These days, almost every student has an iPod or MP3 player. They will sometimes ask the teacher whether they may use this device in the classroom, to ‘listen to music’ while they work. This presents the teacher with a dilemma: If the answer is NO, the students my talk to each other and get distracted that way, if the answer is YES, the students my get distracted by the music and so the work may not get done anyway.
As one of Howard Gardner’s multiple Intelligences, music plays an important role in how we learn and how we perceive the world. Have you ever found yourself thinking back to another place and time when you hear a song that you associate with a specific memory? People easily form affective relationships with music, and so it stands to reason that music can be used to aid memory and learning in the classroom.
The use of music in the classroom can make the entire learning process more enjoyable and can stimulate “right” brain learning. Six years ago researchers reported that people scored better on a standard IQ test after listening to Mozart.
The most important point to remember when using music to accompany learning is that it be an aid to learning and not a distraction. If you want to use music in the background to help students concentrate, choose music which employs regular periods (repeated phrases and patterns). According to Kenneth Beare (http://esl.about.com/od/esleflteachingtechnique/a/brainmusic.htm), the following can be used as a guide for appropriate music for different activities:
- Grammar – Mozart, Haydn, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi
- Imagination exercises (descriptive writing, speaking) – Ravel, Debussy, Satie
- Current Situation, News in the World – Rap (for inner cities and their problems), Ethnic Music from the discussed countries (you would be surprised at how many people quickly associate the type of music with a part of the world)
- Making Future Plans – Fun upbeat jazz (“Take Five” by Dave Brubeck)
- Discussing “Serious” issues – the “serious” Germans: Beethoven, Brahms – even Mahler if you are adventurous!
- Learning about different aspects of one theme: Peter and the Wolf (associate the different aspects with the different musical instruments.)
Music can also be seen as another type of instruction for students (on par with games, worksheets, concrete materials and virtual manipulatives). If used this way, music needs to be chosen or created so the content of the songs carry or convey the content of the curriculum. The idea is that once the student has learnt the song, they will be able to use the target skill. Examples of this is where, e.g.
- Mathematics: Music is chosen to support the memorizing of facts through the songs, e.g. songs with information about multiplication tables, or concepts like mean, mode or median. Another example is where a mnemonic is part of the song, so the students learn the mnemonic when they learn the song. Here is a list of games in Maths using music and musical instruments: http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/schoolsarts/learning/k_6/arts/cre_prv2n2p1to3.pdf. Here are lists of lesson plans for Mathematics, using music: http://musiced.about.com/od/lessonsandtips/a/mathandmusic.htm, and here http://archives.math.utk.edu/topics/artMusic.html and http://www.sedl.org/scimath/compass/v04n02/flash/flash.html. For a very comprehensive list on songs that will aid learning Mathematical concepts: http://www.songsforteaching.com/mathsongs.htm. The following site shows how different Maths concepts like Fractions and pattern, can be taught via music (interactive activities included): http://www.philtulga.com/Math.html. Wikipedia offers a good reading of Maths and Music: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_and_mathematics. Here is a reading on Pythagoras and music: http://library.thinkquest.org/18160/mathmus.htm, and this reading is for more advanced uses of Maths in classrooms: http://www.spaceandmotion.com/mathematical-physics/mathematics-music-waves-vibrating-space.htm
- History or SOSE: Songs that list facts like the states of America, or songs that depict a certain time in History
- Reading: The lyrics of the song can be the reading for the day. After students have read the lyrics and identified grammar or other language concepts like rhyming or alliteration, students can sing the song and make up a dance to accompany the song. For easy access to the lyrics of almost every song, go to ans search for the song you want on http://lyricwiki.org/Main_Page
- Transition between activities or classroom routines: Songs can be an ideal way to get children involved and interested in a daily routine or help to solidify a new skill through repetition. Teachers can make their own songs set to familiar, simple and repetitive melodies like Farmer and the Dell, If You’re Happy and You Know it, Clementine, Are You Sleeping, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Jingle Bells, The Muffin Man, Ten Little Indians, The Bear Went Over the Mountain, She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain, Did You Ever See a Lassie and London Bridge. Make sure to include phrases that would give clear directions to convey the target skill. Here are some examples (more can be found at http://www.songsforteaching.com/lazar/tunesfortasks.htm):
-
Calendar Song
To the tune of “ London Bridge ”
Do you know what day it is,
day it is, day it is?
Do you know what day it is?
Today is Monday.Do you know what month it is,
month it is, month it is?
Do you know what month it is?
The month is August.Colors
To the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”
Red, orange, yellow, green, ,
blue and purple too;
These are the colors that I know,
I’ll show them all to you. - Fun and enjoyment: For kids songs from popular movies (with lyrics), go to http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/musicmovies.htm
Linking the auditory part of music with any visual, will make the learning more powerful. If you search on YouTube, you may also find videos with songs about Maths concepts, Science, English, etc. Just search the topic you are teaching, download the appropriate video, upload it to your school’s intranet, and make it available for students to download.
When the music is associated with any movement, the learning also becomes more powerful. Link the music with movements like a dance, tapping feet or clapping along. Students will also be able to learn the songs quicker, as the memory of the music then becomes part of the whole body’s learning. In some cases, students will learn the movements before they know the songs, but will still be able to associate the song’s content with the movements. These kids will thus know the movements and associated concepts, before they know the words well enough to sing along with the music.
So, the next time the students want to listen to music while they work, choose something out of the list above, and have the students put your selection on their iPods…then they can listen to that music while they work, and hopefully, with the earpieces in their ears, they won’t be talking to other students when it is not needed either!
For a comprehensive reading list on Music you can buy for use in classrooms, go to http://www.songsforteaching.com/references.htm and http://www.songsforteaching.com/