A 15-Month Old Can Play the Drums? Here is the Secret | Musical Play

The musical abilities of children are amazing – even a 15-month old can play the drums if they are equipped with the right musical tools.

A 15-Month Old Can Play the Drums? Here is the Secret | Musical Play

Although Reid is only fifteen months old, he is exploring and creating patterns on the drum.

He is holding a drum stick in each hand and is able to keep a consistent steady beat with his right hand. He is totally absorbed in his play and is playing a variety of sounds, patterns, whilst all the time maintaining a steady beat.

Through this play, Reid is:

· Creating his own music

· Learning self initiative

· Listening to and developing an ear for rhythmic pattern

· Motor planning

· Organising his body in relation to his drumming

· Testing his own limits

· Developing eye hand coordination

· Enjoying the creative possibilities of his highly musical play

· Learning how to improvise and engage his audience

· Learning how to regulate his own play

· Learning how to adjust his playing of loud and soft, fast and slow

· Enjoying spontaneous play

· Learning self control

· Experiencing a sense of freedom

· Taking pride in his own musical play

Any rhythmic play like this involves the whole body through regulated physical movement.

Reid’s drumming is experimental with so many learning outcomes.

It is this kind of rhythmic play that helps children develop rhythm internalisation. Steady beat underpins all movement, language development, the ability to play in time with others, to listen and copy a sequence of sounds, and to be able to self-regulate. The brain loves patterns. The brain attends to the repetitive nature of pulse/steady beat interacting with rhythmic pattern.

Steady beat is music’s pacemaker. In Reid’s play with his right hand we can hear how his use of pulse/steady beat paces and drives his play and he is naturally incorporating his own patterns with his left hand.

Rhythmic pattern is one of the most important elements in pacing the learning of spoken language. This kind of musical play activates the whole brain and as we can see, Reid is enjoying every moment of his creative play.

Musical Play equips children with the tools to be musically creative – you can watch children of any age become musical composers and leaders.