Characteristics of Gifted Children Being “in love” with music Caee Assignment

Characteristics of Gifted Children Being “in love” with music Caee Assignment

Order ID	53563633773
Type	Essay
Writer Level	Masters
Style	APA
Sources/References	4
Perfect Number of Pages to Order	5-10 Pages

Description/Paper Instructions

Characteristics of Gifted Children Being “in love” with music Caee Assignment

 

 

Musical giftedness is a mys- tical thing. I have not yet heard an adequate expla- nation about how it hap-

pens,” mused Jeremy Woolhouse, a Melbourne, Australia, jazz piano teacher and performer. He described one of his students, a 12-year-old boy, who has “incredible musicality” and learns extremely quickly. Sometimes this seemed to occur with little or no prac- tice and with a conscious decision from his family, not to “push” for practice.

Children who show exceptional musical skills usually learn quickly and are motivated to play. They are drawn to listen to music, often relish per- forming and may also compose. Did they “draw the long straw” by being born talented or have they learned to be that way? What conditions should there be for a talented child to reach his or her full potential?

Different terminology exists to describe gifted children, and the terms “gifted,” “prodigy” and “talented” come with inherent assumptions about how they got that way. Some academ- ics do not believe there is such a thing as an innately talented child. “Potential for musical ability” may be a better word to describe a child who, to oth- ers, may be a child prodigy. For my purposes I’ll use the terms interchange- ably, but will present the case for both sides of the gifted coin.

Child Prodigies Johann Sebastian Bach famously

played down any “natural talent” when

he said, “I was obliged to work hard. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed just as well.” Others disagree with his assessment.

David Henry Feldman, writer of Nature’s Gambit, a book that studies the development of human prodigies, cites many instances of talented chil- dren who showed an intense interest in their special field from an extremely young age. One of the subjects of Feldman’s studies was Nils Kirkendahl (not his real name) who showed an interest in music before age 3 and was spellbound by hearing Tchaikovsky recordings before his third birthday. By his fourth birthday, he seemed to have an intuitive understanding of the music, one which was strikingly differ- ent from the other children in his Suzuki class.1

I spoke to some adults who were gifted as children, to understand more about their experiences. Kim, a violin- ist from West Chester, Pennsylvania, said, “I loved anything and everything violin. I loved listening to any style of

Judy Judge is a Melbourne, Australia, based writer with a spe- cial interest in music. She sings with a number of community vocal groups and enjoys performing to anyone who’ll listen! She would have loved to have been a child prodigy, but, sadly, wasn’t.

14 APRIL/MAY 2009

Musical Talent

Born Genius? By Judy Judge

“

Features:Features 3/9/09 12:02 PM Page 14

AMERICAN MUSIC TEACHER 15

it, classical or fiddle, and I liked to per- form for my family and friends.” Kim began playing at 4, had a first solo at a concert at 7, joined the “Select Strings” group at 9 and was first chair in the school orchestra at 11.

David Helfgott, the subject of the film Shine is one of Australia’s most well-known child prodigies. He was not so dramatically attuned to music at a young age though, says his sister, Margaret in her book Out of tune. For the first few years of music lessons, he was completely incapable of distin- guishing one note from another. But by age 8, he showed a dramatic and excep- tional change in ability where every- thing fell into place. From then on he had an absolute passion for the piano, never needing to be told to practice and rushing home from school to play. Helfgott says her brother was “com- pletely in love with the piano from the minute he could touch the keys. He was both entranced and seduced by the sounds it could produce.”2

Characteristics Of Gifted Children Being “in love” with music is com-

mon in talented children. Hypersensitivity to sound is another indication of a child prodigy-in- progress. Mozart was physically ill if exposed to loud sounds, sometimes described as having “sensitive ears.” Yehudi Menuhin, at age 4, broke his toy violin because it would not “sing.” This may have been an indication of an early intense interest in musical and environmental sounds, and a sophisti- cated sense of “goodness” of timbre and tone, common in talented children.

Menuhin’s father also seems to have believed in the mystical quality of his son’s ability, remarking that he was a normal little boy who liked to swim, hike and eat ice cream. “But when he picks up his violin he becomes a stranger to us––there is something uncanny about him,” Menuhin’s father said.3

The characteristics common to chil- dren who show “natural potential to achieve” described by Gary McPherson and Aaron Williamon4 include intellec- tual skills that allow for fluid reasoning

and abstract thinking to develop and the ability to think divergently, use inventiveness, imagination and origi- nality. Children must have a certain socio-affective perceptiveness, with skills including tactfulness, leadership abilities and use of persuasion. Also present should be well-developed sen- sory skills: visual, auditory, smell and touch. Motor skills including strength, endurance, good reflexes and coordina- tion will be highly developed.

