Educating the Complete Musician

Now that you've begun Let's Play Music class, you might be wondering, why aren't we on the keyboards yet!?  Why isn't my child doing drills and building up a big repertoire of performance pieces already!?  What's the holdup!?  Is my child falling behind in the music world!?

I often tell people, "we're not just a piano class, and we're not just a voice class, and we're not just a theory class...we're a complete musicianship program."  Our program is intentionally broad, and covers so much more than technique and repertoire. 

Why Musicianship? 

Can read music...but not improvise?

Imagine if your child could play a fancy piece of piano music beautifully, but he struggled to learn new songs or pick out a melody by ear.  

Or perhaps he doesn't seem to notice discordant mistakes until the teacher points them out.  

Or perhaps he plays his lesson repertoire just fine, but is baffled at the thought of improvising or creating music, wondering when his lessons are going to teach him how to do that.

On the flip side, what if he could sit down and easily play 'The Itsy-Bitsy Spider' by ear, but really felt overwhelmed trying to read any new songs from sheet music?

In each scenario, the student is learning from lessons that lack different elements of musicianship needed to create a complete musician.

At Let's Play Music, we nurture all aspects of musicianship before your child graduates into specialized programs like private lessons. We are building a foundation for broad musicianship that pays off in the long run.  It seems that there are so many elements to be taught, but luckily activities of each type are complimentary to each other: skill in one task helps a child have success in the others. 

The Big 5 Skills of Musicianship

I tried to put into words what defined lessons that would output a musician instead of a one-song-wonder. Luckily the concept is summed up in this interview at www.easyeartraining.com with Dr. Chad West. 

Dr. West is a leading expert and author of a recent article defining FIVE core skills that define musicianship. They are:

• Executive
• Notation
• Rhythmic
• Tonal
• Creativity 

Executive skills are the obvious ones: how to make your fingers actually technically play the instrument. 

Notation is also pretty straightforward: how to understand written notes and music theory in order to play what was intended. 

These two skills are the external skills of musicianship; progress in these skills is easy to evaluate because the results are external (the student's output is measured.)

Executive and Notation skills are the main focus of many school and private music lessons, often at the expense of other skills.   Students may take lessons for years, but still feel unmusical.  

After lots of practice with executive and notation skills, they are probably amazing at reading and playing music, but may still not feel like they can create music.

Our programs don't neglect tonal/ear training that often get left behind. Singing is necessary for feedback on how students are audiating, so we include singing as an important element of musicianship.

We believe a student is never too young to take what they know and create new music.  Teaching chord theory early empowers students to make new music and better understand the music they hear in daily life.

What Do We Cover?

Note reading AND ear training !

-Music theory: playing in 5 keys, transposing, understanding chord inversions, chord progressions, triads, creating scales and more!

-Ear training: interval recognition and singing, chord recognition, chord progressions, and melodic patterns

-Playing by ear: taking ear-training to the keyboard

-Sight singing: solfege, note-reading

-Vocal training 

-Dictation: melodic and chords/harmony

-Sight reading/ piano playing: two-handed repertoire in 5 keys, piano technique 

-Improvisation: melodic improv, chord style improv

-Ensemble playing and singing: harmonizing parts, following a conductor, listening to multiple parts at once

-Analysis of simple and classical music: puppet shows!

-Listening to music from various styles: class musical CDs

 
-Arranging and composing: students complete a piano composition to perform 

You're probably saying "Hey! when I was a kid, my piano lesson didn't cover all of that!" Life is better now! Our programs are carefully crafted and designed to help you raise a well-rounded musician.  

You CAN Teach Talent

With all of these skills in place, folks will be saying "he's a talented musician!" and not just, "he can really play piano!"

To answer the questions, "Why aren't we on the piano yet?" and "Are we falling behind!?" the answer is: We are taking the first year of class to train the ear and brain for success on the piano. We're training the large and small muscle groups, too, through harp and bell performance. We're fundamentally internalizing how music works, through a variety of types of training, so that when we play piano, we'll be truly successful as whole musicians.

