My Music Book
by Jack Van der Wyk
My Music Book
teaches quarter notes and quarter rests and introduces eighth notes.
It can be followed by or simultaneously used with Hopping Bunnies,
also by Jack Van der Wyk. Hopping Bunnies is an exhaustive
treatment of quarter notes with pairs of eighth notes. Children
learn to associate the word "hop" with quarter notes, and "bunny" with two
eighth notes, doing away with the problem of explaining fractional
equivalents of time to children too young to grasp the concept of
fractions. The book is remarkably fast and effective in teaching the
reading of eighth note patterns. Hopping Bunnies is, of
course, adorned with illustrations of bunnies attending each exercise in
the book.
All humans have a
limited attention span. The length of time with which we can
concentrate on anything before we get tired or otherwise distracted
increases with maturity. Teaching music to a small child requires
catering to a naturally limited attention span.
It would seem
that all activity to a child is play - and all play is taken quite
seriously by the child. The music lesson ought to be regarded as a
session for directed play, and perhaps this ought to be the proper
attitude for adult musicians. (What is the verb we most often use to
describe the act of operating a musical instrument?) |
