The Goal of Music Education
By Tom Hess

The amount of educators, or 'alchemists', that are willing to create a "recipe for gold" in music education is growing day by day. Our market is supersaturated with companies and individuals that claim that they can teach anybody to play the piano in minutes. In one part of the globe or another, new musically, educated -- (or not,) educated wizards are surfacing, trying to one-up each other.
Yet, it seems that many have no luck with these so-called educated wizards.
This doesn't come as much of a shock because before we can create a foundation for teaching music, we have to determine the goal of our efforts, learn more about the physiology and psychology of humans, and finally develop the most healthy and effective way to reach this goal.

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF ANY MUSIC EDUCATION PROGRAM?

Earning the ability to artistically play a music instrument IS NOT the real goal of music education, just as the ability to act on stage IS NOT the reason we learn to read.
'Battles' between bands in high schools, instrumental contests, and the appearances of prodigies, likewise, are not goals of music education.
"Music appreciation" or the ability to have fun with musical sounds, IS NOT a goal of music education. Even monkeys, cats and dogs can appreciate music on an emotional level.
'Music education' can be described as the ability of any person to read MULTIPLE SOUNDS out loud while using the 10 fingers of both hands or just playing them inside his mind. (Of course, the piano is the best instrument to do that).
Using any of the other instruments is a PLUS. However, the piano is the true "voice" of the musically literate and the musical development of any human.
The language of music is the only auditory form of communication that can be understood globally, and thus has its own logic and grammar. Music language promotes the full-fledged development of any child. The knowledge of and familiarity with this language is not any less important than general literacy.
Keeping this in mind, the idea that we must be extremely selective when it comes to who can learn to play an instrument and who can't has been proven to be just a ridiculous relic from the past, and is almost as shameful as the idea of racism.
Music is universal and is accessible by the mind of every human, and should therefore be learned. All of the limitations to learning music as a language are nothing but a violation of the human right to a rounded education. This needless selection of people that can study this language from those who supposedly can't is equivalent to the 21st century's genocide towards the human spirit.

THE PHYSIOLOGICAL (OPTICAL) ABILITIES OF HUMANS TO STUDY MUSIC

Any human being, regardless of his or her age, is physically unable to focus his or her eyesight on more than the 25 black and white stripes of The Grand Staff without proper training. The combination of music notes with different durations makes fluent reading of music practically impossible for beginners. Any system that doesn't consider this simple fact of physiology must be reconsidered.
The widespread methods of studying music use the following solutions to cope with the problem of optical focus for beginners are: using the labor of an assistant with a pointer at the side of each student, the theoretic cramming of each note, using "hand positions", when beginners memorize the 5 notes mechanically through the numbering of fingers replacing music reading with the memorization of music pieces, bar by bar.
Such systems of teaching do not promote music reading, and instead replace it with drills of limited music pieces. This damages the muscles of students, limits their music literacy and does not contribute to the development of the musical thinking process.

COORDINATION AND ABSTRACT THINKING

In order to read music, every person has to coordinate the 10 fingers of both hands with the multiple keys of the piano, in conjunction with understanding the music notation. In that tandem, the governing factor is COORDINATION.
Coordination is much like the "financial wealth" of any household. If you do not have money, none of the plans you make can be executed.

EVERY SYSTEM OF TEACHING MUSIC THAT TRIES TO DEVELOP COORDINATION THROUGH THEORY ALONE IS IN FACT CRIPPLING MUSICAL DEVELOPMENT.

The reading of music notation has to issue from the development of coordination - not vice versa. The golden rule of didactics is to begin with specifics, before moving on to the abstract.
Music notation must promote coordination development. Any system of music study that primarily uses the traditional abstract Grand Staff is ineffective by default, simply because it over charges any beginner's mind, leaving little to no room for the development of coordination.

SUPPORT THE STRONG POINTS OF HUMAN NATURE INSTEAD OF THE WEAK ONES.

The most developed and strong skills of healthy children are - speech and speech memory, because children begin its development from birth - visual perception - spatial perception - cybernetic awareness.
The most vulnerable skills that require development are - reasoning - abstract thinking and memory.
Teaching music as a language should be based on the solid foundation of the strong skills of every child and the abilities to speak and see, not to theorize.
The straight route to teaching music literacy universally consists of:

1. Teaching based on "solmization" - the vocal representation of music sounds using solfegio names (Do Re Mi Fa etc). Calling the music notes out while using the solfegio syllables leads to the singing of music out loud and within, develops a musical ear, connects the sounds with the human perception of them, and overall promotes music literacy and the ability to mentally play any musical text one sees.
2. Colors and images must be used as decoders of abstract music notation.
3. Turning the Grand Staff sideways contributes to understanding the link between the piano keys and The Grand Staff, and prevents mind of a beginner from being mentally overcharged with theory. This helps the concentration on building essential coordination skills first, and doesn't cripple the musical development of the student.
4. The transition from the specific to abstract notation has to be gradual and must be based on the development of the coordination of beginners. The more confident the beginner is with his coordination, the more room he has for undertstanding theory.
5. In order to develop the ability to focus the eye sight of any beginner on multiple tracks of music writing, he requires support that does not depend on human labor. Such support can easily be provided with the help of computer technology.
6. The creation of interactivity with the "language bearer" is essential to learning of any language, especially music. A unity between a computer and a digital piano can perfectly provide the support for anyone trying to learn how to play and read music, all over the world in households and schools, day care centers and nurseries.