Playing for the Sheer Joy of Making Music

The most frequently asked question people ask me is, “At what age should my child begin music lessons?”

Every teacher will have a different response based on h/her own experiences.  I’m a child specialist and have taught children as young as two and one half. 

Does that seem rather young to begin lessons?

As a parent, you know your children.  Do they need constant activities and stimulation?  Do they get bored easily? Or, can they sit quietly and be engaged in a hobby for ten to thirty minutes?  Do they listen and take instruction, or are they the Tasmanian devil on steroids?  Most kids are ready at age three, but I like to give a few trial lessons to be sure.

Once I began creating teaching tools for the very young, my lessons consisted of a half hour lesson, broken into three-four segments:  learning to read music on The Name Game, my over-sized grand staff, followed by teaching the names of the keys on the piano, reading/playing music and chanting music symbol flash cards that have rhyming verses on the back:  “I’m a little Treble Clef cute as can be…look at your music…I curve around line G.” Teaching music symbols this way is fun and gels the memory.

Flashy Splashy Music Cards ~ PureGold Teaching Tools

Tunes for Tots is a large book of music that I published for children three to five years of age.  Each song is a different color so the child can find the desired piece easily.  Stems are eliminated so the student concentrates solely on sight-reading the note heads and isn't distracted by the attached vertical lines.

Tunes for Tots ~ PureGold Teaching Tools

If time permits, we play Musical Mish-Mosh, an exciting music card game similar to Go Fish. It’s a fun way to end the lesson while the student continues to learn music symbols.

Musical Mish-Mosh ~ PureGold Teaching Tools

When I was growing up, the traditional way to teach students to read Treble Clef line notes was to memorize the following sentence:  Every Good Boy Does Fine.  In the early years of teaching, I adhered to that philosophy.  After all, my teachers taught me that way, so I emulated them, too.  Until one day.

As I sat on the floor with a large felt Grand Staff placed in between me and Sarah, a five-year-old student, I placed large colorful note-heads on each line and as I repeated the above sentence, I reinforced the information by placing a plastic letter “E” on the first line to represent “Every,” a “G” on the second line for 

“Good” and so on.

When I reached the top line of the staff, Sarah looked puzzled.  So I pointed to each note again and repeated, “Every good boy does fine.”

“Well,” she said indignantly, “what about girls?” She tilted her head and wrinkled her nose.

Ah, teaching in the 21^st century.  Who knew I was politically incorrect?

Back to the drawing board.  Not wanting to offend my future musicians-to-be, I changed the sentence to:  Elvis Goes Bopping Down the Freeway, only to get a look of confusion and comment:   “Who’s that?”

I’m sure you’ve heard about the value of learning music.  The benefits are infinite:  children learn self-discipline and time management by practicing an instrument, SAT scores are higher, reading and math skills are significantly improved, and social skills are developed by playing in the band and orchestra as the student interacts musically with others.  The very young learn their alphabet letters and develop eye-hand coordination.

But what about playing for the sheer joy of making music?  Research scientists lose sight of the fact that while playing music has many benefits, it’s also enjoyable.  Relaxing.  Entertaining.  Creative.  Fun. And when children play a duet with the teacher or play with friends and family, a bond is strengthened.

Heidi Goldman and students with The Name Game ~PureGold Teaching Tools

Learning to play an instrument has many physiological and emotional benefits, but why not begin because it’s just fun? Plain and simple.