But I Can't Teach My Child Music!

7/28/2019 But I Can't Teach My Child Music!

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But I Cant Teach My Child Music!

By Marcia Washburn

Homeschooling parents are busy peopleso much to teach and so little time. Important

subjects such as music are often delegated to others or relegated to when we get around

to it.Yes, there is evidence that playing an instrument improves a childs spatial-temporal

ability and physical coordination. And yes, the Bible says to make music in our hearts to theLord, but how can you fit music into your already overloaded school day? What if you are

musically illiterate? What if private music lessons are out of reach? Here are some ideas tostart you on your way toward making music a part of your familys life.

Enjoy great music together. God created music as a means for us to voice our love and

adoration of Him, both here on earth and in heaven. Start each day with quiet worshipmusic. Sing together during your family devotions.

In addition to songs of the faith, every child needs to know the folk and patriotic songs ofhis country. Wee Sing1 has great selections if youre not comfortable teaching the songsyourself.

Classical music is another important part of your childs education. If youre not familiar withmusic of the great composers, consider purchasing CDs that narrate the composers lifestory and include examples of his music.2 When you find a composer whose music you

especially enjoy, listen to more examples on YouTube and then build your own musicallibrary. Titles such as Best of Beethoven or Greatest Hits of Mozartare easy to find.

Another great option is the book Meet the Great Composers, available with or without a CD.

Four pages of text, illustrations, and games are devoted to each composer. Permission isgranted to make copies for your group, so this could be used as a support group activity

too.3

Attend live performances whenever possible. Local concert associations, colleges, and

symphonies sometimes have special concerts for children. Folk festivals and other eventsprovide great opportunities to hear music of other cultures.

Integrate the arts with music. Some music tells a story. Encourage your children to

act out the story, make paper sack puppets to dramatize it, or use paint or chalk to record

their feelings about the music.

Children naturally move with music. Encourage them to march to a John Philip Sousa piece,dance to a waltz, and stomp to a square dance tune. London Bridge Is Falling Downand

Looby-Looare popular folk dances that can be done with as few as three or four people.Or invite a square dance caller to teach families in your homeschool support group to

dancegreat intergenerational fun!

Play simple instruments. Invest in commercial rhythm instruments,4 or make

instruments for your own family rhythm band. Partially fill a bathroom tissue tube with riceor dried beans and then tape the ends shut, to make a homemade maraca (shaker). Use an

empty cardboard oatmeal container as a drum, playing it with your hands or a wooden

spoon. Cover blocks of wood with sandpaper and rub them together. String pairs of metalbottle caps around the edge of a doubled paper plate to create a homemade tambourine.


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The soprano recorder is an inexpensive, easy-to-learn instrument. I once taught a group ofmoms to play it in one hour. Most of them had never read music before, but they taught

their children to play at home. We had one rehearsal for the children the following week andthen presented four songs at an end-of-year celebration. There is a wealth of both easy andchallenging music available for those who wish to explore the recorder in more depth.5

Use simple games to teach basic music terminology. Since the Italians developedour modern system of musical notation, most words found in printed music are Italian. Forexample, the terms for dynamicshow loudly the music is performedarepiano (soft) and

forte (loud). Forte is pronounced FOR-tay. Variations includepianissimo (very soft) and

fortissimo (very loud). Mezzo (MEHT-zoh) means medium, as in mezzo-piano (medium soft)or mezzo-forte (medium loud).

Children can learn these terms, and how to control the volume of their singing, by playingthe Dynamics Game. While one child is out of the room, hide an object in the room. When

the child returns, help him find the object by singing louder when he is close to the hiddenobject and quieter when he is farther away.6 A further benefit: You can remind your children

that fortissimo voices are for outside play only.

Use the Tempo Game to help children understand terminology that describes tempohowfast music moves. Musical tempo markings, beginning with the slowest, are Largo (LAR-goh), Lento, Adagio (uh-DAW-zhee-oh), Andante (awn-DAWN-tay), Moderato, Allegro (uh-

LEG-groh), Vivace (vih-VAW-chee), and Presto. Write the tempo words vertically on aposter. Then sing a simple song, preferably with motions, beginning with Largo and singing

faster with each repeat of the song until you reach Presto. Our favorite song for this activityisHead, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.7By the time youve sung it eight times, everyonefalls to the floor in a pile of giggles. This is a great break-time activity between academicsubjects.

The Clapping Game is fun and teaches attentiveness. One person claps a short rhythmpattern and the others try to duplicate it. You dont have to be able to read music to clap a

rhythmjust make one up. Gradually lengthen the pattern. One mom gained her childrensattention to change activities by clapping a pattern for the children to echo.

Investigate music notation. Study a page of written music together. Borrow a

hymnbook from your church or library, if necessary.

Notice that music is written on horizontal lines and spaces called a staff. Notes are the

symbols that tell you which pitch to play and how long to hold it. Notes will always have anoval-shaped note head. The more you change the basic note head, whether by adding a

stem (straight line) to the side, blackening the note head, or adding flags or beams to thestems, the less time the note is held. Thus, notes that have white note heads are held

longer than black ones connected by many lines across the top. When the note head is

higher on the staff, the music is sung or played higher in pitch.

Excluding those at the very beginning of the staff, symbols on the staffthat dont have note

heads are called rests. Rests may look like rectangular blocks or squiggles. Rests tell themusician not to play or sing during those beats.

The notes are named alphabetically as you move upward on the lines and spaces. We only

use the first seven letters of the alphabet in music:A, B, C, D, E, F,and G. If you wish tolearn to name the notes, purchase a set of music flashcards from your local music store.


