Which Music Education Methodology is Right for Your Child?

Choosing which music education methodology is likely to result in successful and enjoyable music lessons for your child is as important, and perhaps even more important, than deciding which instrument your child will learn to play. Your child may have a natural aptitude for several musical instruments, but if his music education experience is not in sync with his personality and learning style, the relationship between teacher and student is likely going to be strained and, therefore, the music lessons will not be as successful as they could otherwise be. 

 

More importantly, it is critical to choose a teacher whose methods for teaching music for young children are in line with your own personal beliefs. This will become clearer following the discussion on each methodology. Let’s start by examining what is arguably the most popular method, particularly with violin and piano lessons: the Suzuki method.

 

 

Music education teachers who believe in the Suzuki method suggest formal music lessons should start when the child is as young as age two or three. It is believed that these very early years of a child’s life are the best time to start teaching them to play musical instruments. 

 

 

The Suzuki method-led music lessons focus on passive listening methods of teaching and learning. Before a piece of music is learned, students are exposed to a recording of the piece several times a day, as background music to the student’s daily activities. The belief in this method of teaching music is that by immersing the child in classical music they will innately develop an ear for the pieces, and for concepts that will later be taught, such as pitch, timing, tone, and the dynamics of sound. Suzuki teachers believe that prolonged exposure to music has the same effect on a child’s musical ability that prolonged exposure to language (in other words, hearing speech during daily life as opposed to only at scheduled learning times) helps a child to acquire language.

 

This comparison with language acquisition also carries over into Suzuki teachers’ methods for teaching musical instruments to young children. Before a child learns to read whole words and sentences, he first learns to speak. Similarly, music education programs specializing in teaching music to children via the Suzuki method believe that before a child is taught to read music, a sort of musical “language” or memory needs to be established first. To achieve this, music lessons first focus on gaining a basic mastery of the instrument and of playing by ear and then on learning to read the notes on the page, thereby not dividing the child’s attention between learning to play and learning to read.

 

Suzuki music education stresses the importance of passive learning. To that end, music lessons usually take place in a group setting and include encouraging beginner students to observed more experienced students doing the things they will eventually learn to do. 

 

The group setting is also designed to foster co-operative learning, social interaction and to lessen the tendency toward competition. The better each student is, the better the group as a whole will become.

 

That is not to say that each student will not receive one-on-one attention. Teaching music for young children, no matter what the methodology, is about helping each child flourish. 

 

With Suzuki music lessons, teaching music is not just about the teacher and the student. The parents’ role in teaching music to their children is intense. Parents are encouraged to attend all music lessons and they are expected to carry on the teacher’s methods at home, effectively giving the parents a homeschooling role.

 

Much like the Suzuki method, teachers of the Kodaly method of music education believe that it is most advantageous to start teaching music to children at a very young age. Further, the Kodaly method teaches students that everyone, regardless of their aptitudes, talents, age, gender, background or any other factor, is capable of learning to play musical instruments. 

 

Although other instruments like the recorder are used during Kodaly music lessons, the primary instrument used is the voice.

 

The cornerstone of teaching music to children using the Kodaly method is the following of a set sequence of steps. Depending on the age of the child, the way in which the concepts are taught may vary, but the sequence is generally the same. Music education for children under this method may be broken down into ultra-simple concepts such as listening, singing and understanding. In the end, this method can result in a student being able to acquire skills in listening, ear training, the ability to play musical instruments, to sing, dance, read, write, and compose music. It is a comprehensive approach to music education.

 

 

Also commonly referred to as Dalcroze Eurhythmics, the Dalcroze method is a method of teaching music to children and adults. By this method, music lessons are focused on helping students develop an appreciation for music as an art, on training their ears and to encourage them to improvise – all the while improving their musical ability. 

 

In Dalcroze music education, the body is the musical instrument. Students are asked to listen to a piece of music to hear the rhythm of it, and to express that rhythm by moving their bodies. The goal with these music lessons is to teach children and adults to form a connection between the body, mind, and music.

 

a)      Eurhythmics: From the Greek for “good rhythm,” this element of the Dalcroze method of music education is dedicated to fostering musical expression not through the playing of musical instruments but through the movement of the body. An example of this facet of the Dalcroze method of teaching children is when teachers instruct children on how to clap out a song’s note values. 

b)      Solfege: The development of ear-training and sight-singing abilities

c)      Improvisation: Through the use of musical instruments, body movements and voice exercises, students are encourage to express freely what they hear in the music.

d)      Imagination

e)      Creativity and creative expression

f)        Flexibility

g)      Musical appreciation and understanding of musical concepts

 

The Orff-Schulwerk method, or “Orff method” as it is commonly known, is a method of teaching music to children that incorporates elements of singing, dancing, and the use of certain musical instruments (primarily percussion, such as xylophones) to bring to life the music for children. 

 

Using the Orff method, teachers present a music education program that is centered on an element of fun and play, which allows the children to learn at their own pace and in accordance with their own levels of cognition on the subject.

Another name for this method is “music for children,” and it is a way of teaching music that keeps the instruction on a level that is easy for even a very young child to understand and from which they can benefit. Common teaching techniques include dancing, dramatic skits, the use of musical instruments, chanting and improvisation are employed.

 

A typical Orff music lesson might look something like this:

 

 

 

Now that you have a better understanding of these methods for teaching music, it’s up to you to determine which music education program will best work for teaching your child. To help in your decision, ask yourself the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Armed with the answers to these questions and knowledge about the various methods for teaching musical instruments to children, you can make a more informed decision about how you want to proceed with your child’s music lessons. And remember: If you and your child find that one kind of lesson isn’t working for you, you can always change direction and opt for a new kind of music education at a later date.