Sensitivity to the structure (tonality) of music, key, harmony and rhythm and the ability to hear the expressive qualities of music is another core ability in children with musical talent.5 This allows them to remember, play back, transpose, improvise and create music. Mozart began composing at age 5.

Other skills may be the ability to sing back heard songs earlier than other children––perhaps even before they talk. Normally this occurs at about 2 years. Some children can match pitches by their second year and often after one listening.

Rose, from Ypsilanti, Michigan, was considered a child vocal prodigy in her early years. She said, “I was singing (and on key) as soon as I could talk, which was sometime around 1 year of age. My mother told me that once, when she was sitting at a lunch count- er with me as an infant, some classical music came over the radio speakers and I started to cry. The person next to her said ‘that’s a sign that your child will be a musician.’”

Nature Or Nurture? Are these skills inborn or learned?

Giftedness certainly requires some phys- ical innate skill, such as “having a good ear,” and the ability to physically play a certain instrument, for example having a good-sized hand span, good physical coordination or even hypersensitivity to music from a young age. Certain condi- tions must still prevail if this child’s musical skill is to be developed.

Human beings are born with the potential to be “musical,” argues John Sloboda, director of the unit for the study of musical skill and development,

Keele University, United Kingdom, in his 2005 book Exploring the Musical Mind.6 He says that evidence for inher- itance of differences in specific intellec- tual and mental characteristics is very hard to find. No specific gene has been found that indicates high IQ. He believes orientation towards sound is likely to be a universal and natural fea- ture of all human beings and that posi- tive musical experiences influence how children develop musically.

In a detailed study on the motiva- tional factors affecting musical learn- ing, it was found that children can have motivational orientation or “resis- tance to failure.” Some will use failure as a motivation to do better (mastery orientation) and some use it to stop them making an effort (helpless orien- tation).7

What else influences musical talent?

Cultural Values Cultural values and beliefs where

music is valued must prevail. Kim said, “My dad was my rock in terms of understanding and explaining musical theory and practice.” Coming from a very musical family, as Kim did, is also a common background of gifted chil- dren. Rose described her support sys- tem as the most important influence in developing her talent, despite lack of immediate family support, due in part to the early death of her father. “People in the music world took me under their wing and kept me from damaging my voice.” Her school music teacher mentored and guided her and, later, Anatol Rapoport taught her for free.

Parents And Teachers Parents who emphasize intrinsic val-

ues such as appreciation and aesthetic enrichment provide the ideal circum- stances for talent to develop. A study by Yun Dai and Shrader found children whose parents expressed “extrinsic orien- tation” by emphasizing outside achieve- ments rather than internal ones, pushed their children to practice for the “wrong” reasons and may have caused a loss of effort and concentration. Successful childrens’ parents emphasized

Musical Talent: Born Genius?

Features:Features 3/9/09 12:02 PM Page 15

16 APRIL/MAY 2009

holistic development, self-discipline, diligence and academic achievement.8

Kim said, “My main concern is the competitive aspect of activities that should be fun…sometimes there is too much pressure to be the best…the hobby that once was fun for the child has now become more of a chore and a goal…. But not always a fun goal.”

The choice of a music teacher who suits the particular child’s learning style, may also contribute toward suc- cess. Music teacher, Jeremy Woolhouse believes he is suited to teach the rebel- lious child who may not fit the mold of traditional learning styles and may be looking for something a bit “out there” in a music teacher. The personal warmth of a child’s music teacher is also vital during the initial stages of music teaching.

There is also a need to showcase achievements through performances.

Practice High-level practice is usually

required. Suggestions exist that 10,000 hours of practice, in violin, is needed before a professional career can be undertaken.

Personality Some children are more motivated

to learn and seek appropriate tasks to help this. Their volition, that is, will- ingness, concentration, persistence, distractibility, reaction to obstacles, boredom and reaction to failure can all affect music learning. A child’s own self-management is important, includ- ing his ability to focus efforts on a spe- cific task for hours or days on end, monitoring and controlling learning, sustaining efforts, even when tired and ability to plan.

Children who show potential for musical development may show per- sonal traits such as over-excitability in psychomotor, emotional, intellectual, sensual, imaginational and emotional areas. Expanded awareness, intensified emotions or increased levels of intellec- tual or physical activity may be exhib- ited. A deep love for the sound of a particular instrument and an almost fanatical love of a particular composer, genre or type of music may exist. Such

traits can work against the child if he places unreasonable expectations on himself, causing stress, burn-out and unhealthy self-criticism and physical, social or emotional difficulties.

