It’s proven that music enhances a child’s cognitive ability to learn and process information. Teaching them how to play a musical instrument through music theory will greatly enhance the brain’s processing ability.
The seven basics of music theory are sound, rhythm, melody, harmony, texture, structure/form, and expression. Here are creative ways to teach the basics of music theory.
There are five parts to a sound: overtone, timbre, duration, amplitude, and pitch. For simplicity, here are three of the easiest for kids to remember:
Find a rubber band and stretch it tight. Have the child pluck it and watch it vibrate. Each time they do it, explain the three points of sound.
Rhythm is the beat of the music or the placement of sound in a timeframe.
Using the same rubber band, have the child pluck it every second using an online metronome. Then, speed it up and have them keep pace.
The melody of a song is the foreground of what you hear. It’s the combination of pitch and rhythm.
Take the rubber band and stretch it tight, pluck, release tension, pluck, pull tight, pluck, release tension, pluck. Going back and forth in tempo will create a melody.
Harmony is when two musical notes are played at the same time. Some two notes go better together than others. This is most easily heard when two notes are played at the same time on a piano.
Use two rubber bands and stretch one tight and other a little less tight. Now, pluck them at the same time. There will be two complementing notes.
Texture in music is how instruments sound together. The four types of texture are monophonic, polyphonic, homophonic, and heterophonic.
Overall, texture can be referred to as “thin” and “thick.” Thin would be a simple version of the song with minimal instruments. Thick would be many instruments.
Find a thin rubber band, a thick rubber band, and a shaker that makes noise. Play them all at the same time to have a more complex — or “thicker” — noise.
Structure/form in music is the collection of smaller sections that combine in one larger form to create a finite song. It has a beginning, middle with sections, and an end.
Bring back the rubber bands and shaker you just used. Play them 4 times in a row on a beat. Repeat twice. Playing it like this is structure.
Musical expression is the art of playing or singing with a personal response to the music. It’s giving emotion to the music.
Have the child play the rubber band in a sad, angry, and happy way. These three are forms of musical expression. (We’re not sure if you can play a rubber band in this way, but hey, it will be humorous to see how they do it.)
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