Although we humans rely heavily on our senses of sight and hearing, our world would not make much sense to us if we did not have language in which to think, and words with which to know things. By naming something, our minds are able to categorize, connect, apply, analyze, evaluate, and represent everything that … Continue reading What’s In A Name?
music cognition
The Truth About Meter in Music
I don't think many of my students think about meter when they are listening to music. They are aware of a melody, of the tempo, of the beat and rhythms, but they are not so aware of the meter, at least not consciously. I've noticed that meter is not so much something that must be … Continue reading The Truth About Meter in Music
The Versatility of Tic-Tac-Toe
When I was a kid, I like playing tic-tac-toe. It's an easy game to play and almost every child knows how to play. With a little creativity, it can become a useful and versatile teaching tool in the music classroom. I like to use it periodically as a fun way to give my students practice … Continue reading The Versatility of Tic-Tac-Toe
Improvising With Tonal Patterns
Music is constructed with patterns of pitches and rhythms. As we have seen over the last two weeks, we begin to learn these patterns aurally from birth and even before. Aural learning continues into the school age years, and is necessary before music reading and writing can be taught effectively. Not only are the raw … Continue reading Improvising With Tonal Patterns
Resources for The Amazing Human Musical Mind
Over the last ten posts, I offered a series on early childhood music education. Today, I'd like to share with you some of the songs I mentioned and recommended in that series. Below you will find some videos of music educators performing these songs. The materials from John Feierabend are available from GIA Publications. "The … Continue reading Resources for The Amazing Human Musical Mind
The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 10
Today I conclude my series on early childhood music, and the amazing things even the youngest minds can do musically. Another way you can work singing into your normal routine is to converse with children by singing. All it takes is two or three pitches, and you can easily say or ask children anything while … Continue reading The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 10
The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 9
When we talk—our young children and we--we do so with a limited range of pitches, and those pitches are relatively low in the range of our voices. This can easily be demonstrated with our stand-by, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. First speak the words. Now, try to sing the song using the same sounds you used to … Continue reading The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 9
The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 8
There are four types of musical activities you should do with your students; those that help the child find and be comfortable with their singing voice, those that advance the child’s audiation ability, which is the ability to think in music and sing what has already been thought, those that develop moving to the beat … Continue reading The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 8
The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 7
Besides those things I mentioned yesterday, I could switch to rhythms. Now I will gently bounce the child to a beat. The child is not able to do anything to a steady beat yet, but I can again model that, teaching the child what that feels like, letting the child experience it. So I’ll bounce … Continue reading The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 7
The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 6
Today, I would like to share some specific music activities that anyone can do with a class of very young children. These activities can be done by early childhood educators who are not music educators, by caretakers and certainly by parents. They are all designed to build musical skills and concepts in young minds. Because … Continue reading The Amazing Human Musical Mind, Part 6
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