Little Composes began long before the world used apps and at the beginning, the "notes" which are represented by a group of animals were drawn for younger siblings of our music students. Writing notes with the help of elephants, giraffes and alligators was an instant success. Fast forward 20 years and NOAH is now available to creative children everywhere.
Animal names
If you have never played an instrument then note names won't mean anything. Still, notes have names and to help our little composers with memorizing those names we've attached a visual image. This way, visual learners can instantly recognize which note to play and once they memorize the names, playing becomes fun.
When and how to practice
Here at the Little Composers School of Music & Composition we don't practice. Instead, we compose and spend a few minutes learning how to play our compositions.
NOAH is a hybrid app which lets children compose a short melody or simply generate one by pressing the octopus button. At first, generating short compositions is OK and speeds up learning. Later on, we compose every melody from scratch.
How to be a good mentor
Teaching is an art that few teachers ever master. So how does one teach a little child? Well, it's actually quite easy. Most children have a natural desire to learn so all we have to do is let them.
This means that a child will ask questions and challenge your answers. Therefore, we recommend that you (the teacher/mentor) act a bit forgetful now and then. Sometimes you confuse the dolphin and the fish and sometimes you wonder out loud which animals can swim and which ones walk on land. Do all fly?
Teaching, when done right, is a constant stream of discovery. Ideally, you and the child discover together and like each others playing of the melody. I usually let the children teach me and doing so has produced unbelievable results.
Not every day is the same
Unfortunately, we live in a world that is not geared towards learning. The internet and broadcasting stations bombard us constantly with all kinds of new content in order to lure us away from spending quality time with a child.
If a certain TV show airs and competes with the time you set aside for learning then it's difficult to make the right decision. If you force your child to compose and play then you run the risk that the child won't focus and thus learns little to nothing. As a parent, you will know best when to pick a time to play but please don't lose hope. Always make time to play and don't rush the sessions.
Take time to listen, take time to demonstrate (slowly) and most of all, take time to praise.
Good news
We have designed NOAH so that no child will fail. Regardless of how a child uses the app, she/he will gain enough skill to move on to the next level. The next app repeats a lot of what NOAH teaches and we'll provide much more support at that level.
So go ahead and try NOAH for yourself. It is a three-step app and if you spend just a few minutes using the app then you should be well qualified to mentor your child.
Thank you for reading. Please comment of you have questions and suggestions and we'll do our best to provide additional information and options.