Now remember, when your child asks, "What will be doing in class today?" simply and honestly answer, "fun songs and silly games!"  It's the perfect venue for all that hard work we're not telling him about.

-Gina Weibel, M.S.
Let's Play Music Teacher

LPM interviewed by Easy Ear Training

Total Musicianship for Children, with Let’s Play Music (Interview)

As a Let's Play Music teacher, I've hugely enjoyed the resources offered by Easy Ear Training.   I was happy to be recently interviewed by Easy Ear Training founder, Christopher Sutton. Check out the original run of the interview here.

It’s a dream of many parents that their children will grow up to love and excel in playing music. But how exactly do you raise musical children? What can you do to nurture their inner musicality from a young age, beyond the standard approach of enrolling them in instrument lessons and just hoping it works out?

 Let’s Play Music has long been one of the leaders in this area, with over 300 teachers offering in-person music classes for children across the United States and Canada. Let’s Play Music founder, Shelle Soelberg, previously joined us here on the site, writing about Solfeggio and Ear Training and we were delighted recently to have the opportunity to catch up with team member Gina Weibel and hear the latest about this innovative and effective childrens music program…

Welcome to EasyEarTraining.com Gina, and thanks for joining us today.
Q: If you had to explain Let’s Play Music in a tweet-sized sentence, what would it be?

Let’s Play Music is a course emphasizing total musicianship through singing, piano, classical music, note reading, and ear training. All taught through play!

Q: Let’s Play Music has been running for nearly twenty years now. Over that time, what’s changed the most about the program and what has stayed the same?

We have always put emphasis on providing an excellent research-based program with superb materials and highly trained teachers, and that hasn’t changed. We still train teachers annually in person and have ongoing requirements for them to maintain licensing and certification. It’s satisfying to know that anywhere you attend a Let’s Play Music class, you’ll consistently know what to expect. If your family moves 1,000 miles in the middle of the semester, you can find a new teacher and join the class without a hiccup.

There are a few curriculum topics today that weren’t present in the beginning. For example, we always taught students how to read, play, and write rhythms, but we eventually realized it’s advantageous for graduates to use the same terminology that mainstream musicians use. So, since 2011 we’ve been teaching our third-year students how to use the common counting patterns that they’ll be expected to know (1-ee-and-a, 2-ee-and-a). They had already internalized the concepts and could perform the rhythms, but we just wanted to make sure they could transition to any teacher. These seven-year-old graduates can talk to you about rhythms, they can talk about harmonizing with I, IV, and V chords, they know the terminology the rest of the world is using.
We also rearranged a couple of ear-training tasks. In first year we play games with the I, IV and V chords in root position, block and broken. We don’t explain and label chord inversions until the third year, but realized students would benefit from hearing those before labeling them. So now we practice singing arpeggios of chord inversions as early as year one. By the time they get to year three, the experience is like “of course I can hear what’s going on – I’ve been singing the different inversions for years.” It’s better. We know the end goals, so we’re playing games in year one and two that eventually make teaching complex things really easy.
When we add new concepts, new singable songs are composed and new games are crafted. So the curriculum today has a handful of songs and games that didn’t exist in the beginning. Of course, artwork for materials and online support continue to improve. We actually have some new artwork and play-along CDs coming out Spring of 2016!

Q: What’s the one thing you feel most sets Let’s Play Music apart from other children’s music education programs? If a parent wants their child to learn music but doesn’t have a musical background themselves, what would you say to help them know if LPM is the right choice for them?

