Informal Learning and Play

WHO IS MUSICAL?

“We learn simply by the exposure of living.
Much of what passes for education is not education at all, but ritual.
The fact is that we are being educated when we know it the least."
David P. Gardner

Suppose you are introduced to a six year-old child who has been raised by wolves. The child has only recently been exposed to human language and culture, and for various reasons, this has been intermittent. He understands very little and has not begun to speak at all. He is just beginning to respond to his new name, Oliver.

Now, whoever introduced you says, “I would like you to teach Oliver to read and write.” What would you say? Can you see yourself sitting down with this child and begin to take him through the steps of learning to read? Would that make sense? Maybe at some point you could see yourself reading to him. Meanwhile, wouldn’t you be more likely to suggest that Oliver spend lots of time with other humans, playing with kids, immersing himself in the language and culture?

Most children who are not raised by wolves have lots of time and opportunity to learn their native language and experience their culture before formal education begins. By the time a child has begun to learn to read, she has had several years of “informal” language exploration. By the age of five, she has been exposed to her native language every day of her life. From this cultural immersion she has learned to speak her language fluently, with correct inflection and a particular accent. Her subsequent language-based learning experiences will be based on the reasonable assumption that this immersion has taken place. (NB: This is not to say that all children are ready to read whenever this informal exposure is in place – only that without such exposure, learning to read would make no sense at all.)

Music is often referred to as a language. One would think, then, that a child beginning formal music education would need to have had an experience with music that parallels his experience with language. In fact, this rarely happens. Most children begin their musical schooling having had little, if any, informal musical exposure. They have not had a chance to explore a piano keyboard, experiment with a variety of instruments, make music with their families or try to play by ear. They often haven’t sung or been sung to, listened to a variety of music or gone to concerts.

Yet when these children reach school age, it is determined that they are now “ready” to learn music in some sort of formal structure. Most children are sent to a building where there is a music classroom, and a classroom is considered to be a place where music needs to be “taught.” There are rhythms to be learned and notes to be read, and dozens more dissections of the whole into teachable matter. Private music lessons are approached much the same way. No matter what the method, roles are defined, teaching begins and the opportunity for informal musical learning and free play is missed entirely.

I am convinced that it is this substitution of formal training for informal exposure, more than any other thing, that is responsible for children coming to the sad conclusion that they are unmusical. It is likely that a large number of adults reading these words have come to the same sad conclusion about their own musical ability for the same reason.

It is crucial to be exposed to an array of musical experiences and explore in one’s own way, at one’s own pace and in accordance with one’s own interest and readiness before formal music education is even considered. An ironic footnote is that when informal musical learning is put in its proper sequence – that is, first – formal training is sometimes superfluous altogether! Some people require it in order to achieve their musical goals, but many highly musical people find a rewarding niche without any music education as we know it.

From Ozark fiddlers to opera buffs, instinctive musicians abound. Irving Berlin, whose songs comprise an astounding segment of the American repertoire, never learned to read music at all. The list of people who were left to their own devices to develop their inner muse is long. So is the list of artists and musicians who credit their success with having been encouraged to engage in free play and exploration early in life. Formal music education is beneficial for some people at some time. Informal musical exposure, on the other hand, is good for everyone.