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