BY LUCY RASH
Particularly well documented is the myriad of ways in which the learning of a musical instrument fosters the development of children’s creative thought processes. Less well documented are examples of this creativity as manifested in children’s speech.
In an effort to uncover some real gems, we here at CutCommon asked a group of music teachers across Australia to recount their most poignant examples of wisdom imparted by children in their lessons. The results are below.
TEACHER: “Now, who can tell me who Beethoven was?”
STUDENT: (hand shoots into the air) “He’s the dog in that movie”
T: “Okay, everyone. What’s it called when two people play a piece of music together?”
S: “A compliment.”
T: [short pause] “Not usually, but that’s a great way of looking at it.”
T: [explaining 3/4 time signature] “Have you ever danced a waltz before?”
S: [six-year-old student responds] “I find waltzes to be rather boring, snobbish dances. I prefer ballet.”
S: “I can’t play viola anymore. I feel sick. I need to sit down.”
T: “That’s no good. I’m sorry you’re still sick! Do you know why?”
S: “Yes. I touched a dead cat.”
T: “Okay. Who can remember the name of the piece we were working on last week?”
S “In the Hole of the Mouse King!”
T: “What do the low notes on the piano sound like?”
S: [pauses thoughtfully] “Like a robot monster screaming.”
T: [points to a time signature on the page] “Can you tell me what 3/4 means?”
S: “Waltz time.”
S: “Great. And what does 6/8 mean?”
S: “Something difficult.”
The scene: Teacher points to the composers’ initials on sheet music for a piece called ‘Night Prowler’.
T: “What does A.P. stand for?”
T: “I think it’s the composer’s initials.”
S: “No, it stands for ‘About Portia’. This is a piece about me!”
T: “I hope not.”
T: [having just explained how to play harmonics] “Let’s play some rhythmic patterns, and you tell me what you hear.”
S: “Will that include those harmonica things?”
S: “I want to be a magician, chef, scientist, and a drummer/singer!”
T: “All at once?”
S: “Yeah!”
T: [points to a dotted note on the page] “What’s this rhythm? We just spoke about it.”
S: “It’s a dotty minim.”
T: [pauses] “Ok. Let’s write the name down in your book! You spell it: D-O-T-T-E-D.”
S: [writing] “D-O-T-T- [student pauses thoughtfully]…Y.”
S: “If the crash cymbals sound exactly like a crash, then why doesn’t the ride cymbal sound exactly like a ride?”
T: “What do you mean?”
S: “Why doesn’t it sound like riding a bike? Because it’s the ride.”
S: (points to the sheet music) “Why is there a hashtag in front of the G?”
Image credit Miki Yoshihito, CC 2.0, via Flickr.
