How To Teach Music in the Home School, Successfully

Music education, although it can be lots of fun, can also be one of the most challenging subjects to teach. This is particularly true in a school setting where kids are often in music class because they have to be there, not because they want to be there.

But it is true for home school as well.

Even in a school of music, music education can be a challenge.

A lot has to do with the complexity of music education. Here’s a list of things necessary for a good music education

Reading musical notes
Playing an instrument
Understanding rhythm
Understanding time
Math and music
Aesthetics and music
Acoustics and music
Morals and music
Science and Music

Each one of these is a subject in itself, and it can appear daunting to the homeschooling family.

But attaining the complexity of a music eduction is no different than any other subject. You start with a few basic principles and eventually deal with greater complexity as the student absorbs and understands the basics.

What, then are the basics in a music education It’s what I call the Three R’s of Music Education Reading, ‘Riting and Rhythm.

The first two of these — Reading and ‘Riting — are a combo package. They must be taught together. That’s how you teach language, and it is no different in music. By combining sight — what you see — with production — now write it — you combine the students senses to reinforce what it is she is to learn.

The last of the three ‘R’s’ — Rhythm — is a little more challenging. When you speak you use rhythm. You say some words louder than others, or stronger than others, to emphasize what it is you are attempting to convey.

Music takes those emphasized sounds and puts it in a more regular pattern. It might be simple duple or triple meter (two beats or three beats) or more complex forms of this, called compound rhythm.

Here the student is learning to hear and produce sounds in a more meaningful manner to convey the message of the music.