I have noticed lately that very few students recognize many of the traditional children’s songs, folk songs and famous classical pieces found in their lesson books. When I was growing up, I learned some of these tunes from my parents or at school and many others from children’s television. These classical and folk melodies were often in the background or featured in classic cartoons. Now when I share these associations with my students, they look at me like I am some kind of crazy old lady. (Maybe I am getting old; after all, my preschooler told me today very matter-of-factly that I was born when there were still dinosaurs because I am a grown-up.) It seems far more common now for children’s programming to have original scores and songs composed in more familiar pop styles. Though I understand the reasons for this and pop music has value of its own, I’m afraid something important is lost when we are only exposed to familiar sounds. It is by stretching our minds around the new and unfamiliar that we truly learn and grow.
Learning to read and perform music without having heard very much of it is like trying to learn to speak a language without ever having heard it spoken. So, beginning this fall, I will be opening every lesson with a few minutes of music listening. I am planning a curriculum that will introduce students to a new composer each month. The composers will come from a wide variety of times and places and include folk, classical, jazz, world and pop styles. I will provide background information about each type of music and composer we study, but mostly we are going to focus on the sound and just enjoy the simple act of listening. Every style has its own musical vocabulary and I hope that by exposing my students to a wide variety of music that they will gain a large musical vocabulary with which to express themselves.
I will post links to the music we listen to each week as well as suggestions for further listening so you can enjoy the music with your children. Taking time to listen to music or go to a concert together is one of the simplest and most enjoyable things you can do to support your child’s piano lessons. It shows that music has a place of importance in your life and can do more to inspire learning and practice than any amount of nagging ever will.
September's composer is Ludwig van Beethoven. This week we listened to an excerpt from the first movement of Symphony No. 5. I was pleased that everyone recognized it's famous motive. After listening, students experimented with their own variations on the theme. I hope you will have a chance to enjoy listening to this fantastic work in it's entirety.
