Music has been proven time and time again to help with all aspects of life. It supports both hemispheres of our brain to communicate better with each other. It gives us an outlet for expressing emotion. It even allows us to communicate in an entirely different language. All of these reasons and more are why we should be pursuing and continuing music education at home.
With the day and age of the internet, there’s no excuse not to be listening to music at any given moment. Why not turn these moments into educational ones? Depending on what age bracket you’re interacting with, you could be asking questions ranging from: “Where’s the beat landing in this song?” to “Do you know who wrote this?”. These questions engage children of all ages and encourage them to use multiple different subjects during this cross-curricular educational experience.
Encourage the playing of more music and instruments! Set apart a specific time of day where any sort of music playing is acceptable. Allow children and students to experiment with an instrument, idea, or technique they have any interest in. If you foster a child’s love of only playing their instrument at an early age, you will inspire in them a love that will last a lifetime.
Promote opportunities for online virtual engagement. These days, there are multitudes of apps that allow students of all caliber to play and work together over the internet. Find a contemporary arrangement of a song that students may like and enable them to play it together virtually. This could be a series of projects that last a variable amount of time. Allow your students to have a little bit of say in what they want to use the app for, but make sure to hold them accountable to their initial plans.
Recognize the creation of all different types of music. Classical music is great. However, there are lots of diverse genres that are waiting to be explored. Tie in different cultures and musical themes to help teach your kids about various topics from across the world.
Despite the change in global operations, music education can still survive and thrive in every individual’s hearts and homes. Making a conscious effort to be musical is all that it takes to turn a familiar song into an educational experience that can last a lifetime.