Is this unusual?

[buddscreekman]

Last night I was walking up the stairs and I hear the theme music to Super Mario Brothers. No surprise,I assume it's the t.v. But then I walk by my 11 year old daughters room and realize it is HER. She is playing it on her keyboard. Now,she has never taken a music lesson or seemed really into music. So I asked her how she learned it and she says she can play lots of them,that she can hear music and then duplicate it. And she proceeds to play several t.v. theme songs and such. My wife thinks this is no big deal but to me this is a pretty unusual talent - I know I can't hear a song and then recreate it. I asked her to show me how she does it and put on a song I knew she hadn't heard before. Sure enough,within about 5 minutes she had it. What do you think?

 

[kwillia]

Most all the musicians I know learned the same way... by ear... no formal lessons. Your kid is not unusual... just musically inclined.

 

[withrespect]

Last night I was walking up the stairs and I hear the theme music to Super Mario Brothers. No surprise,I assume it's the t.v. But then I walk by my 11 year old daughters room and realize it is HER. She is playing it on her keyboard. Now,she has never taken a music lesson or seemed really into music. So I asked her how she learned it and she says she can play lots of them,that she can hear music and then duplicate it. And she proceeds to play several t.v. theme songs and such. My wife thinks this is no big deal but to me this is a pretty unusual talent - I know I can't hear a song and then recreate it. I asked her to show me how she does it and put on a song I knew she hadn't heard before. Sure enough,within about 5 minutes she had it. What do you think?

This is amazing to me. I DID take lessons, majored in music my first year of college, am classically trained and I still can't do this.


I am impressed.... JEALOUS.... ...but impressed

 

[Radiant1]

Your kid is not unusual... just musically inclined.

It's certainly something to encourage.

 

[kwillia]

This is amazing to me. I DID take lessons, majored in music my first year of college, am classically trained and I still can't do this.


I am impressed.... JEALOUS.... ...but impressed

Thnat is because you cannot be taught to be musically inclined... either you have it or you don't. Same reason someone can't be taught to be good at sports.


What's funny is that those that learn instruments by ear get frustrated if they try to take formal lessons.

 

[buddscreekman]

This is amazing to me. I DID take lessons, majored in music my first year of college, am classically trained and I still can't do this.


I am impressed.... JEALOUS.... ...but impressed

Our daughter struggles academically. She works her butt off,but still has difficulties,and for her sister school is effortless. So when I was really getting into this and making a big deal about it she got very excited and said "Am I good at something? I have a talent?!" I think she has always felt like she wasn't good at anything in particular. I feel like we should get on top of this and get her into some sort of lessons or something. But I don't really know what would be appropriate. I wonder if traditional lessons,like piano,would just crush this ability.

 

[withrespect]

Thnat is because you cannot be taught to be musically inclined... either you have it or you don't. Same reason someone can't be taught to be good at sports.


What's funny is that those that learn instruments by ear get frustrated if they try to take formal lessons.

I can vocally sight-read... I just don't seem to have the mental capacity to become an expert at any instrument.

 

[RoseRed]

Our daughter struggles academically. She works her butt off,but still has difficulties,and for her sister school is effortless. So when I was really getting into this and making a big deal about it she got very excited and said "Am I good at something? I have a talent?!" I think she has always felt like she wasn't good at anything in particular. I feel like we should get on top of this and get her into some sort of lessons or something. But I don't really know what would be appropriate. I wonder if traditional lessons,like piano,would just crush this ability.

Keep up the encouragement!

 

[buddscreekman]

Does anyone know a good music teacher who might suit this particular situation,who might be a little more untraditional?

 

[kwillia]

Does anyone know a good music teacher who might suit this particular situation,who might be a little more untraditional?

I don't think you need to look for someone untraditional as most kids who end up with a music teacher do so because they've shown an inclination towards music. It'sn ot unusual at all to learn by ear. I recommend you search for teachers in your specific area so that attending lessons would be frequent and convenient. It would be after she learns the basics and if she outgrows the teacher that you would need to search for specific training. Good luck and enjoy the recitals!

 

[Radiant1]

Does anyone know a good music teacher who might suit this particular situation,who might be a little more untraditional?

Check your PM'r.

 

[twinoaks207]

Our daughter struggles academically. She works her butt off,but still has difficulties,and for her sister school is effortless. So when I was really getting into this and making a big deal about it she got very excited and said "Am I good at something? I have a talent?!" I think she has always felt like she wasn't good at anything in particular. I feel like we should get on top of this and get her into some sort of lessons or something. But I don't really know what would be appropriate. I wonder if traditional lessons,like piano,would just crush this ability.

