The Role of the Parent in Music Education

Introduction

            Research has shown that a child’s musical aptitude becomes stable at approximately nine years old (Gordon, 1998). A child’s environment has a great impact upon all areas of their development. A music teacher interacts with a child for a small amount of time when compared to the time they spend at home with their parents or caregiver. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of the parent in a child’s musical development as well as the actions educators can take in order to encourage a musically rich home environment for each child.

Summary

Parents have an immeasurable impact on the life of a child. They pass on their genetic makeup to form an entirely unique new being. There is some evidence that suggests that the musical aptitude of a child is independent from their parents (Guerrini, 2005). Regardless of any correlation of aptitude, it is important that parents create a rich and varied musical environment for their children (Guerrini, 2005; Zdzinski, 1996). The home is a special place that offers invaluable experiences for children that educators could never even hope to provide. It is imperative that educators and parents cooperate to provide the best possible environment in which to foster musical growth and achievement (Guerrini, 2005; Zdzinski, 1996; Schryer, 2005).

There are many ways in which educators can encourage and facilitate the musical development of a child. However, a music teacher may only see a child for one hour during an entire week. One of the best ways to help children is to ensure that the student’s musical development is also encouraged outside of the classroom. It is our responsibility as educators to provide parents with strategies to help their own children. There are many publications that offer techniques and advice to educators, parents and students alike. “Remember, your parents are your pals.” (Schryer, 2005, p. 29) As educators, we must continually seek out such resources and pass them along to our students and their parents. We must strive to make parents aware of the monumental impact they have on their child’s education, in and out of classroom (Guerrini, 2005; Zdzinski, 1996; Schryer, 2005).

Conclusion

Environment is one of the most influential factors in a child’s musical development. In fact, environmental influences can be strong enough to significantly alter a child’s innate musical ability. For example, a child who has incredibly musical parents may be born with low musical intelligence. However, such parents are likely to provide a musically enriching environment for that child. Of course, the opposite is equally possible. Parents may provide a very sparse musical environment but still have children who are innately musically gifted. This means that as educators, we never know what to expect from any child. However, we can be sure that parental involvement will positively influence a child’s musical experience. Therefore, it is important that we take steps to encourage parental involvement at all levels of education. There are many conduits through which we can do so. Scholarly journals and professional conferences are invaluable resources to draw upon for inspiration. We must continually aspire to incorporate new strategies into our teaching and effectively communicate them to parents and administrators.

References

Gordon, E. E. (1998). Introduction to research and the psychology of music. Chicago, IL: GIA.

Guerrini, S. C. (2005). An investigation of the association between the music aptitude of elementary students and their biological parents. Update - Applications of Research in Music Education, 24(1), 27-33. Retrieved September 12, 2007 from the International Index to Music Periodicals.

Schryer, D. (2005). Your parents, your pals: Five ways mom and pop can support your musical journey. Teen Strings, Fall,28-29. Retrieved September 12, 2007 from the International Index to Music Periodicals.

Zdzinski, S. F. (1996). Parental involvement, selected student attributes, and learning outcomes in instrumental music. Journal of Research in Music Education, 44, 34-48. Retrieved October 13, 2007 from the JSTOR database.