Do we really "Know" Music?
We all know that giving our children a good music education is very beneficial to them. We send them to music lessons, take the grade exams and then get their certificates. Once they get all their certificates, that will make them into a musician. Right? Wrong!! What is missing here?
Ever so often, we think that by sending a child to a music class, is the beginning of a music education. The teacher will be able to handle the rest. Do we all know that learning music is as complex as learning the alphabet? It takes just a few weeks to LEARN the alphabet and make words out of the alphabet but it takes years to UNDERSTAND a language.
Just like music, learning music is just about the same as learning the alphabet. In order to understand music, a student needs to take all that music knowledge he has learnt and try to relate it to his surrounding. This may sound complicating but it is very simple. Take for example, in music lessons, we learn about rhythm. When we look at the basic fundamentals of rhythm, we soon can see that rhythm is found all around us in our daily life, for instance, when we walk, we walk in rhythm otherwise we will find ourselves tripping over. Our heart also beats with a constant rhythm unless otherwise agitated.
Tones or pitch that we hear during a music lesson can also be related to the hum of an engine or the honking of a horn or the even the breaking of glass. Every sound that can be created, can be related to music. Every experience that we encounter every moment can be in some way related to music. Music practically surrounds our daily life, even when we sleep.
The activities conducted in “Music Is Fun” are specifically designed to highlight most of these areas to children and to help them make those connections which will, in turn, help them to feel their way around music. Music education is no more confined to just what they have learnt during the lessons. The focus of “Music Is Fun” is to provide an avenue for children to explore their musical minds and “see”, “feel” and “touch” their music with what knowledge they have. It does not necessarily mean that they have to be playing an instrument to be musical. Music can be produced in many ways and forms. And did you know that singing is also part of music education? In fact it is the simplest form of instrument available to EVERYBODY!
In a recent similar event, we realised that “Music Is Fun” is able to bring many benefits to those who already have prior music knowledge by stimulating their minds to reflect on their past music knowledge to overcome certain musical barriers within the activities. For those who did not have prior music knowledge, the activities actually helped them realised the significance of what they would gain by learning music. The most stimulating exercise would be using unconventional methods to highlight the learning of certain topics.
Music and music learning is both in their true form creative and forever evolving. In order to stay on top of this, you need to be unconventional and keep a sharp look out for new stuff all the time. The mind of a creative musician needs to be forever evolving and changing. Someone once asked me,"What does it take to learn to play an instrument?" My answer was simply, “Are you going to learn to play an instrument and be an instrument player or do you want to be a musician?” The fact is, anyone can learn to play an instrument but not everyone can be a musician. Just like anyone can sit down and play the piano or guitar or violin but can they play "MUSIC?"
If you would like to participate in this very engaging experience, please contact:
Rhythm MP at +60-4-587 3689
Mr. Seng at +60-12- 295 0830
Very often we are so preoccupied with the destination, we forget the journey. We invite you to journey with us... Sign up to connect with Rhythm MP
