|
Why learn music?
Music education from an early age supports improvements in academic outcomes.
Research shows that children provided with a systematic
and sustained music education do better in maths and
reading.
What is a systematic and sustained music
education?
One where the child is provided with skills in reading music and understanding the
full range of musical concepts.
In the later years at a high quality school, a musically literate child has much
greater opportunities for participation in orchestras, ensembles, musical productions and so on, building self esteem and continuing to reinforce other learning areas.
Apart from that, music is fun, builds motor skills, builds skills in collaboration
and teamwork, and opens the mind to a range of creative possibilities.
Why start music education early?
Cognitive development is at a peak during early childhood. During this phase
children are in a sense being ‘hardwired’ for life, with a mass of connections being made as they learn language, logic and social skills. Because of this, they are highly receptive to
learning, particularly learning related to music. Children are focussed on issues of pitch, timbre, tone and meter in listening to people speak to them. They need this heightened
awareness as they learn language, and this receptiveness gives them a natural love of music. Learning music reinforces their development in these areas as well.
What music education options exist?
In my time in teaching preschool music, a wide range of music learning options have
emerged, some with a substantial commercial spread. However it can be hard to find programs that provide a systematic and sustained music education. This is critical to achieving long term educational benefits and the associated flow-on benefits in other learning
areas.
In seeking a music education program, parents should be looking
for:
Small classes with a highly skilled
teacher
No more than 4-6 children per
class, depending on age. This size allows effective teaching of musical concepts. Good personal attention can be provided to individual students, and a consistent and effective curriculum
can be delivered. 'One on one' lessons are not ideal for beginning students at younger age levels. Small group lessons teach children to collaborate and cooperate and learn from one another,
and to learn about the ensemble aspects of music making.
A consistent and structured
curriculum.
This should build the child’s
musical literacy, with the child able to read music and understand all key musical concepts, play simple instruments and participate in musical ensembles within a 2 year period, assuming consistent
participation. As noted earlier, the academic benefits of music are delivered by this development of higher level musical literacy skills.
A fun and engaging
approach.
Structuring the lessons around themes that are of
interest to children build engagement and allow their other interests to be brought into a music learning context.
Intelligent approach to introduction of
sophisticated instruments
The program should build basic musical
literacy using simple instruments, before introducing the technical demands of more complex instruments. This dramatically smooths the learning curve and allows children to translate skills
already acquired to the new instrument, giving them a strong sense of accomplishment.
The Judith Thomas School of Music addresses the key criteria for a systematic and
sustained music education program, and is optimized to deliver excellent long term outcomes for your child.
|
