Can Anyone Learn Music?
Yes! Everyone is born musical. We have to be in order to understand language, as music and language are highly connected (Collins). However, musical aptitude is based on the person and their experiences with music.
What is Music Aptitude?
Edwin Gordon is a researcher who is known for his work on musical aptitude. Gordon believes that music aptitude is atomistic, in the sense that it is compromised of smaller parts. Gordon has coined at least 20 dimensions of music aptitude, with tonal and rhythmic concepts being the most important. All children have some level of musical aptitude, and all children can benefit from music!
Music aptitude can vary at birth, however it is essential to present your child with musical experiences between the ages of birth to 9 years. This period is called the developmental aptitude time frame. Within this period, both informal and formal musical experiences can increase a child’s musical aptitude. Informal musical experiences include listening to music at home or in the car, or singing at home with the family. Formal musical experiences include private music lessons, or music class at school. At the age of nine, a child’s music aptitude level stabilizes. This means it is maintained at this amount for their life. The key is exposing your children early and often to musical experiences! (Cutietta).
How is Music Aptitude Tested?
Gordon created a test in 1965 called the Musical Aptitude Profile. This test is divided into three sections; tonal imagery, rhythm imagery, and musical sensitivity. These allow for a holistic view of a child’s musical understanding, as well as where their musical aptitude lies (Cutietta).
Why is Music Important for All Students?
Students do not all learn in the same way, therefore teachers must teach students from a variety of standpoints. Music is a great way to teach students who are all different types of learners. One of the seven types of intelligences according to Howard Gardner is musical thinking (Lane). Music encompasses many different learning styles, such as visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, logical-mathematical, and sound just to name a few. This means that music can be accessible to just about any style of learning that your child is best with.
Students that receive a quality music education before the age of seven on average have an IQ 7.5 points higher than students who don’t receive a music education (Collins). Watch the following video to find out more about how your child could benefit from music education.
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Resources:
Collins, Anita. What if Every Child had Access to Music Education from Birth? (Oct 27 2014). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueqgenARzlE
Cutietta, R. A. (1991, Spring & Summer). Edwin Gordon’s impact on the field of music aptitude. The Quarterly, 2(1-2), pp. 73- 77. (Reprinted with permission in Visions of Research in Music Education, 16(2), Autumn, 2010). Retrieved from http://www- usr.rider.edu/~vrme
Lane, Carla. The Distance Learning Technology Guide. Multiple Intelligences. Retrieved from http://www.tecweb.org/styles/gardner.html