I think I better list two things: one for parents who compare LPM to preschool classes, and one for parents who compare LPM to traditional piano lessons.
There definitely are many preschool music programs to choose from. Let’s Play Music was created for a child who is just old enough to move beyond the experiential music programs. Those programs help youngsters experience different types of music, find the beat in music, and really start to enjoy music as something to play with. That’s important.
But what we offer is the specific intention of piano preparation in the first year. We read from the staff and play tone bells as a precursor to the keyboard. We introduce the primary chords as the foundation for all music and practice group accompaniment on the autoharp.
Age 4 is the minimum to begin Let’s Play Music. Younger students aren’t developmentally ready to do weekly homework or be accountable to accompany a group with an instrument, whereas four and five year-olds can rise to challenges beyond preschool music classes.
To the second point, parents have traditional piano, violin, and voice lessons to consider. Let’s Play Music does use voice and piano as tools for our class, but unlike most traditional programs, we focus on complete musicianship rather than just instrument skills. Our classes involve classical music learning, ear training, theory, and composition in addition to reading and performance skills.
That means students who graduate from Let’s Play Music should be prepared to excel as a musician with whatever instrument they pursue next with a private teacher. Some parents register for our classes specifically because they took years of traditional piano lessons and didn’t love it. Most of them can play but never understood music. How did the composer come up with this accompaniment? How can I change it? How can I make up my own music?
Parents who have no musical background LOVE Let’s Play Music because they get a two-for-one deal. They sign their child up for class and they get to learn everything, too. We require parents to attend every other class in the first year, so they’ll learn what their child learns, bond with their child, and be prepared to nurture music practice at home. The most common feedback from non-musical parents is, “I finally understand music theory! Thank you for helping me hear it, use it, and learn it along with my child.” I guess that is a third way we are fundamentally different: we involve the parents in class.

Q: For a child who is already taking one-on-one instrument lessons with a teacher, what could joining an LPM class add to their musical life?

Students must be age 4 or 5 to start Let’s Play Music, so we try to catch them before they start private lessons. This is a three-year foundational course that sets them up for success with their eventual private teacher. Research shows that children at this age learn best in a group class with playful and fun instruction, an environment you don’t get at a private lesson. We really do get up and dance, pass balls to each other, and skip around the room. It’s very active because that’s what helps the students learn.
Private instructors vary widely, but tend to focus on reading and performing music with the instrument of choice. We value performing as a part of complete musicianship. It’s very possible to take years of private lessons and not feel competent about making your own music. I tell parents that private lessons can wait – your child will be most successful if you help them get this great foundation first. And then you can take a lifetime of private lessons and really excel.

Q: What does “success” look like for an LPM student when they reach graduation? Could you share a specific story from your own studio?

Three years in this program is a really short time! I’m always surprised when it’s graduation time. I define success when students graduate having developed an attitude about music that launches them to success over the next few decades of hard work to come.

”I define success when students graduate having developed an attitude about music that launches them to success over the next few decades of hard work to come.”

Success is when graduates have learned how to practice, they have internal motivation to play their instrument, they feel confident that they can take steps to learn a new piece of music, and they think of themselves as talented musicians.

Our students have varying levels of piano ability depending upon their age and how much home practice time was invested. They have beginning piano skills such as reading the staff, playing scales and cadences, and sightreading melodies. In addition, they have developed skill in accompanying themselves and others, transposing, improvisation and composition. But beyond these piano skills, since Let’s Play Music develops the complete musician, we see success in the student that can:

• sing in tune
• sing in harmony
• sing middle C on command
• find other pitches in the scale in relation to a given pitch, and
• recognize chords, intervals and major/minor tonalities by ear

These skills are the factors that form a complete musician, and this is the measure of success for us.

In the long run, who’s going to remember that you could play three variations of “Twinkle, Twinkle”? By the time the LPM student is an adult, the measure of success will be the student’s musicianship and drive that carried him through life. Those are harder to teach and measure than a list of milestones, but that’s what I value the most.

