I first learned about MLT from a teaching friend in Wisconsin. She brought me over to her house and proceeded to demonstrate free flowing movement, chanting, and singing. I was intrigued. At the time, I was preparing for a move and didn’t have the time and energy to pursue it. Now, though, I am beginning the journey of certification and becoming an MLT teacher.
What is MLT?
MLT is the abbreviation for Music Learning Theory, a theory developed by Edwin Gordon, pictured below. He wanted to understand how to best help people learn music. He began by studying adults, and then college students, then high school students, then middle and elementary students, before finally studying young children. One of the biggest points he made is that music is like a language and should be studied in that way. In practical (and very simple) terms, that means listening will come before reading.
Edwin Gordon
There’s also a really fun term that I am coming to appreciate: audiate. Audiation is to music what thought is to language. You know how sometimes someone doesn’t finish a sentence, but you still know what the word was, or you think in your head what the ending could be? Something similar can happen when you learn to audiate with music. You might come up with another ending for a song, or hear and think a melody in your head before singing and playing it. It’s a fascinating theory that I am beginning to understand more in depth as I listen and study.
My goal now, after a lot of reading and listening, is to become a certified Music Learning Theory teacher. I’ve seen a few other teachers write about their journey, and it’s an extensive one. The way I learned music was through reading, and I always assumed this was the front door way into the world of music. After reading about MLT, though, I think reading is the back entrance. Music is an aural art. We hear it with our ears. Listening is the front door to music. I hope to become a listener who truly understands what she’s hearing.
I have started taking lessons again with a Music Moves for Piano teacher (more on that in my next post). I also have a lot of resources that I am digging into and really enjoying. The journey continues to break apart my assumptions of how we should learn music.
Here are a few that I really enjoy:
The Music Learning Academy and their podcast Keys to Music Learning. I love these two!
Website: https://www.musiclearningacademy.com
Podcast: (seriously, it’s fabulous!) https://www.musiclearningacademy.com/keystomusiclearning
The Everyday Musicality Podcast is a personal favorite. She lists an incredible amount of resources in each show, and it’s exciting to realize a lot of other people are starting out on this now, as well.
Podcast Link: https://everydaymusicality.com/podcast/
I also recently participated in a book club where teachers read aloud from Marilyn Lowe’s Keyboard Games. I highly recommend buying the teacher’s version and using that as a way to understand more about this method.
Keyboard Games link: https://musicmovesforpiano.com/books/teacher/
Here’s to the journey! And here are a few goals I’m working on this month
Goals:
Finish a second read through of Keyboard Games.
Learn all of the song and chant in Keyboard Games Book A
Continue to practice and learn more in lessons about the Music Moves for Piano method.
rachel palm's piano studio 