Definitely, definitely continue to encourage this ability in your child. Music is the source of much joy in the world (and also helps with math ability).

Does anyone know a good music teacher who might suit this particular situation,who might be a little more untraditional?

Ask her what instrument she'd like to learn before signing her up for lessons and don't be surprised or disappointed if she switches around a bit while trying to find the one that's "hers". You might want to clue her teacher in to this ability and also talk to the music teacher at her school for suggestions.

Yay, kid!!

Expose her to all kinds of music so she can chose favorites. If she has access to the computer, set her up with a Pandora account so she can explore based upon her likes.

 

[buddscreekman]

She is very interested in guitar,piano,and violin. The oddest thing about all of this is that most of her problems are with reading. She reads beautifully,but then forgets it almost instantly. So to hear something and then not only remember it but translate it is really something for her.

Twin,odd you would mention math. Ever since she was an infant she has always been very organized,lining things up in certain orders etc. and she is very good at math.

 

[ICit]

She is very interested in guitar,piano,and violin. The oddest thing about all of this is that most of her problems are with reading. She reads beautifully,but then forgets it almost instantly. So to hear something and then not only remember it but translate it is really something for her.

Twin,odd you would mention math. Ever since she was an infant she has always been very organized,lining things up in certain orders etc. and she is very good at math.

who knows... this could help in many ways


..... reading music is very different from reading text.

I was able to retain what i learned in music more so than book work.

 

[Radiant1]

Music is the source of much joy in the world (and also helps with math ability).

[soapbox] Which is why it's SO IMPORTANT to try to keep music education in the schools!! [/soapbox]

 

[DEEKAYPEE8569]

Last night I was walking up the stairs and I hear the theme music to Super Mario Brothers. No surprise,I assume it's the t.v. But then I walk by my 11 year old daughters room and realize it is HER. She is playing it on her keyboard. Now,she has never taken a music lesson or seemed really into music. So I asked her how she learned it and she says she can play lots of them,that she can hear music and then duplicate it. And she proceeds to play several t.v. theme songs and such. My wife thinks this is no big deal but to me this is a pretty unusual talent - I know I can't hear a song and then recreate it. I asked her to show me how she does it and put on a song I knew she hadn't heard before. Sure enough,within about 5 minutes she had it. What do you think?

Now the tune's stuck in my head; "boings" and everything.

 

[SoMDGirl42]

Our daughter struggles academically. She works her butt off,but still has difficulties,and for her sister school is effortless. So when I was really getting into this and making a big deal about it she got very excited and said "Am I good at something? I have a talent?!" I think she has always felt like she wasn't good at anything in particular. I feel like we should get on top of this and get her into some sort of lessons or something. But I don't really know what would be appropriate. I wonder if traditional lessons,like piano,would just crush this ability.

Just remember, learning to read music is academic. If you find her struggling to learn to read music, encourage her to continue playing music by ear. Many professional music people never took one lesson in learning to read music in order to make music, and can't read a note.

Encourage her!

 

[twinoaks207]

She is very interested in guitar,piano,and violin. The oddest thing about all of this is that most of her problems are with reading. She reads beautifully,but then forgets it almost instantly. So to hear something and then not only remember it but translate it is really something for her.

Twin,odd you would mention math. Ever since she was an infant she has always been very organized,lining things up in certain orders etc. and she is very good at math.

Music and math ability go hand-in-hand in most cases. There's a lot of research out there that indicates that music (studying, enjoying, listening, etc.) helps children with math. I believe that it has something to do with stimulating the same areas of the brain.

If you're interested, here are a couple of links on learning styles and multiple intelligences. I don't usually advocate Wikipedia as a resource, instead preferring to use it as a starting point for further research. This article seems to give a good overview and a google search will give you more information about Howard Gardner's theories.


Learning styles


Institute of Learning Styles Research




overview of theory of Multiple Intelligences
Theory of multiple intelligences - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Just out of curiosity, does she recall things better if it's from an audio-book as opposed to a written book?

 

[buddscreekman]

Just out of curiosity, does she recall things better if it's from an audio-book as opposed to a written book?

We've never tried audio books,but I have noticed she can always,always remember things set to music,or in a pattern. If we can say something to her in a rhyme-y sort of way,it sticks.

 

[itsbob]

Does anyone know a good music teacher who might suit this particular situation,who might be a little more untraditional?

Teaching her music, composition, theory and HOW to play may cause her to lose the intuition she has..

Knowing the math behind music kind of takes away the art, and tries to turn it into an analytical exercise...

You can teach her right out of her talent.