A Child's Musical Ear
If you've never heard of or seen a Boomwhacker before, they look like this --------------------------------->
They are color-coded plastic tubes that when struck, produce a pitch. You can play them by either holding them in your hand and hitting them on the ground, or you can arrange them like a xylophone and hit them with a stick (more on that below), and they're a great first instrument for your child.
Children between the ages of 3-6 pick up language faster than people at any other age group. If you break down language into a group of sounds (letters), that are put together to form ideas (words), and that are all tied together by some rules (grammer), then it's easy to see that music is also a language. There is an alphabet of sounds (notes or pitch), the sounds form words (chords or phrases), and there are rules that tie it all together (rhythm, harmony, etc). So, children between the ages of 3-6 can also pick up music faster than any other age group. Not in the sense of being technically proficient or being a piano prodigy, but a child from 3-6 has a better chance at internalizing the sounds of music than an adult trying to do the same.
Let's work backwards for a minute. Absolute pitch or perfect pitch, is considered by some to be the most formidable musical talent. It is the ability to hear a musical note (say middle C on the piano) and recognize it for the note it is (middle C). It's a rare ability that most musicians wish they had. There is much debate over whether it's a talent or a nurtutred skill, but more recently, people are leaning toward the latter. People with the ability can hear the footprint of a note and name it just the way most people see the difference between red and orange. See where this is going yet?
When you teach a child to read, you don't start citing Shakespeare. See Spot Run is a better bet, for the obvious reason that it is has less words, simpler words, it's grammer is straight forward. The same idea applies to the language of music.
The English language is not a tonal one. We use words to convey meaning, and how we pitch our words doesn't change the meaning of the word. Sure, you might inflect your voice a certain way to ask a question or bark a command, but how high or low you say the word "snow" doesn't change it's meaning.
In cultures that speak tonal languages (such as certain dialects of Manadarin, the Bantu language of Africa, and the Intuit languages), children learn from an early age to distinguish different pitches. The same word might have two very different meanings depending on how high or low it is pitched, and so these children get an early start on distinguishing pitches. It is not surprising that with a little music training, many of these children develop perfect pitch. If you're curious for more information, click here! Either way, the point is the same...
To develop a child's musical ear at a young age, you want to expose them to the individual notes in the language of music. You want them to grow up trying to distinguish one pitch from another. Bombarding a child with classical music (or the Grateful Dead in the case of my parents) is great for exposure and for developing a love of music, but to truly understand the language of music though, you need to start simpler than that. That is where the Boomwhackers come in.
“Each time one prematurely teaches a child something he could have discovered himself, that child is kept from inventing it and consequently from understanding it completely.”
― Jean Piaget
Boomwhackers and Chromanotes
The Boomwhackers, as well as several other color coded instruments by Whacky Percussion, do the job of exposing a child to one note at a time. If you place a kid in front of grand piano, he's got 88 keys of black and white to go nuts on. If you give the same kid a tube in each hand, now he's got two notes distinguished by two colors color, and you're on the right track to making a musician of him yet. Remember, the key is exposure to individual notes.
I want to be clear about purpose for assigning notes a color. The idea is not that a child will begin to see red when they hear a C (this is considered synesthesia).The colors that Boomwhackers use (a system called Chromanotes) are to help children distinguish one note from another quickly. Even children at age 6 are still slower to recognize a letter than a color. There are other color-music systems out there and it is not the specific color that's important, just that there is a color to help a child distinguish one sound from the other. I've become a fan of Chromanotes simply because the Boomwhackers are so fun.
SOOO, now that we can see the importance of exposing children to individual notes, what is a parent to do? If you've got $30 to spare, I would reccomend that you...
1. Order a Boomwhackers Whack Pack. It's not expensive and it's more durable and educational than most comparable music toys. The pack comes with all the Boomwhackers of a C Major Scale (which is great for early music) and a xylophone tote to turn turn the tubes into a xylophone.
2. I HIGHLY reccomend ordering this Boomwhackers accessory. The Octavator Caps are simple black caps that slide over one end of the tube. With the cap on, the tube will resonate an octave lower than before. Due to the nature of the plastic, the tone and pitch is actually much clearer in the lower octave, and for anyone who's serious about having a boomwhacker xylophone, I highly reccomend this $8 add-on.
3. If you have a piano, these a great for beginners. Not only will your kid have fun color coding there piano, but in combination with some color coded music, they will be able to play music successfully much quicker and with a deal less frustration.
Taking It Further
Now that you've got your Boomwhackers, what do you do with them? Below, I will provide some ideas as to how to get started. I have plans to post videos and songs to accompany these activities soon.
Play Songs
The obvious answer is to play songs. You can find tons Boomwhacker music on the internet (like this book here!). I've also written a handful of Boomwhacker charts that I will post in the coming weeks. Find songs both you and your child know (Mary Had a Little Lamb, Ba Ba Black Sheep, etc) and learn how to play them on the Boomwhackers. Try to sing and play them at the same time. But most important, positive reinforcement!
Ear Training (Weight Lifting For Ears)
I had five different music teachers growing up and only one of them even sort-of stressed the importance of Ear-Training. I guess the other teachers assumed I'd pick it up naturally, but being primarily a drummer until college, that was unfortunately not the case. When I got to college, I sufferred through ear-training classes for three years before I finally came out on the other side. As a result, I always stress the importance of ear-training to my students, and because of the fun games we play, they typically enjoy it.
1. Solfege Calesthenics
Get two tubes and let your child see and hear them individually before starting. Then have your child turn around so they cannot see the tubes. You can either have the child try to name the tubes, or have them touch their head for the higher tube (the smaller one) and touch their feet for the lower tube (the longer one). If you have the space and the energy, make each note a specific area or piece of furniture and have your child run from area to area. Training like this with a pair of notes will make it easier to "win the game" and will boost your child's confidence, and eventually you can build onto using 3, 4, or all of the notes. Some good pairs to start with are
1. C (low) and C (high) - an octave - The notes from "some" and "where" in the opening line of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."
2. C & G - a fifth - The first jump in the Star Wars Theme is from C - G (C - C - C - C - G)
3. C & F - a fourth - "Here" and "comes" from "Here Comes the Bride.
4. C & D - a Major 2nd - Do and Re (at this point I usually expose the child to "Do-Re-Mi" from "The Sound of Music" to help with these.
5. C & E - a Major 3rd - Do and Mi
6. C & D & E - Do Re Mi
2. Boomwhackers and Bells Around the House
If your kid is like most kids, they go through phases. Lightning McQueen this month, FireTrucks the next month, whatever. Use your imagination to get a Boomwhacker (or a Chromnotes bell) involved in other area of your childs play. If possible, color coordinate.
For instance, if they love Firetrucks, use a Red 'C' Bell as a firebell or a Red 'C' Tube as a hose or horn. If it's October, make an imaginary pumpkin patch out of the Orange 'D's. You get the idea.
By hearing the sound of the Boomwhacker in other times of play, the child will have even more experiences to distinguish one note from the other. Not only will the sound of a 'C' be "that red tube on my xylphone" it will also be "the firebell from when I was a fireman" or "Lightning McQueens Horn."
If you're old fashioned enough to use a dinner bell, have your kid try to guess which color bell you rang for dinner for some extra dessert! By integrating the sounds of music into your everyday life, your child will have a massive head start in any musical setting.