Lund Music Studio

Training a Musical Ear

As piano teachers, sometimes we may forget that we possibly didn’t always have the most magnificent ear for music, and so we may not understand when we have students who cannot “hear” their mistakes, or who feel they are playing something correctly when it is, to us, clearly wrong. I particularly have a hard time with this as I started music VERY early, and was trained to have a good listening ear from the start (I can still pick out notes and tell you what they are without looking at the piano.)

But sometimes, our students honestly think they are doing a good job, and don’t understand when they are not playing things correctly, either melodically or rhythmically. Where does this stem from? Well, it can come from many places. First, if a student has a piano that is vastly out of tune at home, it may be hard for them to hear and identify “wrong” pitches. Second, some young students have not developed a musical ear quite yet, and simply cannot distinguish between one note and another. This also may connect with the third problem, that they have read the music from the book incorrectly, and then practiced it that way all week, and so think their mistakes to be “right,” because they are doing what the book says. If they think they are playing the notes as they are in the book, and have not connected the written music to the heard music, then they will not think that what they are doing is incorrect, because they will think, “I’m just doing what the book said.”

So how do we correct these misadventures in pitch? Well, there are several options. The first is to demonstrate for them. If we are not playing the piano FOR our students every once in a while, we are doing them a grave disservice. They need not only to do, but to listen. Play for them what they just played you, and then play the “correct” way, and ask them not which one is right, but what the difference is. If they can tell you this, then they at least have the ear to hear, and are just confused on what is right. Parents who are vaguely familiar with the piano can do this with their children also. If you have the ability to follow a beginner, parents, then you should be in there helping them when you can (without being too intrusive, of course).

Secondly, it is important to get all piano students to be able to sing just a little bit. They don’t have to be the next Whitney Houston or anything, but see if they can match a pitch singing, and then connect it to the piano by having them sing the note and then play it on the piano. This again reinforces pitch accuracy and ear training, and helps them to develop the ability to hear and correct themselves. Parents, this is again something you can try at home. You don’t even need to know note names. Just play a note, and ask them to match it by singing.

Finally, something I think all piano teachers should be doing, is ear training and music theory with their students. Help them to learn the different musical symbols, and that just like in the alphabet, when different letters make different sounds, so in music, different notes make different and distinct sounds. Play melody and rhythm recognition games, and encourage the student through fun and interesting activities to discover the piano and the sounds it makes.

Through all of these activities, a student should be able to develop a “good ear.” If at first it seems difficult or doesn’t work, I would encourage all teachers and parents to give it time. Music doesn’t happen overnight, but it is a beautiful thing that anyone can learn given enough time and patience. Good luck!

Let’s face it. Everyone wants instant gratification. That’s why we have cell phones, text messaging, etc…But there is one major difference between adults and children: Adults know how to control this desire and have (ostensibly) developed the patience to wait and the understanding that not all things come immediately. Children have largely not yet reached this understanding. This comes into play with piano more so than with other activities.

Piano is seen as an “activity” much like sports or dance, but it is actually much more akin to learning a language. It takes time, focus, and devotion, and will not happen over night. Whereas in sports, you go to a few practices, then put on a uniform and you ARE an athlete, in piano you must spend months or even years learning the very basics of piano. Pushing notes down on a keyboard like you would push buttons in a video game is not playing music. Playing music comes with a detailed understanding that the notes you push can be combined in many different ways, and there is even a technique to how to push them. Not only that, but music words are in another language. So while a child has to learn the “language” of music (the music alphabet and so forth), and while they are still getting a firm grasp on English, we then ask them to learn and understand words in ITALIAN, too! Again, adults have developed the patience to understand that this will not happen overnight, but children just want to sit down and do it! And woefully, there is SO much to do.

That being said, how do we keep the young student’s interest? Can they actually have a full hour of piano? Definitely. The key to developing this lesson is to vary the activities greatly, and to make the student think that this is a game. (There is serious time, too, but it is interspersed with “fun” activities, and can actually be fun itself if instructed properly.)

You also want to cover a broad range of topics: technique, rhythm, artistry (dynamics and nuances), theory, history, other instruments, etc. Find a fun history book with some activities and a CD of composers’ popular works, and I guarantee the average child will be interested by the stories of composers and their lives. Use technique books that utilize cute and quirky metaphors to describe the exercises. Find not only theory books, but also activities and games. Teach them scales by having them improvise while you keep rhythm. Teach them rhythms that are causing them problems by allowing them to chose from a selection of percussion instruments and making it “hands-on” but away from the keyboard. Have a multimedia aspect of the lesson with computer music games. Teach them songs by memory by having them repeat a song after you, starting with two notes, and adding one until they get “stumped.” Doing these things makes for an interesting and engaging lesson.

All of this will lead to children finding music enjoyable and engaging and hopefully cause them to look forward to lessons. It does, however, require significant time to develop all of these aspects, so the child and parent have to be open to the idea of taking music for an hour. The hope is that what cannot be accomplished in a shorter time period (in which all that can be accomplished is making small strides in technique and lesson books), will be able to be put together in a way that makes students eager to come back. If all that is focused on is technique, and drilling practice, of course young students will have the, “I’m not sure I want to go,” attitude, but if one takes the time to present music as fun and engaging, that is exactly how it will be perceived. This is how we develop a high level of musicianship–not necessarily a concert pianist, but definitely a young person who enjoys and is excited by music.

