7 Signs That Your Kid is Musically Inclined
As a parent or guardian, you must try to recognize talent in your kids at an early age. It is the best way to help nurture that talent. For toddlers, signs of musical talent can remain hidden for long. That said, musically gifted children tend to be more progressive. Their toes start tapping, and their bodies start rocking as soon as they hear a tune or a melody. Be it in ways in which they dance or listen to music. The signs that give away future musical geniuses might be right under your nose. Here, we expound on some common signs that your kid is musically inclined.
Movements
Musically gifted children tend to have a rhythmic and a musical way of moving, according to research. Therefore, it is essential to watch the movements of your child. They are likely to tap their toes in time, sway or walk to music. Even as they lack the technical and vocal skills on instruments to match, they will follow along with their bodies. Your child might tap into a tambourine on beat in time, to melody or beat a drum on the sound of a jam.
Generally, a person with high musical talent naturally feels all the elements of music. Musically gifted will show this ability even before the age of 3! They will also tend to keep time better than their agemates. Well, watch how your child moves as they listen to music. Do they match the beat and style of the music? They might be talented in music!
Playing instruments
As a parent, you should allow and encourage your child to play different kinds of instruments. Show them how to play the piano or guitar, for instance. Give them room to try to reproduce the tune they hear. Provide a child with the musical instrument that he or she likes: it could be a rather affordable digital piano under $1000, so you don’t need to spend a lot of money. A musically gifted child will hack the challenge or even come up with their own original version. When your child appears to notice when a song is played in the wrong key or an instrument is out of tune, this is an example of heightened sensitivity to sound! Some children can correctly identify a note immediately upon hearing, something known as “perfect pitch”.
Identifying Sounds
Your child may be so musically talented that they can name a song by just hearing a few notes. Without much effort, musically gifted kids can differentiate one note from another sound pattern. They can also distinguish different sounds coming from, say, nuances of a spoon falling off the table or a coin rolling down the floor. Musically inclined kids will memorize tunes they just heard once! They may hear tinkling sounds of varying pitches while other kids just hear jumbled sounds of a spoon or coin. Your kid may also be listening to the world in a different way perhaps noticing sounds that you may never hear. You might notice this if they hum as they sing a song or if they mention instrumental parts of a song. Pay particular attention to your child’s conversations, especially those that are related to all that he hears around him.
Enjoys a lot of Music!
If your child is the kind who likes listening to one song over and over, chances are your child is different from the average kid in terms of art. Your child might be inclined towards music and dance compared to other talents. Check if your child frequently hums to songs as they sing. Try to assess if the kid has some addiction to listening to music. Pay attention when there’s music playing in the background. You can use platforms such as Spotify or SoundCloud to listen to music together with your child and observe them.
The good thing is that these days, there are numerous proposed musically gifted tests. They will help determine if your child is musically talented. Remember, these tests are just supposed to give you an overview. They don’t measure true “talent.” They assess your child’s current level of musical listening ability. Of course, everything can be improved with practice and professional help.
Matching Pitch
Matching pitch is one of the vital cornerstones of musicality for both children and adults. How well a child matches pitch with their voice is another good sign of this talent. According to the Kodaly Method, the voice is always the first and most effective tool in developing a child’s aural skills. This is the main reason why almost every single music method teaches sound before symbols when teaching notes. In music, a gifted child will be able to match your pitch whether you play it on an instrument or sing. Again, this does not mean that they will be able to get the correct and precise pitches.
Emotional Intelligence
This is yet another response that may indicate musical talent in your toddler. Now, musically gifted children will experience heightened emotions when listening to music. For instance, a happy song may lift a child’s mood, but a sad one might produce tears. If music deeply affects your child’s mood, they may be experiencing it differently from other children of his age. This sign is easier to observe as children grow up. Emotional intelligence is not always a sign of musical genius. That said, it indeed suggests intellectual sophistication that should be developed.
Vertical Listening
By hearing music vertically, one gets to pick out the harmony, key instrumental accompaniment and most importantly, the harmony. If a child can identify or sing along with the bassline or harmony of a song, this is a clear sign of a deep understanding of how music works!
Final Remarks
Discerning whether your child has an exceptional musical talent isn’t easy for most parents. However, as a parent, you have to help your kid apply and achieve his full potential in any talent, for that matter. If they are musically inclined, then try to equip them for life with fundamental skills and open music as a path they can explore. Give the kid an environment for them to grow and nurture their talent. Better even, think about enrolling your child for dance, piano lessons, or even vocal lessons to give him an outlet for his talent.
