8 Ways How to Teach Perfect Pitch to Children
Do you want to teach your children the perfect pitch?
I am a composition graduate who majored in classical composition and have perfect pitch. I have perfect pitch, not because I was born with it, but because of the influence of piano lessons I learned as a child. When I was in school, more than 90% of the students in the composition department had perfect pitch. Piano and violin players who are not composers often have perfect pitch, and I have realized that this ability to perceive perfect pitch can give them a wider sense of satisfaction in life.
This ability can bring joy to life, not only for musicians but also for non-musicians. For example, when you listen to music, you can appreciate the music more broadly, and if you can read and write music, you can picture the score in your head. This perfect pitch ability has a huge impact on the formation of a child’s EQ and IQ, and helps them maximize their imagination and engage in creative activities.
Educating children on perfect pitch by having them learn music from a young age can have a very positive impact on their lives. Even if perfect pitch is not innate, it can be taught perfectly when a child is 3 to 7 years old. Children at this age are developing their brain perception, so if they learn music, they will absorb it 100%. Abilities that can only be formed in childhood, such as perfect pitch, are a very good advantage whether the baby grows up to pursue music as a hobby or pursue other activities in his life.
8 Ways How to Teach Perfect Pitch to Children
What is perfect pitch?
Perfect pitch is the ability to guess what note it is when you hear it. This is the ability to hear a note of a specific frequency and identify the scale name of that note.
For example, when you play ‘la’ (440 Hz) on the piano, you will immediately recognize the note as ‘la’. Or, when some music is played, you can immediately recognize the key of that music, and when you hear the music, you can immediately recognize the notes of that music.
People with this type of perfect pitch can memorize notes right away when playing or listening to music and rarely need to match scales when playing an instrument or singing.
This ability may be innate, but it can almost always be developed through training, such as playing a musical instrument at a young age. People with perfect pitch can work in the music industry as music producers, composers, performers, etc., and can also exercise this ability as a hobby.
Even if the parents do not have perfect pitch, can they teach their children perfect pitch?
Yes, my parents didn’t have perfect pitch either. However, thanks to learning piano as a child, I developed perfect pitch. Perfect pitch is a great ability for me when listening to music or composing music, and it was a great help when I was taking the college entrance exam for composition. Even if they are not necessarily musicians, when I often meet people who have perfect pitch, I find that when they listen to music, they understand music more broadly due to their perfect pitch ability.
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How to teach your child perfect pitch 8 ways
1. hearing enhancement
One way to teach your child perfect pitch is through auditory reinforcement. You can strengthen your hearing by introducing your child to a variety of music and getting them used to the sounds of musical instruments. Additionally, you can strengthen your hearing by frequently listening to music and hearing various rhythms and voices in your daily life, expanding the sounds you usually hear.
2. Voice recognition
You can improve your child’s hearing ability by practicing voice recognition with your child, such as making short and long sounds with your mouth. In particular, you can train your child’s hearing by helping them recognize sounds of various pitches, such as high and low sounds, when they produce sounds with their mouth.
3. Singing
Singing with your mouth is one of the most important elements of teaching perfect pitch. In fact, this is something you practice even when taking college classes, and you can develop your ability to distinguish notes by singing with your mouth. Singing nursery rhymes with your child can have a very positive impact on developing perfect pitch skills.
4. Instrument experience
Experiencing a variety of sounds by playing various instruments with your child has a very good effect not only on the development of perfect pitch but also on mental health. Not only actually playing an instrument, but also listening to the sound of the instrument through activities such as attending a concert has a great impact on forming perfect pitch.
5. Games and activities
These days, a lot of various music content has been released, including apps, textbooks, and YouTube videos. Among them, you can use an app that allows you to play music games to help your child learn sounds through games. Simple music quizzes or sound recognition games can stimulate your child’s interest and make learning more enjoyable.
6. Listen to music naturally in everyday life
Naturally listening to music in daily life has a very positive effect on a child’s emotional development. For example, listening to music while eating or riding in the car can enhance the acoustic experience and promote your child’s auditory development.
7. Positive expressions
Providing positive feedback when your child identifies the correct pitch can help build his or her confidence. This is essential throughout a child’s education and encourages the child’s efforts through praise and rewards.
8. Expert advice
If necessary, you can further improve your child’s musical ability with the help of a professional, such as a piano lesson teacher. However, unless you want to become a professional musician, entrusting your child to a professional teacher for perfect pitch education can be expensive. Therefore, we recommend that you start by listening to music and singing with your mom.
Start teaching your child perfect pitch
Teaching your child perfect pitch can be a good education. In particular, since music can be enjoyed by anyone, it can be educational at any time just by playing music. Above, we learned how to teach perfect pitch to a child. Even if the goal is not to achieve perfect pitch, music education has a huge impact on a child’s emotional development.
Is it possible to teach perfect pitch even if you don’t have a piano at home?