Sadly enough, the arts are losing their place in more and more schools lately. My question is, how can we be so glib about letting this happen? It must be that parents, students, and teachers do not realize the full value that classes like music, dance and art can provide. If we recall the “Multiple Intelligences” chart, there is an entire section of “Intelligence” devoted to music. An entire part of our brain is wired to think musically, and will not get the exercise it needs if we pull music from schools. And yet we are not fighting, at least not hard enough, to keep music around in schools.

I would stipulate that music classes are even more important now, in today’s age of information technology. In an age where everything is computer and media driven, children tend to lose the need to be imaginative and creative. They tend to stay in front of TVs computers and video games, and do not exercise the parts of the brain involved in higher thinking skills. Involving a child in the arts cultivates something in them that they may no longer get at home. (Note: I am not saying that all video games are bad, as there are some educational games, and even those that are not can be alright, but largely, sitting in front of a television or game does not provide adequate stimulation.)

Involvement in the arts can do so much for a person that I cannot even adequately elaborate on it, but rather, I have listed below all of the additional benefits of arts education.

-> Increases imagination
-> Improves memory and retention
-> Provides learning through analogy
-> Builds discipline
-> Helps focus on long term goals
-> Develops problem solving skills
-> Increases attention to detail
-> Builds self-confidence
-> Causes students to strive for excellence
-> Cultivates responsibility
-> Develops good work-ethic
-> Helps students apply previously learned information to new scenarios
-> Develops both academic and expressive skills
-> Creates a passion for learning
-> Provides the opportunity to risk-take
-> Develops intuition and insight

Finally, arts competitions and festivals can be so rewarding for children, provide a goal to work toward, and prove to be a rewarding experience for the child no matter the outcome. For even in competition, there is no failure. Children are rewarded and complemented for making the effort not matter whether they have “won” or not. Also, they have gained new skills from their competitive experience, and a teacher would do well to remind them of this.

So we see that music and the other arts provide a vast pool of skills, and should not be neglected. If you are blessed with children, then the next time it is suggested in your child’s school that arts programs be done away with, I urge you to fight this with vigor, and remember some of the benefits that your child would be missing out on.

Chart of Multiple Intelligences

ALL CHILDREN ARE GIFTED AND TALENTED! WE JUST HAVE TO LOOK HARD ENOUGH!!!

Why, in the past, have we assigned labels (”gifted and talented,” “special needs”) to children? It is because we want an easy way out. We want children to be classifiable because it makes our job as teachers easier. Then we can teach the “gifted and talented” kids one thing and the “special needs” another. The problem with this? Intelligence is not black and white There are many areas of intelligence and all people are good at at least one. This means that as teachers we have to spend the time with each child to determine WHICH one. This has made the “Theory of Multiple Intelligences” very popular in the education world right now. I would like to briefly look at what this theory is, how it relates to the arts, and how it can help teachers to better connect with students and students to get more out of their education.

The theory of multiple intelligences divides methods of learning into different categories. Those are “Word Smart,” “Logic Smart,” “Picture Smart,” “Body Smart,” “Music Smart,” “People Smart,” and “Self Smart,” as shown in the chart. I have a few disclaimers to make about this chart. First of all, the theory of multiple intelligences says that different people have strengths in different areas, so everyone’s chart will look different, and have different sections appear larger depending on their individual strengths.

Second, you will notice that “Music Smart” is included in the chart. I do not believe that a child has to be largely music smart to benefit from music. That is the importance of this article. Music teachers should be encouraged by this theory to be attentive and discover each of their students points of greatest intelligence, and then play off of those to create the best possible learning environment. Also, music students should not be led to believe that their music lessons are about obtaining musical perfection. The arts should not be so much about a perfect finished product as they should be about a search for a higher quality of learning and of life through the joy of musicianship.

Though each person’s “Intelligence Pie” is cut differently, and teachers should recognize and play to a student’s strengths, they should also recognize and work on areas that are not as strong using music as the tool to accomplish this. Music can provide means of strengthening weaker areas, as it aids in higher thinking skills such as independent thought, creativity, analysis, and coordination. So, if you have a student who is not particularly strong in logic but is very creative, you should make sure you exercise BOTH the creativity and the logic. A teacher can also help a creative minded student by presenting logic and facts through story-telling, bringing fun and life to an otherwise dull subject.

My goal within this article is to establish the fact that teachers should be aware of and catering to their students’ areas of intelligence. This means that if you have 3 lessons in a row all with second graders, every lesson, upon observation, would be vastly different. For example, the logical minded student will be a very good listener, and can understand facts very easily. However, the bodily-kinesthetic learner will likely be much better at DOING than LISTENING. Rather than spouting facts at this student, the teacher should find a way for the student to actively participate in the learning, DOING something to learn the same information your first student could have gotten by listening.

In this way, a music teacher should be able to provide varied and interesting lessons for all of their students, featuring a unique and customized teaching style. This is what I hope to achieve for my own studio, and by making this information accessible, it is what I hope to encourage in others.