Everyone Has Musical Ability

In an article I was reading by Ken Guilmartin, founder of Music Together, he discusses how most American children are developmentally delayed in music by anywhere from 2 to 5 years!  I think the following quote from the article is a good example of why most children in our country are delayed in music.

"How is it that parents rush to call in a speech therapist or a learning consultant if their 5- or 6-year old has a little trouble speaking or reading, but if the same child does not sing well they are content to conclude she is "not musical" or "tone deaf"?  These descriptions are no less objectionable than "word deaf" or "reading blind,"  Even though language may be deemed more necessary in our culture, there is still an underlying double standard at work here which says that language skills can be achieved by anyone - given suitable and sufficient education, including remedial work if necessary.  Musical skills, however, must first be present as obvious "talent" to merit our cultures' investment in music education.  Parents and educators alike may require this - even though music skills are not sufficiently modeled in early childhood and thus do not receive the same appropriate informal education from birth that language received."

Not only having your child involved in music programs in school, but also involving yourself as a parent in musical experiences with your child, will aid greatly in their musical development and help prevent your child from falling into the above statistic.  It is important for young children to be immersed in fun musical experiences daily with the people who are closest to them.

This week in Music Together we danced the Bunny Hop!  Play the link below and see how many different ways you can hop to the beat at home.


 This week at Journey Montessori we did a drum circle, discussed the percussion family, and finished Peter and the Wolf.

To enjoy the new drums we made we did a drum circle for a large portion of the class this week. We played to the beat, watched for conducting cues (when to play, stop, and what beat to play), effectively moved to the right to switch drums (a huge task when you are between the ages of 3-5), and made a rain storm.

We discussed that any instrument that you hit/strike to produce a sound fits into the percussion family.

Our last characters for Peter and the Wolf were the hunters who are played by the timpani and bass drums. If you have not had a chance to watch Peter and the Wolf with your child I encourage you to scroll down and click the link to watch it. See how many instruments and characters they can identify!

Suzuki

I LOVE the Suzuki method.  What an intelligent man.  My daughters have taken Suzuki violin lessons from age 2 and this quote is spot on.  I am amazed daily at what they can accomplish musically and as wonderful little people in this world.