Learning a language requires immersion in the language and then interactivity within that context. So does music learning. Immersion has to come first, as without that experience, interaction has no meaning. Interactivity is essential, as understanding a language or music is only part of the process. Competence requires being able to speak the language or music as well as understanding what is heard.
Through extensive, ongoing immersion and interactivity, children learn not only the basics of language or music, but continue to pick up and use more advanced vocabulary, more complex phrases, more subtle nuances. There are always more difficult vocabulary, more complex structures, and different kinds of expressions to be introduced into the context of immersion. Interactivity then provides opportunity to use the advanced vocabulary, complex structures and various forms of expression—to make each one’s own.
Immersion requires ongoing saturation in the “soundness” of language, the “soundness” of various meters, various tonalities, and the combination of meter and tonality. Interactivity requires ongoing communication through meaningful segments of language, segments of meters, segments of tonalities. It is through segments that children explore and experiment with using language or music, practice new vocabulary, learn to communicate, and build skills. Competence grows through ongoing immersion and interactivity, with immersion feeding greater understanding for interactivity and interactivity feeding greater understanding for immersion.
Ongoing experience with various meters and tonalities provides immersion for music learning. Ongoing experience with Rhythm Dialogue, Resting Tone Activities, Macro/Micro Beat Activities, and Tonal Dialogue provides for interactivity through segments of those meters and tonalities. More difficult content is introduced through immersion and then “played with” through interactivity. The greater the immersion, the greater the exposure and absorption and the more content there is to interact with and to master. The greater the interactivity, the more understanding is brought to immersion, the greater the absorption, and the greater the meaning. Immersion and interactivity feed each other in an ongoing manner, propelling music learning. |
