Have An Ear For Music? Wrong! You Can Sing!

Some of you will disagree and say that the absence of the musical ear runs in the family: your mom, grandfather, great-grandfather and aunt didn't have one...

Continuing on the theme of music education for parents, I'd like to say: Hold on! Let's come to an understanding once and for all.

Last time, we talked about how parents can start their newborn's music education. They have learned that their child's abilities, including musical, depend not only on genetics, but also on the environment you create for him.

If you can not repeat a tune and someone else in your family could not sing, this only indicates that your relatives were unable to find the suitable "musical" environment for you. But it was not their fault, because their own childhood was just as "non-musical."

Most people are absolutely sure that inborn musical abilities and voices are impossible to change. Yet the truth is, everyone has a natural ear for music and a singing voice. Any person who can hear and speak has an ear for music!

Moreover, people at any age can learn to sing properly. In this case, you will have to make certain efforts: learn a special breathing technique, special articulation, and learn to control your vocal chords. You must also be very diligent and persistent. All this put together can drastically change your voice and, accordingly, develop your ear for music.

If your child shows an interest in music and musical instruments, you should immediately indulge this interest and introduce him to a music teacher. If the teacher tells you that "Your child is a charming boy/girl, but absolutely has no musical talent," don't listen! Get a second, third, or fifth opinion, and find a teacher who is a true professional and can instruct you how to work with your child by creating an individual music education plan for him.

Of course it is more interesting and easier for music teachers to work with gifted children, but if the musical abilities of your son or daughter have not been revealed yet, do not give up on music lessons. You are not too late; you can still help them.

Once I worked at a musical school in small town in Sakhalin, Russia. The number of children wishing to play musical instruments had been limited, and we sometimes had to enrol almost everyone without preliminary testing. Quite often we had up to 40 percent of "tooters," as we, the musicians, called them. Those were children who were not able to sing. So why did we teach them? Simply because as teachers, we could not refuse them as the desire to learn and the initiative came from the kids themselves.

Adults and children who can hear a tune "in their head" but can not reproduce it vocally and would like to correct the problem can reverse this with training. Sometimes this problem is not very obvious, and it can not be seen right away. But as children develop creatively, the problem becomes more apparent and leads to the inability to express themselves. In the future, "tooters" may develop a number of inferiority complexes, such as feelings of isolation and other personal problems.

Even when it seems that hearing and voice coordination has been disrupted, this problem can be mended.


Copyright (c) 2010 Tatiana Bandurina