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Musical Behavior

"What if my child is tuneful and rhythmic?" "What if my child is not tuneful and rhythmic?"

Current CCS Lessons are appropriate for both the child who has become tuneful and rhythmic with CCS, and the one who has not. How can this be?
 
Fraternal twins are raised in the same household, with essentially the same language environment, yet one will likely talk before the other. The early talker may even try to do the talking for the one not yet so verbal. This does not necessarily mean that one is developmentally delayed, or “not talented.” It could, of course, mean that the verbal child has strong verbal potential, but it could also simply mean that one of the twins became verbal more quickly than the other. Each child marches to the beat of his own drummer with verbal, physical, and social development, and with music development.
 
We would expect the parents of the fraternal twins to scaffold each child’s verbal development, wherever it is on the spectrum, yet we would not expect parents to change their household language environment, the books they read to the twins, nor their family activities because one of the twins is not as verbal as the other. The home environment has provided the readiness for comprehending language at the current level of family activity, whatever the individual child’s output.
 
Similarly, the child who has become tuneful and rhythmic with CCS and the child who is not yet tuneful and rhythmic does not mean that one child is “developmentally delayed” or “not talented musically.” Yes, the tuneful and rhythmic child may have strong music potential, but so may the child who is not yet so tuneful and rhythmic, or perhaps rhythmic but not tuneful or tuneful but not rhythmic.

CCS Activities are designed to accommodate children on their journey of music learning, whatever their level of rhythmic or tuneful precision, just as the home of fraternal twins provides a rich environment for the development of each twin at their own level. Both extremes on the tuneful and rhythmic spectrum are ready at this point for the Music Reading Activities, as both have had the long-term, rich immersion in the various meters and tonalities, the opportunity for Rhythm and Tonal Dialogue, Resting Tone Activities and Macro/Micro Beat Activities, with and without syllables, whatever the child’s response to these activities. The “sound environment” has provided the readiness for comprehending these aspects of rhythm and tonal, and the Rhythm and Tonal Syllables that are essential to Discrimination Activities and Music Reading, whether or not the child is yet delivering rhythm and tonal or Rhythm and Tonal Syllables with precision.     

The CCS Curriculum provides for music learning in accordance with the way children learn music. It is designed to meet children’s musical needs, whatever their rhythm or tonal potential. Trust your child’s musical gifts, whatever your little musician’s current level of rhythmic or tuneful precision and enjoy the wonder of your child’s process of music learning.

 

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