I’ve been fascinated by the number of times in the last year that a respected pedagogue has said something like this, “When the brain is bored, it seeks new stimuli.” Diane Hidy mentioned this to me once when she was telling me how much she loved Rhythm Menagerie’s unique way of challenging students without overwhelming them. Forrest Kinney (Pattern Play author) also talked about it at NCKP in a different context. So, when I read this article, I really started paying attention:
Combining Multiple Modalities Increases Plasticity. Rhythmic tapping added to other training is especially powerful. Brain effects are stronger if sounds are associated with a movement or a behavior and with rewards…The brain responds better to multiple modalities of sensory and motor systems with music and any other complex skill. For example a recent study of using visualization of high jumping attempts showed that using the imagery helped 35%. But, if a simple hand motion is added to the imagery it increases the success rate to 45%.
I’ve seen boredom in my students eyes at times and this article reminds me that I need to change activities or types of activities often enough to keep students engaged. But what does this have to do with Rhythm Menagerie? Well, every page moves the rhythmic practice to a different zone of the body or uses a different skill to practice. If I had written a book composed entirely of clapping exercises, it would not only be excruciatingly boring, but the brain would stop effectively learning when it grew bored with the physical activity of clapping.
Diane Hidy drew my attention to this when she talked about how great Rhythm Menagerie was for students. She talked how applying the rhythm to different parts of your body adds an extra level of learning and causes the students to internalize it more quickly.
Kids don’t care if they are or aren’t learning rhythm and theory, but they notice that Rhythm Menagerie and Rhythm Manipulations makes learning rhythm FUN! (Not convinced? Check out the video below!)
You might not care about specific theories of learning, but you’ll notice and care about the difference you see in your students rhythm when they’ve been doing it for a while!
And wouldn’t it be good for us all to get off our chairs now and again in the lesson? Â Check out this video to cheer up your day:
