Thursday
Apr192012
Learning to Hear in a Noisy World - Music History Giveaway
Thursday, April 19, 2012 at 5:00AM 
Welcome to Day 4 of The 10 Days of Teaching Music!
I'm so happy to bring you a post today from my former music professor, Dr. Carol Reynolds. She is also the face of Discovering Music - a wonderful music curriculum for homeschoolers. I reconnected with Professor Carol at a homeschool conference two years ago, and when we made the connection back to 1990 and Southern Methodist University it was such a happy coincidence! She has been full of humor, encouragement, and advice for me.
I think you will love what Professor Carol writes about today, and also the great giveaway at the end.
Learning to Hear in a Noisy World
It was a quieter world when J.S. Bach wrote his music. The loudest sounds he heard were the clop of hooves on cobblestones, the caw of crows, the peal of church bells, and thunder. Consequently, back when our Classical music was written, the gentlest melody wafting through the air drew attention.
Until the gramophone (late 1880s) music happened only when someone made it. If you couldn’t sing or play, you needed to be near someone who could.
Music’s power is impossible to grasp in our noisy world. Ask your child to imagine a world without the roar of busses, motorcycles, or airplanes. Try to erase the sounds of leaf-blowers and jack hammers. If those aren’t enough to destroy our ability to hear, think how we are bombarded by electronic pop music everywhere we go. Not to mention those tiny ear buds people screw into their heads (so that “their” music can mask the noise around them).
What does all this have to do with studying music? The study of music forces a person to cut through the noise and listen. It’s true for beginning students, as well as advanced. Whether it’s matching the pitch produced by one’s voice teacher or seeking an exact finger-position between two notes on the viola, a music student has to listen in focused way to. And he or she is listening to sounds that, by today’s standards, aren’t loud.
But hearing the sound isn’t enough. The student has to penetrate the sound, analyze it, and then do something about it.
Learning to hear is the unsung benefits of music study. Discerning, responding to, and controlling sound are high-reflex skills: right-brain activities that pay big benefits in the development of a whole and balanced mind. And even an unsuccessful try at music lessons opens the door to appreciating music later on.
Homeschool parents inquiring into our Discovering Music curriculum ask if a musical background is necessary. “Not at all,” I say. (People who have never played a note can still enjoy and understand music, just as I can study art without any ability to paint.) Some follow their question by “confessing” that they once took a year of piano, band or choir. They tell me this apologetically, since it may not have led to much proficiency.
My reply always is to express delight: “You did? That’s wonderful!” Am I being solicitous to potential customers? No. It is wonderful.
Even the briefest period of musical study causes a child to tune out the roar of the world.
Focusing on the careful production of sound is a boon to a child’s neurological development. Music study affects coordination and many other developmental aspects. But the greatest gift is learning to hear.
In an American Idol world where grotesquely amplified sound, risqué wardrobe, and social media presence masquerade as musical mastery, the smallest sound your child makes from a real instrument or vocal chord is a cause for celebration.
Now for the giveaway! Professor Carol has given me a copy of her DVD set, Exploring America's Musical Heritage. In Exploring America’s Musical Heritage, Professor Carol – along with 38 historians and artists – takes you on a journey through America’s musical history. The two-DVD set contains more than four hours of engaging instruction. It is most appropriate for middle and high school students (and also parents who want to learn a lot about the history of American music!). I think you'll LOVE IT!You can enter by simply leaving a comment here about Professor Carol's remarks today. AND, you can earn additional entries by liking Professor Carol on Facebook and liking Homegrown Learners on Facebook and leaving a comment for each. Please be sure there is a way for me to reach you via email!
This giveaway will be open until midnight on Friday, April 27th! Good luck!
Tomorrow I'll give you my two cents on piano lessons. I'll talk about why I require piano lessons and share my favorite books and tips.
Other posts in this series:
Day 1: The Importance of Music in Our Children's Lives
Day 2: A Simple Way to Incorporate Music - SQUILT Notebooking Download
Day 3: Five Resources for Incorporating Orchestral Music In Your Homeschool
Day 2: A Simple Way to Incorporate Music - SQUILT Notebooking Download
Day 3: Five Resources for Incorporating Orchestral Music In Your Homeschool
Reader Comments (48)
I want to learn to hear! My children may be a little too young at the moment for this set, but I would love to utilize this for my own personal growth. My husband can hear, my mother and father and father in law can hear. I want to join them! Thanks for the opportunity =)
I like Homegrown Learners on fb
I like Professor Carol on fb
I completely agree with her sentiments and am curious about the curriculm...will have to check it out. Thanks!
I loved this and hope I win!! I am also a piano teacher and home schooling Mom. I expose my son, 3 1/2, to all kinds of music. It floods our home. However, this aspect of music, this DVD, sounds absolutely wonderful! I hope I win! I promise we would use it!
I have a doctorate in music and my dissertation was in part about the changes in the "soundscape" after the industrial revolution and the new meaning that music took on after that. Now I'm a SAHM with two musical children and would love to explore Prof. Carol's work!
I think we as parents too often allow our children to fill the silence in their lives with technology instead of music. Music is proven to grow us, soothe us, increase our knowledge, etc. Everyone in our home (from parents to kids) plays an instrument and we love music. I was a music major in college as well. I would love to win this material to use in our home.
Sounds amazing. Both my kids love music and I haven't incorporated it enough this year. I love her comments and learned several things just from this post. kbalman@gmail.com
Love you on facebook kbalman@gmail.com
Like professor carol on fb kbalman@gmail.com
Sounds wonderful. we are a music loving family and would love to incorporate it more this year.
Like! I Mean love you on facebook...
What an insightful post! I never thought about needing to cut through the noise to hear music, but it is so true these days. We are blessed to live in the country where most of the sounds we hear are either nature or made by us.
And I'm so thankful that our children prefer melodious music; they have learned to listen and can appreciate complex music like Bach.
The only trouble with that is that they hear the flaws in their own music so much that they are discouraged. It's a difficult balance between noise, nature, professional music, and homemade music!
Looks like a great DVD set! Would love to win. =)
Already "Like" Homegrown Learners on FB {and Twitter}
Liked Professor Carol on Facebook too.
Jen @ gricefullyhomeschooling {at} gmail {dot} com
Loved reading this article. I had never thought much before about how different, how quiter the times were back when so many great musical masters were creating their masterpieces. It makes me think how important it is for us to make time for our own children to experience the sound of silence. Thank you!
I follow you on FB.
Great Article! I was just talking to my daughter about how everything is so noisy where we live (in LA). She loves music, this sounds wonderful.
Cindy @ justcindyc@hotmail.com
I like Homegrown Learners on facebook.
Cindy @ justcindyc@hotmail.com
I like Prof Carol on facebook.
Cindy @ justcindyc@hotmail.com
it was a great experience to read such kind of great work i really enjoyed while reading this article.
Professor Carol is so very spot on about the noise everywhere. My kids would love this! Thank you.