Physical characteristics can affect a child’s potential: body build and hand span will affect the type of instrument that might be chosen and repertoire he is able to play.

Rose’s summary of her particular talent was, “I was born with this voice and with the musical sensibility to accompany it.” She had what she believed was an innate love of serious music and that hers and others gifted- ness “simply ‘is’…what’s learned is skill, technique, craft and so on. But the gift is what you get with the rest of your genetic soup.”

Role Of Chance Being in the right place at the right

time should not be underestimated. Louis Armstrong blew a tin horn as he worked for a scrap metal collector to announce his arrival in the neighbor- hood. He then developed his talent by playing informal concerts, beginning his music career. James Morrison, tal- ented Australian multi-instrumentalist, began playing the cornet in his local elementary school band and attributes his beginnings in part to his first music teacher. Being in the right place at the right time should not be downgraded to, “it would have happened anyway.” Perhaps not!

Mystery Factor We know that talent can be nurtured.

We also know genetics can help a child along the path to talent. What then, is the “mystery factor”described by teach- ers and parents and evidenced by skills shown by some young musicians?

In his 2006 autobiography, Blowing My Own Trumpet, Morrison relates the strange story of “virtual learning.” After being mesmerized while watch- ing a fellow band member play the bass during a concert, he dreamed of playing and practiced the fingering in his dream. When he woke, not only did he have calluses on his fingers, but he was able to play the instrument despite having never done so in reality.

He now visualizes or dreams of the practice he needs to do, often finding it more valuable than the real thing.9

Five-year-old budding trumpeting talent, Geoffrey Gallante, was described by his music teacher, Dave Detwiler, in 2006: “When I met Geoffrey I asked him to do a couple of things, I won’t go into detail, I asked him to play a couple of scales, and everything, I just looked at him, I looked around at the horn to see if there was a button on the horn, you know, if this is one of those you push the button and the horn plays. That’s how good he was, I was amazed.”10

I guess the mysterious elements of music talent will never be explained. We can debate how children become talented, but I like to think that the mystery will remain, to give us all a lit- tle wonder and a taste of the unknown when we see a new talent emerge.

g NOTES 1. David Henry Feldman, Nature’s

Gambit (New York: Teachers’ College Press, 1991), 24–26.

Margaret Helfgott, Out of Tune (New York: Warner Books, 1981), 41.

Nicholas Ingman, Gifted Children of Music: the Young Lives of the Great Musicians (London: Ward Lock, 1978), 88.

Gary McPherson and Aaron Williamon, “Giftedness and Talent” in The Child as Musician: A Handbook of Musical Development, ed. McPherson, 242 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006).

Ibid., 243. 6. John Sloboda, Exploring the

Musical Mind: Cognition, Emotion, Ability, Function (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), 297–299.

Ibid., 300. 8. McPherson, Child as Musician,

247. 9. James Morrison, Blowing My

Own Trumpet (Sydney: Murdoch Books, 2006), 271.

9 News, “JC & Friends: Geoffrey Gallante,” 2006, www.wusa9.com/news/news/_article.as px?storyid=47305 (accessed January 21, 2007).

AMT

Musical Talent: Born Genius?

