Neuro-inclusive Music Classroom Strategies

Neuro-Inclusive Music Classroom Strategies

The Not-So-Easy Prodigy 

“Gifted kids have it so easy!”

“It must be easy to teach music when all your students are prodigies!”

You and me? We know music makes kids smarter, of course. But that doesn't mean that music classrooms with bright kids are magically perfect learning environments.

As the Illinois Association of Gifted Children observes, “Gifted children learn faster and think deeper than their age-mates. Fundamentally, this is a learning difference, and can cause disconnects, particularly in the classroom.”

To help these neurodivergent learners grow as musicians requires educators to shift away from the myths about music always coming easily to gifted students and lean into neuro-inclusive classrooms and strategies.

The Reality of a Gifted Brain

While gifted students often show early sparks of artistic creativity, their growth is frequently asynchronous. This means their intellectual, physical, and emotional development are moving at completely different speeds.

1. Mind & Motor: A student might grasp complex rhythms such as syncopation in their head, but their body can't demonstrate necessary coordination.

2. Performance & Paralysis: A student with mature musicality & mastery in rehearsal might be anxious and paralyzed by stage fright.

3. Emotional Overwhelm: A deeply imaginative mind could be moved to tears by the vivid instrumental portrayals in Camille Saint-Saens’ Danse Macabre. 

Supporting Sensitivities

To support these heightened sensitivities, our neuro-inclusive classrooms need built-in regulatory strategies.

• Performance anxiety
• Music
• Stage Fright
• SEL
• Physical delays - adjust pacing to allow time for muscle memory to grow.
• Auditory sensitivity - headphones are your best friend.
• Encourage students to ask each other about themselves in appropriate ways.

Navigating Twice-Exceptional (2e) Musicians

Many gifted students are also twice exceptional, or 2e, meaning there is a co-occurring diagnosis such as ADHD, ASD, or anxiety. To meet these diverse needs, educators need an equally diverse toolkit.

1. Perfectionism - Gifted learners often grasp concepts quickly, which can lead to perfectionism. Rehearsals are centered around improvement and growth which can irritate a brain wired towards perfectionism. When the self-imposed goal is to be flawless the first time, falling short of that goal can cause some students to drop out or disengage from music. To combat this, look for the wins; find those micro moments where you can focus on the growth.
2. ADHD - Students with ADHD often thrive in music because the novelty feeds their brain’s need for dopamine. In an elementary classroom, switch instruments or seats often, especially during repetitive activities.  Challenge gifted learners to do something in lieu of not doing things by remaining actively engaged. It could be to hold mallets in a ready position or pass percussion instruments silently around a circle. For older students, perhaps the challenge lies in tuning the timpani as quietly as possible or asking them to hold an idea in their mind for 3 seconds before blurting out an answer to give their peers a moment to catch up. When your classroom is designed with neuro-inclusive practices, everyone wins!
3. ASD, or Autism Spectrum Disorder, can help brains recognize patterns, which makes games like Poison Pattern highly successful. However, missed social cues can make interaction-based games challenging. With patient peers, supportive strategies and empathy, music classrooms can continue to be spaces where neurodiverse students thrive regardless of any potential challenges or diagnoses.

The M-U-S-I-C Strategy

Using the M-U-S-I-C acronym, I can be mindful to make sure music class includes everybody. 

Movement:

Routines and activities such as folk dances, scarf routines, body percussion, and movement breaks help keep students regulated and instruments safe. 

• Bate Bate Chocolate | Spanish Song/Chant & Hand Game | Ta Titi Shh
• "Dancing the Tinikling"

Unique: Novelty is a great way to boost engagement, especially for students with ADHD. Who’s to say that your lesson's hook can't include a vibraslap?

Sensory: Noise-canceling headphones, dyslexia-friendly fonts and flexible seating are just a few of the ways you can meet the sensory needs of your musicians.

• "My Brain is Magic: A Sensory Seeking Celebration" Book-based Music Lesson

Intention: Gamifying practice logs or having students “level up” can provide the necessary framework for learning. My classroom features a “grand behavior” system in which each class works together to earn a musical game day.

Communicate: Ensure instructions are clear, auditory, and visual. Humor can bring levity, but too much will muddle instructions.

Redefining “Success” 

Cheryl Lavender once noted, "The fact that children can make beautiful music is less significant than the fact that music can make beautiful children.” In a neuro-affirming classroom, we must embrace the idea that success is as diverse as the students we teach. When we create healthy learning environments, students can feel safe enough to wear headphones during a concert as a sensory accommodation or willing to push past perfection paralysis to try something new. It has never been about the notes on the page but the music makers themselves.

Read the full NAfME Blog post here.