For a child’s music education, it can be said that it is better to have a piano at home than not to have one. However, if your child is not yet old enough to play the piano, music education can be provided using toy instruments. Here’s how you can experience music even if you don’t have a piano at home.
- Kids Musical Instruments Toys Set
- LOOIKOOS Toddler Musical Instruments Toys
- BIGFUN Kid Keyboard Piano – 37 Keys
- Kids Keyboard Piano 37 Keys with Microphone
- Rock and Roll It – The Original Rainbow Piano.
Above are musical toys that children can play with on a daily basis. Because you can listen to music while playing, you can strengthen your hearing and have fun experiencing various sounds.
How to improve your child’s musicality
Most children first start playing an instrument and learn the notes through the piano. A piano has 88 keys, and each key has a different frequency, so the sound is different. If you press a key and guess what the notes are without looking at the key, you can say you have perfect pitch.
So how can we improve children’s musicality and reach perfect pitch?
Various musical activities
You can develop your children’s musical skills through musical games and activities designed for children. For example, playing various music games such as music games, music puzzles, and rhythm games helps children develop their musical understanding as well as their brain development.
- Play Music: Play music is a fun way for children to learn and practice musical concepts. For example, you can improve your child’s sense of rhythm and musical understanding through play such as jumping or dancing to musical signals or moving according to musical elements.
- Music Puzzle: Music puzzles are games where you combine or match musical elements. You can improve your child’s musical knowledge and pattern recognition through activities such as making words using music notes or solving puzzles that match musical patterns.
- Rhythm game: Rhythm game is a type of game in which you play the game by pressing buttons or executing actions in time with the music. Children can improve their sense of rhythm by following the music by pressing or touching the buttons.
- Musical Instrument Experience: Trying out various musical instruments is also an important activity. You can stimulate your child’s musical curiosity and increase their understanding of various instruments through the experience of touching and playing various instruments in a music studio or museum.
- Creative Activities: Help children create and perform their own music. You can develop your child’s creativity and musical expression through activities such as making their own music by playing an instrument or expressing music with their body.
Using these musical ideas while playing with your child can enhance their musicality more than playing with regular toys together.
Frequently Asked Questions about Teaching Perfect Pitch to Children
The following is a response to common questions about teaching perfect pitch to children.
What age should you learn perfect pitch?
There is no specific age to learn perfect pitch. However, children can benefit from being exposed to a musical environment and learning to play the piano or other instruments from a very young age.
Can perfect pitch be taught?
Perfect pitch can be taught, but it tends to develop through a combination of innate factors and early musical education.
How do I know if my child has perfect pitch?
If you want to know if a child has perfect pitch, pay attention to their interest in and ability to understand musical elements. If a child can accurately identify specific notes when listening to or playing music, they may have perfect pitch.
Is perfect pitch genetic or learned?
Perfect pitch is innate, but it can also develop through environmental factors and early musical education.
Do babies have perfect pitch?
Babies are not typically born with perfect pitch, but young children can learn to distinguish and learn specific musical elements.
Is perfect pitch just memorization?
Perfect pitch is not just about memorization. People with perfect pitch can immediately identify notes and perform them based on their knowledge and understanding of musical elements.
Is perfect pitch autism?
Perfect pitch is not related to autism. Some individuals on the autism spectrum may have perfect pitch, but it is not a common characteristic.
Is perfect pitch related to IQ?
Perfect pitch is not directly related to intelligence. People with perfect pitch come from various levels of intelligence.
What age is too late for perfect pitch?
There isn’t a specific age that’s too late to learn perfect pitch. However, starting musical education at a younger age, typically between 3 to 7 years old, may increase the likelihood of developing perfect pitch.
Why is perfect pitch so rare?
Perfect pitch may seem rare because it’s a natural ability that doesn’t necessarily require genetic factors or special training. However, most people with perfect pitch have learned music at a very young age. Therefore, exposing children to a lot of music and providing them with musical experiences at a young age can help them develop perfect pitch.
What are the differences between perfect pitch and relative pitch?
Perfect pitch is the ability to identify or produce a musical note without any reference point, while relative pitch is the ability to identify or produce a musical note in relation to another note or a reference point. Perfect pitch involves recognizing the pitch of a note by memory or intuition alone, while relative pitch involves understanding the intervals between notes and the relationship between pitches.
When is the best time to train a child in perfect pitch?
The most suitable time to train perfect pitch is generally between the ages of 3 and 7 when children’s brains are flexible, and their musical perception is developing. During this period, children acquire new skills and are exposed to music through musical experiences, making it appropriate for training perfect pitch.
How to Teach Perfect Pitch to Children – Summary
I hope you enjoyed reading this article on teaching perfect pitch to children. If your child has never been exposed to music before, you can enhance their musicality by playing with musical toys at home or by teaching them to play the piano.
The methods for teaching perfect pitch to children are diverse as follows.
- hearing enhancement
- Voice recognition
- Singing
- Instrument experience
- Games and activities
- Listen to music naturally in everyday life
- Positive expressions
- Expert advice
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