Daily Listening
Children learn the language of music the same way they learn their native language.
For this reason, your child needs to hear their Kaleidoscopes music every day.
Two kinds of listening are valuable:
1) Playing the music softly in the background; and
2) Actively listening to the songs, including singing along together.
Aim to play the entire recording 1–2 times daily, beginning one month before your child will start lessons.
You are likely already “fluent” in the language of Western music, so you will internalize the songs much more quickly than your child will. Many of these beginning songs are well-known folk songs which you will recognize. For this reason, your own mastery of the songs is not a good measurement of when your child has “listened enough.” They will need to listen to the recording for the entire time that they are studying in their current book.
If your child were to try to learn a song without knowing what it should sound like, it would be as though they were trying to do a puzzle without knowing what picture it is. Can you imagine how hard that task would be? We set them up for success with daily listening.
Your child will need to know not just “how the song goes,” but also have a clear mental image of the beautiful tone, timing, piano accompaniment, and tiny details of the performance. They are learning a language, including the words, the accent, and the subtleties of expression.
One of your biggest responsibilities as you begin lessons is to create a reliable and consistent listening routine. I recommend buying one or two copies of the CD so that you can easily play it in many places: in your child’s bedroom, your living area, and the car. Upload the tracks to a dedicated Kaleidoscopes playlist to be able to play it anytime. The better quality your listening routine, the better your child’s musical learning will be.
During the first two weeks of your lesson journey, commit to setting up high-quality music players in the kitchen, living area and/or playroom, and your child’s bedroom. This will ensure that accomplishing the daily listening assignments is nearly effortless.
