Learning Modalities

How do you best learn something new? Is it best to read it or to hear it? Or to jump in and do it? The approach to learning visually, or auditorily, or kinesthetically is a well known learning theory called Learning Modalities. I learned about these modalities as a college student as a Creative Arts Major. Most of my classmates were headed toward a career in elementary school education, but I was there as a private music teacher.

When teaching an individual student, I have the luxury of helping the student learn music using their strongest learning modality, whether visual, auditory or kinesthetic/tactile. But what is cool about music is that it is a mix of all three modalities. So starting with your strength, you can find your way into the other two modalities.

You might think “Well, of course, music is auditory” and yes, it is! And you don’t need to see anything to make music – consider Stevie Wonder, Andrea Bocelli, Diane Schurr, and for all you harpers – Turloch O’Carolan! But there is a spatial aspect to playing an instrument, that seeing musicians can relate to, whether it has to do with how written music notation looks on the page, or how the notes are laid out on the instrument. And kinesthetic/tactile? There is certainly an aspect of touch that is important – and maybe tied into the spatial/visual. Where do your hands need to move to get to the next note? For singers, what do your breathing muscles and your vocal apparatus feel like to sing a particular note or timbre or volume? And what about rhythm? That is both auditory and kinesthetic.

So yes, music is an aural art, but not all musicians are primarily auditory learners. Some need to visualize the music on the page, or how the notes lay out on the instrument. Others need to “get the feel” of the movement from note to note. And some even have two or all three modalities equally dominant rather than one primary modality.

If you are not sure what your learning modality is, there is a simple test online that I came across that you can take: http://www.ldpride.net/learning_style.html

You end up with a chart that shows your strength, and also a lot of detail and analysis. Here’s my chart:

 

I won’t bore you with the 4 pages of analysis! (You’re welcome!) But notice that although my dominant learning style is Auditory, there is a strong Visual in there as well. The Tactile/Kinesthetic, not so much! This explains why I’d rather play in the band than dance on the dance floor…

What does this mean in terms of how I “best learn” music? I actually am very good at reading music – my piano teaching mother made sure of that -- but when I look at the notes on the page, the first thing I do is sing the melody, or hear the notes in my head – that makes it easier for me to learn the tune. So an auditory learner might take the visual aspect, and translate it to how it would sound.

A visual learner might listen to a piece, and try to picture where the notes would be on the music staff, or on their instrument, and then write out the music on paper in order to learn it.

A kinesthetic/tactile learner might look at the sheet music and play “air harp” or “air guitar.” I was in a band with a trombonist who would play a tape (this was many years ago in the age of cassette tapes – I’m old) and he would say “listen to this” and he’d put his arms out and play air trombone. I teased him that he can’t listen to music without moving his arms. But that was his learning modality -- shame on me for teasing him!

As you read in my blog about The Think Method, I will be teaching a class called Memory Tools for Musicians. There are visual, auditory and kinesthetic approaches covered in this class. If you’re interested in signing up, there is still room in the class (which takes place on Saturday, October 29th, from 10 am to 12 pm pacific time), but you can also opt for the video replay if you can’t attend in real time. Just send me a note saying you’d like the replay instead!

Here’s a link to register:  https://tinyurl.com/MemoryTools

 

 

Creating from Scratch

My mother was great at baking a cake “from scratch” whereas my only successful cakes came from a box mix… It got me musing about “from scratch” and how that applies to creating music compositions and songs…

How did the phrase “from scratch” originate? It’s presumed that it comes from the scratch mark that sets the starting line in a race, so it essentially means “from the start.” 

But it has come to mean, when talking about baking, using the original ingredients rather than a box mix which puts a lot of ingredients together for you.

The thing is, when you bake from scratch, you have to remember to include all the ingredients, and you have to know how much of each to use. The box mix instructions usually say “just add water” or maybe just add water and eggs.” So, there is less chance of producing a flop, presuming the folks at Betty Crocker have the ingredients right. 😉But the advantage of the “scratch cake” is that you can also improvise and produce something that is not so predictable, and not exactly like every other cake produced from that box mix.

