Music Learning Theory

What IS she talking about????

I am just going to tell you right off the bat that reading about Music Learning Theory is an academic experience and will not get you all wound up about it. It is a scholarly and well researched theory whose advocates and practitioners are largely College and University educators of soon to be music teachers.

There is lots of information on the web and countless books and research articles in journals, but wading through it can be less than thrilling,

I will also tell you that I have seen it implemented in very exciting and very boring ways.

In my practice during our classes I endeavor to make all the learning sequences short and playful.

Basically we are “filling our bucket” with various tonal patterns and modalities and a wide range of rhythmic experiences.

Tonal? Modal? Whatl?

You don’t have to know a tune is in mixoldyian mode in order to benefit from hearing and singing it or playing it and neither does your child.

Much like language, a child can develop a virtuosic mastery of music in all its variety and nuances without having an academic grasp of all of the theory behind it.

Personally, I love theory, and I am happy to discuss MLT with anyone who enjoys those details. But please relax and enjoy the ride with your student. My goal is to make theory a game and connecting those neurons across the brain a joy ride.