoyable and lay a foundation of positive experiences and the desire to participate in music because it makes them happy, not frustrated because they can't yet 'perform'.

As I've done more research and just thought about this on my own, I came to understand it more easily and clearly when I think of it this way. I have a 6 year old son so the past year we have been learning to read. I LOVE to read and I want my children to LOVE to read but I've learned that this task can be somewhat frustrating for them when the words just don't come as smoothly or quickly as he wants them too. I've thought about the process of learning to read, as I have a 5 year old that is showing interest and will sit next to me and my older son as we are reading together. Here is how it relates to Kindermusik.

A child first learns their alphabet, usually through a song or a rhyme. For a few years they practice their alphabet, recognizing the letters in patterns and pictures. Then after plenty of practice with just letters, they learn the phonetic sounds of the letters, kind of like their value or meaning within the language. Finally, after these two things have been mastered they learn to put the letters and their sounds together to form words. So in music it goes like this......first we learn notes (like the letters) on the staff, we recognize them and the pattern of reading music on lines and spaces. Then we learn rhythm (like the phonetic sounds of letters) in music, kind of like their value or meaning within music. Then after these two components are learned we can put them together to make music, either on the piano, violin, or even simple instruments in class.

Once I thought of it this way it made sense and my Young Child classes took on a different direction. I love teaching this class (5-7 year olds) because they are like sponges! They love to learn and then see the results of what they have learned almost immediately. The last semester was so fun to see them almost surprise themselves after we had worked on a poem or rhyme,then we would put it to music and sing and dance, then we would transfer it to an instrument and they were so proud of themselves for making music!

So, if your child has a desire to be apart of music, either singing, dancing, or playing an instrument the Young Child class is the way to go!