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The Tuneables is an award-winning children's music education DVD and CD series designed to teach the key building blocks of music at a critical time in a child's development. Sponsored by the Music Intelligence Project, this fun, interactive program engages children in songs and activities that provide a foundation of music understanding and growth in intellectual development. Ages 3-8.
Buy your copy today at: www.thetuneables.com/the-music-shop/
MIP Tip
To help prepare your child for active music instruction and learning, play recordings of music by Mozart and others as a background for other activities and rest time when the child is very young.
Viewing entries listed in the Tonal Understanding and Singing category.
“Oh, My Child Already ‘Gets’ Music. . . . Really?"
Sometimes it is easy to be dismissive or even defensive when pressed to consider a new music education program for one's child. Parents sometimes say, "Oh, my child already gets music at school," or "My child has a lot of music activity."
For many young children, this music activity means playing games to music, such as "Itsy Bitsy Spider" or "London Bridge," or singing songs about life experiences, such as "The Wheels on the Bus," or about things learned in school, such as counting, colors, and the alphabet. The learning emphasis is on what the words of the song are about, not on what can be learned about the music. This is not teaching music; this is using music to learn about something else.
To determine if your child is "really" learning music, rate the following items with a one (1) if the item is mostly true and a zero (0) if the item is mostly not true or you don't know; then, add up your score:
My child learns music by:
☐ Extending the range of the singing voice
☐ Improving accuracy in singing pitches
☐ Becoming familiar with masterworks of music literature
☐ Learning classic children's songs
☐ Imitating accurate models of rhythmic performance
☐ Imitating accurate models of tonal performance
☐ Performing rhythm patterns in music
☐ Performing tonal patterns in music
☐ Singing tonal patterns using tonal syllable names
☐ Chanting rhythm patterns using rhythm syllable names
What does your score mean?
1 to 3 = having a good time with minimum music learning
3 to 5 = some music learning but much is missing
6 to 8 = above average music education
9 = very good music education
10 = must be using The Tuneables!
Additional features to look for in a music education program include: active participation, interesting and engaging presentations, opportunity for repetition, a sequential curriculum of musical content, cognitive and motor skills development, and parental guidance to support learning. To assure that your child's music learning includes all of these features along with expanded learning opportunities in the home, consider The Tuneables DVD/CD music education program.
The Early Stages of Music Learning
The foundation of a young child's music learning is built on aural (hearing) experiences. These learning experiences progress in three stages: 1. stimulus, 2. recall, and 3. discrimination. Parents and teachers should be aware of these important music learning stages. For any one of them to be missing or partially included reduces the child's learning opportunities and the potential for future musical growth.
Developing a Sense of Tonality
Developing a sense of tonality helps to improve singing in tune, playing an instrument, learning new music, and developing an appreciation of great music. Readiness for developing this sense begins as soon as very young children begin hearing and performing music.
Developing the Flexible Voice
Voice flexibility is fundamental to developing a young child's singing voice. The young singer who is still learning to control the voice usually can benefit from exercises and song experiences that extend the singing range upward. Imitating small animal sounds, like birds or mice, or singing on a high note, like C or D an octave above middle C, can be helpful in getting the children to use the upper range of their singing voice.
Children Learn Music By Imitating A Good Model
Singing in tune and performing with rhythmic accuracy are usually learned by children as they imitate a demonstration or model. The level of skill achieved depends on the accuracy of the model. If the model is accurate, that is, if the singing is in tune and the beats and rhythms are properly timed, then the child tends to imitate that performance. However, if the model is inaccurate, the child's imitation will likely be inaccurate, a well. The models that we provide can teach the whole world to sing in tune— or out of tune!
Knowing The Sounds Of Music: "Training" The Ear
An important aspect of any music learning is training the ear to know the sounds of music, or what some call the "content" of music. The two basic content areas are tonal (the pitches or tones that we sing and play) and rhythm (the place in time that we place pitches and other sounds).
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