A fun and creative music education technique, created and designed here in western Sydney, is having noticeable impacts on children learning music at Spunky Monkey childcare centres. The innovative system, which uses coloured stickers to label student’s musical instruments, is seeing children as young as three pick up and play musical instruments.

The technique is simple in nature, and is designed to help students of all skill and age levels to learn musical notes in a different way. A set of stickers is applied to the instrument of choice, making the connection between a note and its location an easier learning endeavour.

Rohan Hotchkiss, creator of the Kaleidoscope music tuition method, said the technique is enforced away from the classroom too.

“The stickers remain on the instrument so that a student can pick up and play music whenever they can,” Rohan said.

Using the technique, an ‘A’ for example is coloured Aqua, a ‘D’, dark blue. The technique is also seeing adolescents and adults learning instruments they once found too challenging to master.

Rohan also teaches an autistic child, who loves the colour coding, and even tweaks the technique on a colour-blind student, whose stickers are numbered.

Spunky Monkey Childcare Centres in Lemongrove, Cranebrook and Penrith have had Rohan working with them since term one this year. Kareena Gale, owner of Spunky Monkey Penrith and Box Hill, said the benefits are noticeable.

“The children are actively engaging with the music and Mr Rohan, their teacher. We are combining both numeracy skills and instrument use each week and children are picking up the program very quickly,” Kareena said.

“It’s great to see a child of three years being able to show respect to their instrument and pick up playing a keyboard so quickly.”

Rohan is thoroughly enjoying his time at the centres and said the children constantly keep him entertained.

“The amount of funny things you see is adorable, like playing the recorder upside down or back the front, but to their (children’s) credit they are learning. They’re getting more involved the more they continue and are having lots of fun,” he said.

Rohan’s slogan is ‘from Mozart to Metallica’ and the way he’s going, he might just have the next superstar in training.

Express Music Tuition, which is Rohan’s business, also offers one-on-one tutoring. For more information about the program or to get involved, visit http://www.expressmusictuition.com.au

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