7 Reasons Why Your Child Needs To Read And Write Music

7 Reasons Why Your Child Needs To Read And Write Music

7 Reasons Why Your Child Needs To Read And Write Music

One argument I often hear is that kids who can play by ear don’t need to learn to read or write music.

 

Have you heard that argument?

 

Have you bought into it?

 

Are you someone who can play by ear or can your child play by ear? If so, can you also read and write music or are you only able to play by ear?

 

In this post I will be discussing why even kids and adults who can play piano by ear, should learn to read and write music. 

 

So let’s get started. 

 

To Play Complex Pieces

Yes, your child may be able to play piano by ear, but as he grows will he be able to play really complex pieces of music, with all the chord progressions and with different arrangements?

While the correct answer to this question is – we will never know. 

The most probable outcome, based on past statistic is a resounding NO. 

Because playing really complex pieces by ear without actual knowledge of music theory is very rare. 

It’s not impossible but it’s improbable. 

 

Great Musicians Could Read And Write Music

Continuing on from the previous point, a very large proportion of great musicians could read and write music. 

And it was their ability to do so, that helped them get to the pinnacle of success. 

 

Helps With Music Analysis

Again, continuing on from the previous point, being able to read and write music, will help your child to analyze music with an underlying theoretical knowledge. 

This will help make sense of the music, the melodies, the rhythms, the chords and the technicalities, all of which, then help your child to create and become more proficient and play extremely complex pieces. 

 

To Express And Share Music

Playing by ear is a talent. But that alone isn’t enough.

Your child may be able to compose his own melodies as well. 

Now, if she is unable to write out those melodies, how will she share it with others. 

I know you will say she can just record her music and play it out and share it that way. Yes, that is true. 

But as you know it isn’t as simple as that and simply recording a tune can be very limiting. 

Whereas with a thorough understanding of theory, your child will be able to do so much more with her creations. 

 

To Diversify Learning

A solid understanding of music theory, and the ability to read and write music, will also enable your child to learn more instruments faster. 

And translate the knowledge gained with one instrument to another. 

Become A Better Performer

Learning to read and write music will immensely help your child become an even better player. 

Of course you have to understand, at the initial stages it will be very hard and it will look like your child is becoming worse, but that is because she is learning a totally new skill. 

After the tipping point is achieved however, you will see her improve by leaps and bounds. 

 

Helps To Engage And Develop All Parts Of The Brain

Research indicates, learning to read and write music, helps to engage all the different parts of the brain. Also it helps to improve hand eye coordination, improves math skills and so much more. 

So as you can see, there are many reasons why your child needs to learn to read and write music. 

 

What do you think?

 

Do you think learning to read and write music is very important?

 

Would you like to have your child learn to read and write music? Then sign up for my FREE piano lessons right now and have your child Reading Music Notes and Playing the Piano in just 5 Days. 

Karen Cadera

Karen Cadera

Founder/Creator

Mom, Teacher, Minimalist, Zero Waste Enthusiast, Multi Pod.

My daughter loved the games, but there were also worksheets and videos. The weekly lesson plans were complete, and I never questioned what I should be doing next.

Lisa Tanner

Homeschool Mom

Play Piano Today!

Teach your child to play piano, today.

Yes, in as little as 30 minutes I can show you how to teach your child to play the piano, for FREE.

What are you waiting for?

This program reminded me (and allowed me to teach my son) how to read music. To me, that was the most important thing that we learned together. Of course, it was very rewarding for me to watch my son play the piano with both hands at the same time, while reading sheet music. His favorite parts of the course were actually playing the songs and doing the worksheets provided.

Carrie M.

Stay At Home Mom

FREE POETRY, PROSE & DRAMATIC ARTS COURSES

Sign up for FREE courses in British, European and American Literature courses for kids aged 4 and up.

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6 ‘Unbelievably’ Simple Ways To Teach Your Kids Music Analysis

6 ‘Unbelievably’ Simple Ways To Teach Your Kids Music Analysis

6 ‘Unbelievably’ Simple Ways To Teach Your Kids Music Analysis

See below for a Free Printable Pack to go with the post.

