Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Musical Learners

This article was originally posted at Chocolate on my Cranium. Montserrat is a member of sheteam and her blog is filled with tips and ideas for homeschoolers, wonderful recipes and a glimpse into everyday life. Montserrat is the owner of Cranial Hiccups and Montserrat.
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Of all my children this one is definitely the most musical learner of the bunch. I think she was born singing - okay it was screeching at that young age - but she really has an ear for music and rhythms and tones and sounds.

She can watch her older sisters play the piano and will sit down and play a simplified version of it - with both hands. She remembers songs and melodies after only hearing them once! She is constantly singing or humming.

Other characteristics of musical learners include: tells you when music sounds off-key or disturbing in some other way, has a rhythmic way of speaking and/or moving, unconsciously hums to himself/herself, is sensitive to environmental noises (e.g., rain on the roof, crickets chirping), taps rhythmically on the table or desks as he/she works.

Some strategies to employ with musical learners:

•Have background music going while they are doing school work. Classical music works best for us.
•Linking old tunes with concepts
•Creating new tunes for concepts
•Clapping, tapping, or chanting while reciting facts
•Have access to musical instruments - especially during break time
•Since there is a strong auditory element lectures work better than reading

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Reposted by VeryVerdant with permission from Chocolate on my Cranium

2 comments:

Kelly Casanova said...

Thanks for sharing with us Montserrat! What a pretty picture of your daughter.

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

Wonderful information! My daughters learn information well when it is presented in a musical format as well. There are some CDs that have helped them learn all the states in the U.S. plus their capitols; countries in the world; math facts; etc.

It's fascinating watching how quickly playing an instrument can be picked up by a child who learns best in a musical way.