I'm beginning my rough draft (what I like to term, spewing thoughts on paper) and had some questions:
Why do you think that those same primary kids who sang every single Sunday will later on say, "I can't sing" or, "I'm not good at music?
And, does it even matter that these kids think that they are not singers, or not good at music?
(I guess it's a way of asking, why is music important, and do you think everyone can, and should appreciate music?)
2 comments:
similar question/answer about art. Why is it that ALL kids love to doodle, color, and experiment with mediums (much to the chagrin of parents), but then say "I can't draw" by the end of elementary school?
Pablo Picasso (we all know who he is, right?) said:
"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist as he grows up."
applies to music too, I think. Perhaps inhibitions are learned. You know. Mom says don't color on the walls and we think "don't color". Older Sister says don't sing in the shower cuz your voice stinks and we think "I can't sing". It happened to me that way (music, that is). It wasn't until a choir teacher "discovered" my talent and basically forced me to tryout for Harmony that I realized what had always been there.
Because I am an early childhood music and movement teacher (Musikgarten) I have opinions on this matter, partly formed after listening to my baby, and partly formed at the training when they flooded me with research, so watch out.
All babies are born with a natural musical ability. They can match pitch--when you ooh and ahh at a baby change you pitch and they will too. They can sense rhythm--watch a baby bounce to music. Being in a music making environment will keep that natural ability, and allow more ability to develop. Being surrounded by recorded music helps, but it is not as beneficial as live music.
There is an awkward stage starting around age three where most children will lose the ability to sing tunefully. This is just a developmental thing, but if you keep them in a music making environment, keep them singing, at age six they will sing beautifully (its all to do with the brain connections, and the vocal cord development.) You'll know if a child is in this stage if they only sing part of a melody over and over again, its called approximation of singing. 60% of north americans get stuck in this stage, because we have gotten so far away from music making environments.
Most of those people stuck in approximation mode aren't actually tone deaf, but they will say they are. Tone deaf is a real thing but it affects a minuscule percentage of people. And people stuck in approximation mode can get out of it, but they have a mental block that makes it very hard.
So, the trick is to make sure children (starting at birth, working through the approximation stage, and on and on forever) are in music making environments, and that they have opportunities to make music.
On the non-developmental side of things, most people are very self-conscious and will take to heart when some says something hurtful about their ability. Like my dad, he didn't sing for 30 years because when he was a kid, some kid made fun of my grandpa's voice, and dad didn't ever want to be made fun of. Well, he can sing, and is actually pretty good (until asthma took it away.)
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