This is Part 4 of 7 of our Home Music Education Series, designed to empower parents to foster their children's musical development at home. Today we'll be exploring how to improve auditory descrimination between fast and slow sounds!
Home music education is most effective when paired with purposeful play during everyday activities.
There is no need to sit down in a class-like environment and quiz your child to improve their musical literacy. Instead, try using your existing routines and activites in a purposeful way to create natural learning experiences and connections throughout the week.
Children beginning early music education often already know the difference between fast and slow. We can further develop this sense by incorporating movement activities along with these sounds. This help children begin to internalize a sense of pulse.
Here are some quick ideas to build on the ideas of fast and slow at home:
Musical Freeze Dance: play music of varying speeds. Dance quickly when the songs are fast, and slowly when the music is slow. For extra fun, pause the music randomly and freeze when there is no music!
Music and Movement: work up to playing music with tempo changes throughout the song. Move along with music, listening for where the speed changes, and adjusting your movement accordingly.
Sound scavenger hunt: go on an expedition around the house and find things that make fast and slow sounds. For example, a ticking clock makes a slow sound, but a humming appliance makes a faster sound. See what other examples you can find, OR find objects and create fast and slow sounds with them.
Sound patterns: Create slow and fast rhythm patterns in short patterns. Try to keep the patterns short, around 4 beats. Clap the pattern and have your child try to clap it back. Take it slow and gentle at the beginning as they build their listening skills. Once this is easy, add one new sound to the pattern each time, like the game Simon.
Storytelling with sound effects: Read a story aloud and have children add sound effects at different speeds using their voices or instruments. For instance, they can make fast galloping sounds for a running horse and slow dripping sounds for a leaking faucet.
Remember, for best results, keep these activities low-pressure and part of your child's everyday activities. It will take time to make the connection between sound and vocabulary, but there is no rush for this to happen. Follow your child's lead and move through these activities as they're ready.
Thanks for reading! Please feel free to comment below with any questions. Have a musical week!
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