Today I printed out the song “The Erie Canal for Josh. We’d discussed the song and watched the video of how locks work, so he’d become excited about learning the song itself. Josh is a 6-year-old intellectual. He loves learning of all kinds and enjoys being challenged. He’s also a very good reader. I started with a slightly slower tempo – it seemed that if Sal the mule could trot rather than canter for the first time around, it would be easier for Josh to hang onto the lyrics. When we finished, I penciled some fermatas into his lyrics – “Bird’s Eyes” to indicate which words are held longer. He liked those. Then I asked whether we should do the song “up tempo.” Whenever possible, I prefer to name drop, rather than teach, musical terms. Used in context, they often become integrated into the learner’s musical psyche without needing explanation. I started the song again at a more exuberant tempo, and Josh did just fine – actually sang more in tune, for some reason. He caught all the fermata notes, looking up at me as we held them together. Fun! At the end he said, “Let’s do it faster.” I obliged. “Now let’s do it really fast!” I hesitated, but then said, “Okay – for an experiment.” We got through it, Munchkin-style. When we finished I said, “You know, Josh, I’ve noticed something interesting with lots of kids and other people. Once they realize that they’re able to sing or play something really fast, they want to always do it as fast as they can. But there’s a problem.” Josh kept listening. “There’s a certain tempo where the song  wants to be, and if the tempo is too fast or too slow, the song doesn’t feel happy about it. For example …” I began the song again with an exaggerated fast tempo, and then with one that was too slow. “You see? One is just racing along, and the other doesn’t have the right energy. But if you find a tempo that really fits, you will feel as though the song is saying, ‘Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!”” Josh got it, I could just tell . A profound idea, and I’ve known way too many college students who never get it quite right. For Josh, a very teachable, very organic Music House moment!

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