Learning how to play music is proven to be beneficial to all areas of children’s development. For children to have the best chance of experiencing a life of musical enjoyment, their first exposure to musical education is vitally important.
Why is it best to develop aural skills before learning an instrument?
During their early years, up to 8 or 9 years old, children are still developing their co-ordination and motor skills. At this young age, the experience of learning to play a musical instrument can be frustrating and seem difficult. Though some children do begin learning piano and other instruments from the age of five, it is generally not advisable due to their lack of co-ordination. Those who do begin learning at this young age will learn slowly, while children who start later will quickly catch up once their co-ordination has sufficiently developed.
On the other hand, young children’s language learning and listening skills are very well honed during their early years, making this period ideal for developing their aural music skills. If children’s first experiences of musical education stem from singing and listening, they will have a much stronger connection with music. When people talk about “good musicians” they will generally be musicians will highly developed ears, with the ability to play with sensitivity.
If children are taught to be sensitive to pulse, rhythm and pitch through singing and aural-led musical games before they learn how to play an instrument, then when they will be much more likely to be able to play in time, in tune and develop a much better musical memory, than if they learn to play an instrument first.
The ability to hear music in your head while playing an instrument is called having an “inner-ear”. All the best musicians have a good “inner-ear” to lead their playing.
The best methods of teaching during ‘early years’
Here are some of the best methods I use to develop children’s aural skills:
- SINGING with rhythmical or musical accompaniment
- Musical pulse, rhythm and pitch GAMES
- Listen and copy IMITATION
- “Say while you play” BODY PERCUSSION
- “Say while you play” MUSIC NOTATION
- “Say while you play” on TRAINING INSTRUMENTS such as: boomwhackers, ukuleles and djembes
Focusing on these areas of musical development during early years will give children a strong connection with music and make learning an instrument much more straightforward and rewarding. The same aural-led methods should then be used when children begin their chosen instrument so that they can link together their well-developed aural skills with their new developing technical instrumental skills.
Greenwich Young Musicians 