Jump Right In: Percussion, Book 1

Jump Right In: The Instrumental Series is a unique method designed to provide effective and appropriate instruction in learning how to play a music instrument. The series is based upon an organized sequence of learning, which requires the careful attention of both parents and students. Following is a brief explanation of how we learn music and, in particular, how we learn to play a music instrument. 

There is no correct age at which students should begin to study an instrument. There is, however, a correct musical age, and that is the age at which they can audiate. When student begin to sing in tune and move their bodies rhythmically, they are developing the ability to audiate. That is, they begin to hear and comprehend music for which the sound may or may not be physically present. In other words, audiation is to music what thinking is to language. 

In addition to audiation skills, playing an instrument involves the development of executive skills such as embouchure (placement of the lips), articulation (use of the tongue), posture, hand position, and finger dexterity. Although students require various lengths of time for the growth and development of executive skills, one fact remains constant: executive skills are easier to achieve when supported by audiation skills. In Jump Right In: The Instrument Series, audiation skills and executive skills are given equal emphasis and they are taught in the proper sequence-audiation skills preceding executive skills. Therefore, each student will learn two instruments-the audiation instrument (in the head) and the executive skill instrument (in the hands). 

Standard music notation is introduced in In Jump Right In: The Instrument Series when the student has developed the readiness to give meaning to the notation. Students will achieve that readiness by learning to sing songs, move to music, and improvise; that is, students will "speak" music and engage in musical conversation. Without that readiness, students will lack the ability to read music with comprehension. That would be similar to pronouncing words when reading a language but not understand the meaning of what you are reading. The same is true in music; when students are taught to read in the proper sequence, they will be able to understand the notation and hear the music in their heads (audiate) before they play it.