Features:Features 3/9/09 12:02 PM Page 16

Characteristics of Gifted Children Being “in love” with music Caee Assignment

RUBRIC QUALITY OF RESPONSE NO RESPONSE POOR / UNSATISFACTORY SATISFACTORY GOOD EXCELLENT Content (worth a maximum of 50% of the total points) Zero points:  Student failed to submit the final paper. 20 points out of 50:  The essay illustrates poor understanding of the relevant material by failing to address or incorrectly addressing the relevant content; failing to identify or inaccurately explaining/defining key concepts/ideas; ignoring or incorrectly explaining key points/claims and the reasoning behind them; and/or incorrectly or inappropriately using terminology; and elements of the response are lacking. 30 points out of 50:  The essay illustrates a rudimentary understanding of the relevant material by mentioning but not full explaining the relevant content; identifying some of the key concepts/ideas though failing to fully or accurately explain many of them; using terminology, though sometimes inaccurately or inappropriately; and/or incorporating some key claims/points but failing to explain the reasoning behind them or doing so inaccurately.  Elements of the required response may also be lacking. 40 points out of 50:  The essay illustrates solid understanding of the relevant material by correctly addressing most of the relevant content; identifying and explaining most of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology; explaining the reasoning behind most of the key points/claims; and/or where necessary or useful, substantiating some points with accurate examples.  The answer is complete. 50 points:  The essay illustrates exemplary understanding of the relevant material by thoroughly and correctly addressing the relevant content; identifying and explaining all of the key concepts/ideas; using correct terminology explaining the reasoning behind key points/claims and substantiating, as necessary/useful, points with several accurate and illuminating examples.  No aspects of the required answer are missing. Use of Sources (worth a maximum of 20% of the total points). Zero points:  Student failed to include citations and/or references. Or the student failed to submit a final paper. 5 out 20 points:  Sources are seldom cited to support statements and/or format of citations are not recognizable as APA 6th Edition format. There are major errors in the formation of the references and citations. And/or there is a major reliance on highly questionable. The Student fails to provide an adequate synthesis of research collected for the paper. 10 out 20 points:  References to scholarly sources are occasionally given; many statements seem unsubstantiated.  Frequent errors in APA 6th Edition format, leaving the reader confused about the source of the information. There are significant errors of the formation in the references and citations. And/or there is a significant use of highly questionable sources. 15 out 20 points:  Credible Scholarly sources are used effectively support claims and are, for the most part, clear and fairly represented.  APA 6th Edition is used with only a few minor errors.  There are minor errors in reference and/or citations. And/or there is some use of questionable sources. 20 points:  Credible scholarly sources are used to give compelling evidence to support claims and are clearly and fairly represented.  APA 6th Edition format is used accurately and consistently. The student uses above the maximum required references in the development of the assignment. Grammar (worth maximum of 20% of total points) Zero points:  Student failed to submit the final paper. 5 points out of 20:  The paper does not communicate ideas/points clearly due to inappropriate use of terminology and vague language; thoughts and sentences are disjointed or incomprehensible; organization lacking; and/or numerous grammatical, spelling/punctuation errors  10 points out 20:  The paper is often unclear and difficult to follow due to some inappropriate terminology and/or vague language; ideas may be fragmented, wandering and/or repetitive; poor organization; and/or some grammatical, spelling, punctuation errors 15 points out of 20:  The paper is mostly clear as a result of appropriate use of terminology and minimal vagueness; no tangents and no repetition; fairly good organization; almost perfect grammar, spelling, punctuation, and word usage. 20 points:  The paper is clear, concise, and a pleasure to read as a result of appropriate and precise use of terminology; total coherence of thoughts and presentation and logical organization; and the essay is error free. Structure of the Paper (worth 10% of total points) Zero points:  Student failed to submit the final paper. 3 points out of 10: Student needs to develop better formatting skills. The paper omits significant structural elements required for and APA 6th edition paper. Formatting of the paper has major flaws. The paper does not conform to APA 6th edition requirements whatsoever. 5 points out of 10: Appearance of final paper demonstrates the student’s limited ability to format the paper. There are significant errors in formatting and/or the total omission of major components of an APA 6th edition paper. They can include the omission of the cover page, abstract, and page numbers. Additionally the page has major formatting issues with spacing or paragraph formation. Font size might not conform to size requirements.  The student also significantly writes too large or too short of and paper 7 points out of 10: Research paper presents an above-average use of formatting skills. The paper has slight errors within the paper. This can include small errors or omissions with the cover page, abstract, page number, and headers. There could be also slight formatting issues with the document spacing or the font Additionally the paper might slightly exceed or undershoot the specific number of required written pages for the assignment. 10 points: Student provides a high-caliber, formatted paper. This includes an APA 6th edition cover page, abstract, page number, headers and is double spaced in 12’ Times Roman Font. Additionally, the paper conforms to the specific number of required written pages and neither goes over or under the specified length of the paper.
GET THIS PROJECT NOW BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK TO PLACE THE ORDER CLICK ON THE LINK HERE:  https://essaysolver.com/orders/ordernow You Can Also Place the Order In www.perfectacademic.com/orders/ordernow / www.essaysolver.com/orders/ordernow
Do You Have Any Other Essay/Assignment/Class Project/Homework Related to this? Click Here Now [CLICK ME] and Have It Done by Our PhD Qualified Writers!!

PLACE THE ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!

Do You Have Any Other Essay/Assignment/Class Project/Homework Related to this? Click Here Now [CLICK ME] and Have It Done by Our PhD Qualified Writers!!

Why Work With Us!!

• Tired of getting an average grade in all your school assignments, projects, essays, and homework? Try us today for all your academic schoolwork needs. We are among the most trusted and recognized professional writing services in the market.

• We provide unique, original and plagiarism-free high quality academic, homework, assignments and essay submissions for all our clients. At our company, we capitalize on producing A+ Grades for all our clients and also ensure that you have smooth academic progress in all your school term and semesters.

• High-quality academic submissions, A 100% plagiarism-free submission, Meet even the most urgent deadlines, Provide our services to you at the most competitive rates in the market, Give you free revisions until you meet your desired grades and Provide you with 24/7 customer support service via calls or live chats.