Melodic Learning is a

multimodal learning Multimodal learning attempts to model the combination of different Modality (human–computer interaction), modalities of data, often arising in real-world applications. An example of multi-modal data is data that combines text (typically repres ...

method that uses the defining elements of singing (pitch, rhythm and rhyme) to facilitate the capture, storage and retrieval of information. Widely recognized examples of Melodic Learning include using the alphabet song to learn the alphabet and

This Old Man "This Old Man" is an English language children's song, counting exercise and nursery rhyme with a Roud Folk Song Index number of 3550. Origins and history The origins of this song are obscure. The earliest extant record is a version noted ...

to learn counting.

Overview

In 2004, Dr. Susan Homan, Dr. Robert Dedrick and then doctoral student, Marie C. Biggs of the University of South Florida's College of Education began researching the use of a non-standard approach to reading remediation that used repeated singing of grade leveled songs with struggling, middle school readers. When the results of their pilot study as well as further research over the following five years consistently showed significant gains, Dr. Homan, et al. began searching the literature for an explanation as to why this non-traditional approach was effective. After reviewing recent findings in the fields of literacy, neuroscience and anthropology, Dr. Homan, in collaboration with Dr. Eliot Levinson, identified this use of repeated singing to accelerate learning as a form of, "Melodic Learning". Dr. Homan posits that other forms of Melodic Learning include the singing of hymns in organized religions and the use of oral tradition to pass on important information from generation to generation in pre-literate societies

Multi-media Learning Theory

Melodic learning combines

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

with visual imagery to enhance

learning Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, value (personal and cultural), values, attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals, and some machine learning, machines ...

. Melodic learning is an extension of Multimedia Learning Theory because it focuses specifically on the addition of music to learning. Research indicates that multiple types of media have positive effects on a learner however, multimedia learning can encompass as few as two senses whereas melodic learning explores how music embeds learning deeper into the human brain. The neuroscience about how music affects learning is a relatively new area of research. Music is a part of every known culture including in the very distant past. Dr. Patel's research links music to linguistics, to early learning, to language learning, and to literacy learning. Music engages all of the following brain functions: * Emotion * Memory * Learning and

Plasticity Plasticity may refer to: Science * Plasticity (physics), in engineering and physics, the propensity of a solid material to undergo permanent deformation under load * Neuroplasticity, in neuroscience, how entire brain structures, and the brain it ...

Attention Attention is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether considered subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information. William James (1890) wrote that "Atte ...

Motor control Motor control is the regulation of movement in organisms that possess a nervous system. Motor control includes reflexes as well as directed movement. To control movement, the nervous system must integrate multimodal sensory information (both f ...

* Pattern perception *

Imagery Imagery is visual symbolism, or figurative language that evokes a mental image or other kinds of sense impressions, especially in a literary work, but also in other activities such as psychotherapy. Forms There are five major types of sensory ima ...

Multiple Modalities

Learning with Sesame Street on the television is an example of melodic learning. Through Sesame Street, young children experience and advance emergent literacy processes through poems, jingles,

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

s, word games and singing songs. Several of the principles of literacy learning interact. Rhyming and singing are high-level multi-modal interactions of visual, auditory/aural, and

kinesthetic Proprioception ( ), also referred to as kinaesthesia (or kinesthesia), is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position. It is sometimes described as the "sixth sense". Proprioception is mediated by proprioceptors, mechanosensory neurons ...

modalities. Rhythmic and tonal processing also contribute to the success of this learning process.

Jumping rope A skipping rope (British English) or jump rope (American English) is a tool used in the sport of skipping/jump rope where one or more participants jump over a rope swung so that it passes under their feet and over their heads. There are multi ...

is an example of melodic learning. Tonal, rhythmic, aural and visual elements interplay as children sing and rhyme. The rope's motion supplies the kinesthetic element to enhance the process. This may explain why many children learn jump rope rhymes faster and retain them longer than they do for many of their classroom lessons. A combination of five specific modalities or Learning styles affect how a child learns while playing or while watching Sesame Street or jumping rope: * Aural - The child says, hears and processes audio content as he listens to Grover singing a song on Sesame Street. *Visual – The child sees and processes the images of Grover and what he is singing about. * Kinesthetic learning– The child is animated, possibly singing, while processing the audio and visual content from Grover's song. *Rhythmic – As the melody and

accompaniment Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles ...

to the song are played, the child feels both the rhythm of the song and the rhythm of the language. This feeling of the rhythm can lead to kinesthetic involvement. *Tonal – The child feels the beat of the music ( rhythm) and is often moved to sing along. Singing encourages the child to modulate her tone as she tries to follow the tune of the melody. Tone or pitch helps transmit the meaning. The integration of these modalities creates more powerful and permanent measurable learning outcomes and can accelerate learning, especially struggling learners.

Neuroscience evidence

Melodic learning appears to derive its effectiveness from the special nature of music and singing's activity pattern in the human brain. A series of books published in the 2000s by noted neuroscientists document the unique relationship between music and our brains, including ''

Musicophilia In 2007, neurologist Oliver Sacks released his book ''Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain'' in which he explores a range of psychological and physiological ailments and their intriguing connections to music. It is broken down into four par ...

'' by Oliver Sacks, ''

This Is Your Brain On Music ''This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession'' is a popular science book written by the McGill University neuroscientist Daniel J. Levitin, and first published by Dutton Penguin in the U.S. and Canada in 2006, and updated and r ...

'' by

Daniel Levitin Daniel Joseph Levitin, FRSC (born December 27, 1957) is an American-Canadian cognitive psychologist, neuroscientist, writer, musician, and record producer. He is the author of four ''New York Times'' best-selling books, including '' This Is You ...

, and ''Music, Language, and the Brain'' by Aniudh Patel.

History

An earworm is a portion of a song that repeats itself inside one's head. As recently as 2005, researchers discovered that the earworm is engraved in the auditory cortex and instantly retrieved. Industrial psychologists have made good use of this link between music and learning by creating catchy jingles to sell products. More recently earworms are being used in training products. Nearly every civilization uses music to share information.

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

's aboriginal tribesmen used songs to detail complex routes to important places. Although this was not a feat of memory alone and that rock art serve as tangible manuscripts for these musicians. In Africa,

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...

s were used to communicate. Throughout Europe roving minstrels and troubadours sang ballads retelling the news and politics of the day. In churches, temples and mosques, chanted prayers etch religious words into memory. The connection between music and learning runs deep inside the brain. The patterns reinforce each other resulting in a greater learning effect. Adults and children can recognize a wrong note in a simple melody. If one note of the simple five-note opening to The Star-Spangled Banner is played incorrectly, those who've heard the song before can instantly recognize that it is wrong. Westerners recognize standard chord progressions that are "wrong" even though they have never heard them before. Researchers link the phenomena of identifying the wrong note and identifying the wrong word (syntactically) to the same part of the brain, thereby demonstrating how music and words are intertwined.

References

{{Reflist Learning theory (education) Educational practices