Okay, now we get to composition, songwriting, and even arranging traditional tunes, or making a pop song your own…

What are the ingredients in music? Melody, Harmony, and Rhythm are the three commonly called “the elements of music.” These will produce your basic cake. Then the frosting ingredients might be dynamics, tempo, timbre (tone color), and ornaments. And then there is the overall form. For a cake, the form would be the size and shape of the pan or pans, and the final shape of the cake if it is layered – rectangle, round, heart-shaped…  

So, before you can create music from scratch, a basic understanding of how each ingredient will affect the end result is needed. What is the alternative? Baking a box mix cake might be like creating a predictable piece of music – everything is expected, with no surprises. And even if you decorate your cake creatively, the taste will be what you’d expect from a box mix. And therefore, not all that memorable. Music composed using ingredients that are predefined from composition rules, can also lack that special quality that makes people remember it, or talk about it. So, it’s not just about “getting it right” but about improvising and substituting and breaking some of the rules. “Think outside the box mix…”

Let’s go back to the starting line, the scratch mark that says go. What makes you take off? Is it like a race to see if you can finish first, or is it a lightbulb idea? Are you required to write, or inspired to write? In order to develop that basic understanding of the musical ingredients, you’d need to do a lot of experimental writing, and maybe even some specific assignments. And every so often, while doing a required assignment, you may find yourself inspired to take it all the way to the finish line!

I just finished a three-part Songwriting Online course that is also available as a video replay on my website at: https://verlene.com/workshops.html#all3

And I taught an online class called “Composing Start to Finish” last Spring that I will teach again this coming Spring. This one is not available on my website to protect the ideas coming from the participants, but it’s a fun class to take, so keep watch for that one to come up again! If you’re not on my mailing list, or on it but not getting my monthly workshop notifications, let me know and I’ll “tag” you for those! You can also join the list and choose your tags here: https://verlene.com/contact.html#list

Late breaking news! My song El Nino is one of the songs featured in today's Women of Substance radio podcasts. The theme for the shows starting on 9/11/22 has been "Songs with a Conscience" and 4 of my songs have been featured. You can listen to today's show at any time today or in weeks to come! And while you're there, scroll down the page to find the other shows my songs are in (#1387, #1389, and #1393): https://www.wosradio.com/listen

 

Something to think about…

Does anyone else remember watching The Music Man? I remember being impressed by what the con man, Harold Hill called “The Think Method” or maybe it was “The Think System.” A refresher (or an explanation for those who never saw the musical):

The con man comes to a small town to sell band instruments with the promise that he’ll teach the kids so they can have a band. The instruments arrive, and he stands in front of the class with nothing to teach so he says, “If you want to play the Minuet in G, you have to first think the Minuet in G” and has them all sing along with him:

He walks out while they’re all still singing. There’s of course a love story, and then the town finds out he’s a con, and they are about to tar and feather him, when the kids come marching out playing the tune on their instruments (out of tune, and very poorly) to save his hide. 

So, is there something to this method? I think so! I like to listen both actively and passively to a new tune to learn it until I am singing it in my head. This way when I go to play it on harp, or violin, or guitar, or nyckelharpa… I know what it’s supposed to sound like. Then as I develop my muscle memory for where those notes are, I often don’t even need to read the notes. Just play it by ear, now that my ear knows it! As Harold Hill said, “you don’t need to bother with notes.” And when I do read the notes after listening and humming along, I find that I don’t have to spend as much time looking at the notes.

Once I have learned a tune, even if it’s not yet polished, I often will record myself playing it and listen to that recording, which further integrates the sounds and the fingering, since hearing my own playing triggers a muscle memory reaction.

I really prefer playing without a music stand in front of me, and am working toward having all 4 hours worth of music we do in Gaelic Muses so well integrated that I don’t really need to look at the music. I will probably always have the book on a music stand for these performances, even if it’s just to be able to glance and say “oh yeah, it’s that one next” or “oh, yes, I start this one –” or other specifics about our arrangement of a tune. But always having to keep my eyes on the music puts a barrier between me and the audience, and also makes it more challenging to have good eye contact with the other band members. So this is the goal. Think: La di da di da di da di da…

For this morning’s 2-hour background music harp gig, I made mini sets of tunes I know by ear organized by key, and then cut out little slips of paper with each set. Those lived in the little purse tied to the back of my harp, and I just pulled one out at a time, and played the 5 tunes in the set, then set it aside. This is a great way to keep track of time. I had 8 sets of 5 tunes, with each being approximately 15 minutes in length, so they easily filled the 2 hours. Set up was easy since there was no music stand, music stand light, binder with music, and clips to hold the music in place. Just tune up and play!

The one disadvantage of not using a music stand is that people constantly walk up to me and try to start a conversation. “Is that a real harp? The ones I’ve seen are much bigger and made of gold.” “We had a harpist at all our kids’ weddings. Do you play for weddings?" "Is that an Irish harp? I've been to Ireland 3 times. Are you from Ireland? No? Have you ever been? No? You should go!" 😂

If you want to learn some really great Memory Tools for Musicians, I’ll be teaching this as an online workshop on 10/29/22 from 10 am to noon pacific time! Here’s a link to register:

https://tinyurl.com/MemoryTools