I’ve had students go on to perform in musical theater, continue in piano study, and pursue all variety of band instruments. The students I’m closest to are my own children, of course. When my son started trombone lessons at age ten, his teacher was amazed with his well-trained ear; it allowed him to hear and play exactly correct pitches with subtle nuance that experienced players seek. His progress with his instrument continues to be impressive. I expect music teachers of all varieties get LPM students and declare “this kid is just musically talented” because they’ve got that foundation.

Q: LPM also runs Sound Beginnings classes. Could you tell us a bit about that and how it relates to the main program?

So, I mentioned that four years is the minimum age to begin Let’s Play Music, but we always recognized that younger children benefit from music exposure. For years we sent families with toddlers away to other preschool music classes and said, “come back to us when you’re four.”

About five years ago, we decided to make sure there was a quality preschool music class available for pre-LPM families, by offering it ourselves. Most Sound Beginnings teachers are also LPM teachers. We designed the program for 2-4 year old children with a parent, but younger siblings can come, too. It’s very much a family program.

Because we know what the children will be learning in LPM, we tailored SB to include similar musical elements at an easier level. We introduce solfege and ear training, reading very simple music notation, and finding patterns in classical music. Instead of homework assignments, we have optional home activities. SB is not required before enrolling in LPM, but those kids get a bit of a head start.
While we’re playing with different types of music, we include preschool skills. If we want a song that helps them sing on pitch and recognize a certain musical pattern, why not write one that also has lyrics to teach about colors, addition, months of the year, or the planets? So our games teach music skills and preschool facts at the same time. Every song is carefully chosen.

Q: Do you feel that the modern age of electronic devices and internet learning has helped or hindered music education? Has it impacted the way you do things at LPM?

I think the internet is an amazing educational tool. When I’m looking for sheet music or trying to learn a specific skill, the internet is my first resource. I take my ipad loaded with music to ukulele play-alongs. I have apps on my phone so I can do some ear training whenever I have a free five minutes. I get on the Let’s Play Music teachers Facebook group to get advice for running the studio or helping a specific student. It’s amazing to have resources so available!

There are two sides to every coin, though. Electronic devices indirectly hinder learning when the allure of ever-present entertainment outweighs the motivation to practice! We occasionally implement screen-free week at my house, and suddenly everyone wants a turn at the piano! Electronics can be distracting.

”We occasionally implement screen-free week at my house, and suddenly everyone wants a turn at the piano!”

At LPM, we still train teachers and teach classes face-to-face. We purposefully cultivate relationships because research shows that children learn best when a caring adult is involved. A caring teacher and caregiver are far better instructors than a screen. We are experimenting with a digital play-along tool for students to use at home with their piano as a supplement to “human” teaching, but we assert that this is merely a supplement. Without the human touch, learning is stunted. We’re also looking at online ear-training games for use at home. We’re open to using resources that fit with our curriculum.

Q: No doubt the future holds more exciting plans and ongoing success for Let’s Play Music! What are the LPM team most excited about right now?

Every year we reach more cities and more children, which is exciting. I attribute much of the success to the enthusiastic teachers. Many say they have become better musicians from teaching the classes, and all say “I wish I had learned it this way when I was a kid!”

We are super excited about Spirit Week, March 14-19, 2016 when students, parents, and teachers share their love for LPM on our Facebook page. We give out lots of prizes and revel in photos and videos of students making music. They are all part of our big, musical family!

And as I mentioned earlier, we are excited about our 2016 revisions. For five years we have been collecting feedback from parents and teachers to find out how we can improve each family’s Let’s Play Music experience. We pursue quality and we utilize the most current methodologies in our curriculum. We are releasing new songs and new designs so our curriculum continues to be cutting edge.

Terrific! Thanks again, Gina, for joining us here on EasyEarTraining.com and sharing more about this wonderful music program.
 

Here at Easy Ear Training we’ve long been admirers of the Let’s Play Music approach and we’re excited to see their new developments in 2016 and beyond. Learn more about LPM on their website letsplaymusicsite.com where you can find a teacher in your local area. Be sure to also follow their blog and Facebook page for the latest news and resources.