If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, then you know how important it is to incorporate music into your daily homeschool routine. And, if you have already made music a part of the daily routine, then you may also know that I tell you to take every possible opportunity to have your kids analyze music. 

One question that I have heard over and over again, from many of my regular readers is, ‘how do I teach them music analysis, when I don’t know the first thing about music?’

So, in this blog post, I thought I should share six ways in which, you can easily have them analyze music. 

When you are done reading this post, you are going to say how ‘unbelievably’ simple they are and wonder, why you didn’t think of them yourself. 

Ready to get started?

Then let’s go. 

 

Listening To Dynamics

This is one of the easiest ways in which, to teach your kids to analyze and appreciate music. 

So what are dynamics? They are the volume, pitch, tempo and beat of the music. 

Is the song starting soft and becoming louder, or vice versa? How does that affect the song? Does the song end by fading or coming to a crescendo? 

How about the pitch (high, low sounds), how does that affect the emotions in the song? What about the tempo (pace, fast, slow)?

Isn’t dynamics one of the easiest ways to start off analyzing?

 

Reflect

This can be done as a stand alone activity or as a part of the previous activity. 

Listen to the song and the dynamics and reflect on how it feels. Ask your kids, ‘does it make you happy, sad, excited, etc?

This same activity can also be done without first listening to the dynamics. 

Thus, reflecting on the emotions the song portrays, and then listening to the dynamics to see how they contribute to making the song feel the way it does. 

 

Compare And Contrast

Yes, just that. 

Compare two songs. They can be songs from the same genre of music (rock, pop, jazz) or songs by the same group, singer or composer, or songs from the same era (medieval, classical etc). 

You can also do cross comparisons by choosing songs of two different groups, singers, composers, genres, eras etc. 

So what do you compare? Things like volume, pitch, tempo, beat, instruments used, how it makes your child etc. 

See how each activity can include elements of other activities?

 

What I Like And Dislike?

Simple, isn’t it?

Again this can be done as a stand alone activity or as part of one of the previous activities.

Just ask the kids to list out what they like and dislike about the piece, that they are listening to? For extra points, ask them to explain why they feel that way?

That’s it. 

On to the next simple music analysis activity. 

 

How Will I Change The Music/Melody/Dynamics, Etc, If I Could?

This is an activity best done for a song where at least one of the previous activities listed here have been completed. 

Once your child has completed at least one of the activities, he will then be ready to discuss how and what he would change in the composition if he could. 

It would be something as simple as use a different instrument, or make a specific part of the melody faster. 

There are no right or wrong answers here, because it is all the matter of opinion in the end. 

 

Why Or Why Not?

Here’s the last activity, it is an expansion of the previous activity. 

Also this is an activity that requires even more thought, as here, you should have your child explaining why he will make changes, or thinks that changes are unnecessary. 

Simply saying that he doesn’t think that changes are unnecessary because the piece is perfect, isn’t good enough. 

Therefore, as you can see, this activity does require more thought and rigour and hence, had to be classified as a separate activity rather than be combined with the previous activity. 

So what do you think? Are these ‘Unbelievably’ Simple Ways To Teach Your Kids Music Analysis or not?

Want some age specific printables to guide your kids through the music analysis process? Then don’t forget to download them from below. 

Karen Cadera

Karen Cadera

Founder/Creator

Mom, Teacher, Minimalist, Zero Waste Enthusiast, Multi Pod.

My daughter loved the games, but there were also worksheets and videos. The weekly lesson plans were complete, and I never questioned what I should be doing next.

Lisa Tanner

Homeschool Mom

Play Piano Today!

Teach your child to play piano, today.

Yes, in as little as 30 minutes I can show you how to teach your child to play the piano, for FREE.

What are you waiting for?

This program reminded me (and allowed me to teach my son) how to read music. To me, that was the most important thing that we learned together. Of course, it was very rewarding for me to watch my son play the piano with both hands at the same time, while reading sheet music. His favorite parts of the course were actually playing the songs and doing the worksheets provided.

Carrie M.

Stay At Home Mom

FREE POETRY, PROSE & DRAMATIC ARTS COURSES

Sign up for FREE courses in British, European and American Literature courses for kids aged 4 and up.

Download the FREE Music Analysis Worksheets

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