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This introduction to music reading is enough to get you started as you look at the musicwhile singing along with a CD. You will be surprised by how quickly you begin to see the

relationship between what is printed on the page and what you hear on the CD.

Many families become quite skilled in a cappella singing (singing without instrumentalaccompaniment), just by singing hymns together during family worship times. Pretty soon

some of the singers figure out harmony parts and begin to make exciting music together.

Share your music with others. Grandparents, nursing home residents, church

members, and others are blessed when children sing for them. Share your music with those

who need encouragement. You need not have a polished performancejust learn somesongs and invite your audience to sing along. We have found that people who can no longerremember how to speak, due to dementia, can often still sing along with the hymns and

songs that they learned in their youth.

It is a wonderful gift for children to study music with a professionally trained teacher, butdont cheat them, or yourself, of the joy of making music together on your own. Select an

activity or two to try, and pretty soon music-making will be a regular part of your day.

Marcia K. Washburn homeschooled her five sons for nineteen years. Marcia holds bachelorsand masters degrees in music education and is the author ofTalent to Treasure: Building aProfitable Music Teaching Business. This article is based on excerpts from her new E-Book,Teach Your Child Music Even If You Cant Read a Note, available atwww.marciawashburn.com/MarciasMall.html.

Copyright 2012, used with permission. All rights reserved by author. Originally appeared in

the November 2012 issue ofThe Old Schoolhouse Magazine, the family education

magazine. Read the magazine free atwww.TOSMagazine.comor read it on the go and

download the free apps atwww.TOSApps.comto read the magazine on your mobile devices.

Endnotes:

1. Seewww.weesing.com/booksAudio.cfmfor book and CD sets for under $10. Sung bywell-trained childrens voices.

2. One great series includes Story of Bach in Words and Musicand others, available at many

online stores. Seerainbowresource.com/prodlist.php?sid=1308621156-213216&subject=17&category=5644

for a complete listing. At this printing they sell for $4.95each.3. Available atwww.christianbook.comand other stores.

4. Seerhythmband.comfor good quality instruments for children.5. Want to know how she taught those moms to play in such a short time? Check out Teach

Your Family to Play the

Soprano Recorderby Marcia Washburn, available atwww.marciawashburn.com/MarciasMall.html.

6. To expand this game, read Marcias free article atwww.marciawashburn.com/Articles/TeachingMusicalDynamics.html.

7. Write to Marcia for a free copy of the music for this song [email protected].

I truly desire that all Christians would love and regard as worthy the lovely gift of music,which is a precious, worthy, and costly treasure given mankind by God. . . . (N)ext to the
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Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in this world. . . .This preciousgift has been given to man alone that he might thereby remind himself of the fact that God

has created man for the express purpose of praising and extolling God.Martin Luther

Overview of Western Classical Music History

What we call classical music was the popular composed music of its day. Liszts audienceswere as wild as any popular bands audience is today. We call it classicalbecause it has

stood the test of time. Note that Classical Musicrefers to all of the periods below,including the Classical Period. Yes, it can be confusing.

Try studying one composer a month to really get familiar with his style. Use a notebook tokeep all of your music papers together. To get you started, here is a summary of the four

most recent periods of music.

Medieval Period (A.D. 701400) Primarily vocal music sung in unison (also calledGregorian Chant) until about 1100. More voices were added as the Renaissance approached

and written notation developed.

Renaissance (14001600) Method of writing down music (music notation) develops,

permitting music to be played the same way every time, even if the composer isnt present.The invention of the printing press greatly expands use of written music. More complex

instrumental music composed. Corelli and Gabrieli are well-known Renaissance composers.

Baroque Period (16001750) Like the art and architecture of the time, baroque musicis very intricate. Keyboard instruments (clavichord and harpsichord) of the day do not

permit changes in volume, so composers provide interest by adding ornaments such as trills

and mordents. Often one melody begins, with another and yet another imitating the first incopycat fashion. Johann Sebastian Bach was master of the baroque style and a devoted

Christian. Others include Handel (Messiah!), Purcell, Pachelbel (Canon), Scarlatti, andTelemann.

Classical Period (17501820) Music of this period rejects the highly decorated style of

the baroque period, instead opting for simplicity and clarity. It is characterized by balance,

elegance, clarity, and contrasting themes. The architecture of the day also presents clear,straight lines; uncluttered looks; tall windows; and deep porches. The sonata allegro form is

developed during this time and is widely used in symphonies, sonatas, and concertos. Well-known composers include Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Clementi.

Romantic Period (18201900) The term Romanticdoes not refer to romantic love but

is a reaction to the formalism of the Classical Period. It reflects the political changes that led

to more freedom of thought and expression. Composers now express their emotions more

freely. The piano becomes very popular, and many of our best-loved hymns are writtenduring this time. Composers discard the old rules and make daring shifts between major

and minor keys; melodies are especially expressive. Program music (music that tells a storyor describes a scene) becomes popular. Well-known composers include Tchaikovsky,Schumann, Grieg, Schubert, Brahms, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Liszt, and Strauss.

Contemporary or Twentieth Century (18902000) Contemporary composers showgreat independence in style, form, rhythm, and harmony as they reject the assumptions ofthe Romantic Period. Some of this music is very dissonantthe notes sound strange


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together. Prominent composers of the period include Debussy, Ravel, Kabalevsky, Bartok,Stravinsky, Copland, and Bernstein.

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But I Can't Teach My Child Music!