If you liked this interview and you're ready to jump in, find a Let's Play Music teacher near you now!

The Influence of Orff on Let's Play Music

Photo from Facebook user Melissa Martin

When Let's Play Music creator, Shelle Soelberg, selected the best elements to include in the LPM curriculum, she included tenets from pedagogical masters Orff, Dalcroze, and Kodaly that would achieve a complete musicianship program.

The Orff Approach shares several common goals with Let's Play Music including a concern with fundamental experiences and foundational skills for a comprehensive musical training. 

At our recent annual Let's Play Music teacher's symposium, we were treated to a session with certified Orff instructor, Anne M. Fenell, M.Ed., to learn more about the influence of Orff on Let's Play Music, and highlight the common approaches you'll see in Orff and Let's Play Music classes: we learn through play, we use hands-on instruments, we learn by doing, and we create lifelong musicians.

Carl Orff (1895-1982)

The Orff Approach to musical education is not a method: there is no lesson manual to follow. What we do have are fundamental principles and clear models that we apply in our own classrooms and the LPM lesson plans.

Carl Orff was born and educated in Munich, Germany. He became a conductor in several opera houses, and  established an international reputation as a composer with his operas, Der Mond (The Moon), and Der Kluge (The Clever Woman). 

Orff's pedagogical work is reflective of his own compositions: melody and rhythm are explored through singing, playing percussion, speech, and movement.  Orff believed that music is the natural outcome of speech, rhythm, and movement.  Just as every child can learn language without formal instruction, every child can learn music by a gentle, friendly, natural approach. Through his many interactions, he concluded that "All humans are biogenetically predisposed to play and create music."

Photo by Red Poppy Photos and teacher Nicci Lovell

Orff conceived his approach to building musicianship in every learner by integrating music, movement, speech and drama.  Orff Schulwerk (schoolwork) was developed in the 1920's for teaching young women in collaboration with Dorothee Gunter. The students improvised music on drums, rattles, and pitched percussion.

Eventually the approach was recast for a younger audience.  In 1948, as part of a Bavarian radio series, the Orff music was presented for children. Five volumes of music were published as Music Fur Kinder (1950-54).  These volumes have been re-recorded worldwide, with a 1977 American edition which includes our own national heritage and folk songs. Orff worked until the end of his life to continue development and spread of the approach.

We Learn through Play

"Since the beginning of time, children have not liked to study.  They would much rather play, and if you have their interests at heart, you will let them learn while they play" -Carl Orff

First year Let's Play Music students in class.

Children instinctively play, imitate, and experiment.  Orff recognized that this is the process for learning.  Music is considered a basic system, like language.  In an environment where children feel safe to experiment and develop personal expression through music, drama and speech, they will easily incorporate musical literacy, just as children easily incorporate language and grammar. The Orff Approach is a child-centered way of teaching and learning music.  

Musicality is more than just literacy: it depends on improvisation, experimentation, and imagination. In our posts on why we value play and how we value the learning process, we explain how a playful environment opens the door for creative learning.   When children discover, invent, improvise and compose, their experience of music is intensified. These creative activities are complementary to those of interpreting and listening to music AND are part of the toolkit for a complete musician.

Teachers in Let's Play Music, and all Orff Approach teachers, create an atmosphere similar to a child's world of play so children can feel comfortable experimenting with new and abstract musical skills.  Teaching an ability TO CREATE is essential.  Dr. Fennel stated, "Creativity is THE currency of the 21st century." 

Hands-On Instruments

Orff believed if musical learning was to take place, the tactile senses had to be stimulated through 'hands-on' use of instruments. The first instrument should be the body: hands clap, feet tap, fingers snap, and the belly is a great drum! The second instrument is the voice. Singing needs to be an integral part of the music education. Read our post for more about why we encouraging singing.

When the first two are mastered, rhythm instruments are introduced, followed by melodic percussion instruments like tone bells.  

