What is audiation?

Have you ever got a song stuck in your head and you just can’t get rid of it? The ability to do this when no music is actually present is called audiation. Audiation is an acquired skill and introducing it to children at a young age is quite beneficial.  Audiation increases memory development and assists children in finding pitch. It may also help children learn to read in their head when the time comes!
 
When you notice your child begin to independently create music (either with their voice or with instruments) they are starting to audiate, but there are some steps that you will need to take to get your child to this point. These activities include:
 

• Listening to a variety of musical genres.  Choose music that uses different instruments and comes from different parts of the world.
• Interact with the music through movement, dancing, clapping and playing along with instruments you have at home.
• Repetition! Sing songs multiple times throughout the day. Kids NEED repetition to learn!
• Eliminate words in your child’s favorite songs and replace them with gestures just like in this video. When we take words away but continue to sing the song in our head, we are using audation. Adding actions to the song, helps us to keep a steady beat with our body as we turn off our outer voice and turn on our inner voice.

 
Get curious! Think about new ways to interact with music and your child will be audiating in no time!