Next, we teach your child to compose! Imagine the value of this skill in wider life; figure out how to begin, how to develop an idea, how to end it well, and how to invite others to join in and play along! In a large poll a few years back, researchers discovered that 88% of postgraduate students and 83% of high earners ($150,000 or more) had extensive musical training. That may be a coincidence, but we think otherwise! There is almost certainly some causation within the correlation. From the beginning we teach children about musical forms. When a baby or toddler joins in with the welcome song or another repeated segment of the class, he or she is learning to copy musical form! As the children grow, we introduce them to composers and learn notation tools for writing down a composition. This starts with games but quickly leads your child to learning to read and write in school.
Finally, we teach your little composer, who loves music, to improvise! Dr. Dee Coulter, the renowned brain science educator, describes improvisation as "a special kind of intelligence, that gets lost in today's educational climate." Our schools tend to focus on "fixed intelligence" which is great for recalling correct answers, but lacks value in solving problems that have more than one right answer, or in coming up with new ideas. These require "fluid intelligence" which is best developed by improvisation. Improvising combines paying close attention to the form while coming up with new ideas, a combination called "flexible persistence". Fluid intelligence lets us think for ourselves and bring new ideas to old problems, so it is usually regarded as the highest form of intelligence we can offer our children. You may notice me incorporating each child's slight variations into our regular songs in baby and toddler class; these are the first steps toward improvisation. Later, open-ended songs that ask children to supply a word or movement build on these variations. As older children collaborate in groups on songs and compositions they learn to vary the pitches, rhythms, melody, dynamics and tempo consciously. This gives them a level of musical composition and improvisation that is rare for their age and gives them an advantage in the years ahead.