WEBVTT 00:00:19.906 --> 00:00:22.138 Music is a language. 00:00:22.893 --> 00:00:26.601 Both music and verbal languages serve the same purpose. 00:00:26.601 --> 00:00:29.857 They are both forms of expression. 00:00:29.857 --> 00:00:33.615 They can be used as a way to communicate with others. 00:00:33.615 --> 00:00:36.819 They can be read or written. 00:00:36.819 --> 00:00:38.667 They can make you laugh or cry, 00:00:38.667 --> 00:00:39.923 think or question, 00:00:39.923 --> 00:00:43.333 and can speak to one or many. 00:00:43.333 --> 00:00:47.917 And both can definitely make you move. 00:00:50.241 --> 00:00:53.572 In some instances music works better than the spoken word, 00:00:53.572 --> 00:00:55.491 because it doesn't have to be understood 00:00:55.491 --> 00:00:57.908 to be effective. 00:00:59.386 --> 00:01:02.449 Although many musicians agree that music is a language, 00:01:02.449 --> 00:01:05.524 it is rarely treated as such. 00:01:05.524 --> 00:01:07.149 Many of us treat it as something 00:01:07.149 --> 00:01:09.018 that can only be learned by following 00:01:09.018 --> 00:01:11.051 a strict regimen, under the tutelage 00:01:11.051 --> 00:01:13.455 of a skilled teacher. 00:01:13.455 --> 00:01:16.102 This approach has been followed for hundreds of years 00:01:16.102 --> 00:01:21.150 with proven success, but it takes a long time. 00:01:21.150 --> 00:01:23.225 Too long. 00:01:30.657 --> 00:01:34.256 Think about the first language you learn as a child. 00:01:34.256 --> 00:01:39.038 More importantly, think about how you learned it. 00:01:39.038 --> 00:01:41.119 You were a baby when you first started speaking, 00:01:41.119 --> 00:01:43.718 and even tough you spoke the language incorrectly 00:01:43.718 --> 00:01:45.424 you were allowed to make mistakes. 00:01:45.424 --> 00:01:47.678 And the more mistakes you made 00:01:47.678 --> 00:01:50.830 the more your parents smiled. 00:01:54.676 --> 00:01:57.700 Learning to speak was not something you were sent somewhere to do 00:01:57.700 --> 00:01:59.650 only a few times a week. 00:01:59.650 --> 00:02:01.622 And the majority of the people you spoke to 00:02:01.622 --> 00:02:03.074 were not beginners. 00:02:03.074 --> 00:02:06.626 They were already proficient speakers. 00:02:07.473 --> 00:02:10.622 Imagine your parents forcing you to only speak to other babies 00:02:10.622 --> 00:02:14.966 until you were good enough to speak to them. 00:02:14.966 --> 00:02:16.741 You would probably be an adult before 00:02:16.741 --> 00:02:21.447 you could properly carry on a proper conversation. 00:02:21.955 --> 00:02:25.509 To use a musical term, as a baby you were allowed 00:02:25.509 --> 00:02:28.858 to jam with professionals. 00:02:36.366 --> 00:02:39.220 If we approach music in the same natural way 00:02:39.220 --> 00:02:41.121 we aproached our first language 00:02:41.121 --> 00:02:43.128 we will learn to speak it in the same short time 00:02:43.128 --> 00:02:45.844 it took to speak our first language. 00:02:45.844 --> 00:02:48.379 Proof of this could be seen in almost any family 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:53.798 where a child grows up with other musicians in the family. 00:03:26.200 --> 00:03:30.205 Here are a few keys to follow in learning or teaching music: 00:03:30.205 --> 00:03:36.245 in the beginning embrace mistakes, instead of correcting them. 00:03:36.245 --> 00:03:42.172 Like a child playing air guitar, there are no wrong notes. 00:03:42.172 --> 00:03:44.045 Allow young musicians to play 00:03:44.045 --> 00:03:46.096 and perform with accomplished musicians 00:03:46.096 --> 00:03:48.533 on a daily basis. 00:03:48.533 --> 00:03:52.648 Encourage young musicians to play more than they practice. 00:03:52.648 --> 00:03:56.315 The more they play the more they will practice on their own. 00:03:56.315 --> 00:04:00.707 Music comes from the musician, not the instrument. 00:04:01.752 --> 00:04:04.203 And most importantly, remember that 00:04:04.203 --> 00:04:07.061 a language works best when we have 00:04:07.061 --> 00:04:09.759 something interesting to say. 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:11.474 Many music teachers never find out 00:04:11.474 --> 00:04:13.009 what the students have to say. 00:04:13.009 --> 00:04:17.856 We only tell them what they are supposed to say. 00:04:21.088 --> 00:04:23.630 A child speaks a language for years, 00:04:23.630 --> 00:04:26.229 before they even learn the alphabet. 00:04:26.229 --> 00:04:27.948 Too many rules at the onset, 00:04:27.948 --> 00:04:31.261 will actually slow them down. 00:04:31.261 --> 00:04:33.695 In my eyes, the approach to music 00:04:33.695 --> 00:04:36.480 should be the same. 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:39.861 After all, music is a language too.