Grandchild #1, 3 years, 3 months, is aware of letters, spelling, and reading, and “reads” his favorite storybooks—telling the story while imitating reading behavior. He had his first experience with music reading at Grammy’s computer with the Rhythm Reading Activity she had just completed for Class 10. The activity was designed to read rhythm to a child much as one reads a storybook. The rhythm is read on syllables, with a prep that sets the meter and the visual representation of macro/micro beats in the meter. A hand points to the notation while it is being read.
Grammy clicked on the Music Reading Activity and just watched her grandson’s response. He was utterly taken by the whole music reading experience. Repeatedly, especially when the computer “read” some of the trickier rhythms, (du ta ta ta, du ta ta ta, du ta ta ta du), he giggled, just thoroughly intrigued. Grammy took him through the “Rhythm Stories,” and then the “Rhythm Storybook.” He commented about the hand with the pointer finger moving from the end of each story back to the beginning to repeat the story.
Grammy had printed a copy of the Rhythm Storybook and continued the activity, reading the tangible Storybook. She began as the tape began, “Du de du, looks like this,” and read the Rhythm Storybook. By the time Grammy got to about the 4th measure, he was reading along with her! How exciting! When Grammy finished the Story, she asked him if he would like to read it himself. Immediately, he began with, “Du de du, looks like this,” and went on “reading.” He was as excited as Grammy! He didn’t realize, of course, that part of her excitement was that he had gotten to this level through the online program with his parents, not through live classes. Grammy and grandson went to show Mommy how he could “read music.” Again, he began with, “Du de du, looks like this,” and went on chanting and pointing to the notation—making up a chant in the meter and pointing anywhere on the page. His mother is tuned into beginning reading behaviors in language and commented on how parallel his “music reading” was to what he was doing with language in print.
Several hours later, his dad arrived. Over dinner, Grammy told him that his little boy could “read music.” The child began reciting immediately, as if he were reading, “Bah bah bah, looks like this,” and went on chanting and pointing his finger in the air, sweeping his arm widely to start the Rhythm Storybook again, just as the computer hand did. Grammy suggested, “Try du de du,” and he went on nonchalantly, “Du de du, looks like this,” and continued reading his “air notation.“ It didn’t matter to him whether he was on bah, or du, he was “reading rhythm!” He was equally fluent with and without syllables, demonstrating the ultimate goal of learning syllables—to get rid of them!
Grammy gave the child the little Rhythm Storybook so he could show his dad how he could “read” the hard copy. She cued syllables with, “Show Daddy how you read du de du,” and off he went—“Du de du, looks like this,” and delivered a chant in Duple meter, pointing purposefully, even if not linearly, sweeping his arm back to the beginning of the notation to repeat the Rhythm Storybook. His dad was floored to see him all of a sudden “reading music,” as he had not yet reached the CCS Lesson with the Rhythm Storybook.
One could see by the child’s “reading” that his little musical mind led the way, yet his fascination with the notation and “reading music” took over, as he rushed the tempo. The musical mind was distracted by the visual.
The child took the Rhythm Storybook home so he could “read” music just as he does his other favorite books.
