On the beat
Is your child having a hard time keeping a steady beat? When playing ensemble in class, are they struggling to stay in time? Difficulty in keeping a beat is relatively uncommon in my studio these days due to earlier exposure to formal music classes. Most of my new keyboard students have attended one or more pre-keyboard classes with me and their beat/rhythmic skills are becoming quite well developed. What if that wasn’t the case though? Is there a concrete way to help children stay in time?
There are many ways to help your child follow the beat:
VISUAL – draw a heart where each beat falls and then point to it while saying the rhythm
AUDITORY – clap the beat or tap it on a drum while saying or playing the rhythm (a metronome is also handy here)
TACTILE – gently tap the beat on your child’s shoulder while he/she plays the rhythm
MOTOR – have your child tap his/her foot to the beat while you play and say the rhythm
Since beat is a fundamental building block of music, it is important to tackle this skill early and work on it often!
Have fun, keep practicing and you won’t miss a beat!