One reason our Let's Play Music tone bells are amazing (and inline with Orff teaching) is because they can be removed and reordered to facilitate playing patterns and ostinati with young children.  In our class, we like to 'tip up' every other bell to help students play melodic skips during The Dinosaur Song, for example, or tip up the Do-Sol-Do bells for the ostinato in Frog Went Hoppin'. Our bells aid in producing harmony and helping children become sensitive listeners as they play together in ensembles.

The Let's Play Music student bells have yet another special feature- the solfege syllables are engraved on them in two different keys: C and F.  This helps students understand that 'Do' can change but intervals and melodies (like Mi-Re-Do) follow the same pattern in any key. Transposing is easy after bell training with moveable Do.



Lifelong Musicians
The Orff Approach shares several common goals with Let's Play Music: a concern with fundamental experiences and foundational skills for a comprehensive musical training.

This means it is not enough to teach literacy (reading and playing your instrument), although that is part of it.  The goal to guide students to ENJOY making music in groups or solo. The goal is to help students BECOME composers and musicians.  The goal is to show them how to make it a language for their lifetime (not just for the duration of the music class.)

Anne Fennell, M.Ed.

Fennell says she always teaches with the end in mind: to get the kids to become composers. This is a key point to becoming a lifelong musician.  She quoted that up to 80% of students who play in band class don't play their instrument again after high school.  And who are the other 20%? Although everyone learned to read and play music, those 20% were the few who picked up the ability to create their own music.  They find joy in working cohesively with others to create, they find a language in music, and they don't drop it when class ends.  Fennel said, "our world needs lifelong musicians.  Our world needs creative problem solvers."

Fennel said, "Orff Schulwerk is creative music and movement through which children make meaning as composers and active participants," and that is very different from literacy alone.

Learn by Doing
The Orff Approach dictates that concepts are learned by doing. Students learn music by participating in activities that awaken the child's awareness of the aesthetics of music. The Let's Play Music curriculum minimizes lecture in our very active classes, and we avoid intellectualizing concepts until they have been internalized. Example: our Red, Yellow, and Blue chords will be defined as I, IV, and V once the students have sung, played, and internalized their use and learned to read on the staff.

Carl Orff instructs, "Experience first, then intellectualize," a phrase that explains exactly what we do with our color chords and our rhythm bugs.  He was also fond of the Chinese proverb: "Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand." You've seen involved students when they arrange themselves into chords on the giant staff, or when they sing a song in a game and figure out the ending melody on their own. Living up to her approach, Fennel had all of the teachers at the symposium learn by doing. We created our own rhythmic work and performed it immediately.

A video posted by Let's Play Music (@shelle_solfege) on Jun 13, 2015 at 12:27pm PDT

Songs for teaching-by-doing are usually short, contain ostinatos (short, repeated melodies), are within singing range, and can be manipulated to play in rounds or ABA form. Folk music and nursery rhymes of the child's own nation and heritage are chosen. Read our post on why we use folk music.

Orff and Let's Play Music both begin with major and minor scales. We both introduce singing on pitch with sol-mi (the minor 3rd interval), and progressively add more intervals for singing.  When students learn songs and skills, they first imitate the teacher's model and explore through activities involving singing and playing. Literacy then prepares for students for their own improvisation in a nurturing environment.

The Orff Approach focuses on percussive rhythm. The instruments feature xylophones, marimbas, glockenspiels, and drums. The children also sing, dance, chant, clap, snap, along to melodies and rhythms.  Soelberg gleaned many principles from the Orff approach and applied them to the Let's Play Music curriculum, our fabulous method including keyboarding into well-rounded musicianship instruction over a three-year curriculum. I'm happy I had a chance to learn more about Orff at symposium.

* Anne Fennell teaches music at Mission Vista High School in CA.  Her enormous steel-drum groups and fantastic concerts represent the joy and essence of Orff teachings in action.

Gina Weibel, M.S.
Let's Play Music instructor