You are now familiar enough with techniques to view rhythm and tonal preps and the practice of preceding Art Songs and Gem Songs with a Tonality Activity in the same tonality as techniques, and to question at what point these techniques are no longer necessary. Each of these techniques prepares the musical mind to more easily process the coming meter or tonality. Children become so attuned to meter and tonality through the consistent use of preps, that the preps become the musical statement that introduces content much the same as a preschool teacher might prep children with “Now we are going to read a story about horses.” Just as the preschoolers’ thinking mind immediately relates to horses as the foundation for the story, the musical mind immediately relates to the meter or tonality of the prep as the foundation of the musical narrative.

Preceding Art Songs and Gem Songs with a Tonality Activity in the same tonality is a very effective technique for children being immersed in the various tonalities and moving into interactivity. Tonalities cast a spell in the classroom, and the move from a Tonality Activity to an Art Song or Gem Song in the same tonality adds another layer to the spell, with text and rhythm functioning within the already established aural scape. Once children are secure in the various tonalities, the tonal prep by itself will direct the musical mind to the tonality.

Using the preps throughout your tenure with the children puts everybody on the same page, so to speak. Once rhythm and tonal syllables are introduced, they become the “labels” for the various meters and tonalities in sound, with children tuning into the differences between meters and the differences between tonalities through syllables. Preps further assure your secure seating in each meter or tonality, and syllables will ultimately serve as your labels in sound, helping you to spontaneously draw up each meter or tonality without help from the thinking mind.

The more experienced you become with the process of music learning, and the more familiar you become creating and using techniques, the more you will be able to distinguish between techniques that stimulate, direct, and manage the musical mind, and those that stimulate, direct, and manage energy. You will ultimately find yourself creating effective techniques to manipulate audiation as well as energy.