0:00:13.501,0:00:15.135
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

0:00:15.143,0:00:18.548
I've asked if the lights[br]could be lifted for this session,

0:00:18.549,0:00:20.609
and David Glover agreed.

0:00:20.610,0:00:24.500
And the reason, thank you very much,[br]is I like to see the whites of your eyes.

0:00:24.501,0:00:25.501
(Laughter)

0:00:25.502,0:00:27.679
And I like to see you as my class.

0:00:27.680,0:00:30.055
I hope you've all made the connection

0:00:30.067,0:00:35.134
that music is an incredibly important part[br]of what has been happening today.

0:00:35.135,0:00:37.554
We started with a didjeribone,

0:00:37.555,0:00:40.311
an improvisation[br]on this extraordinary instrument.

0:00:40.312,0:00:43.031
We then saw a film[br]that had been put together

0:00:43.032,0:00:49.555
showing how TEDx was setup,[br]and music, actually, made that film work.

0:00:49.556,0:00:54.231
Without music, that film[br]would have been a very different film.

0:00:54.232,0:00:56.293
We then saw the rabbit, that had music;

0:00:56.294,0:00:59.094
- a tragic end for the rabbit,[br]but nonetheless, music -

0:00:59.100,0:01:00.100
(Laughter)

0:01:00.101,0:01:02.031
and then we have had "Synergy",

0:01:02.032,0:01:06.366
whose piece, their percussion piece,[br]was an improvised piece.

0:01:06.367,0:01:09.901
I spoke to Bree afterwards and I said,[br]"That's clearly improvised,"

0:01:09.925,0:01:12.697
and she said, "Yes, we work[br]on a particular pattern.

0:01:12.698,0:01:14.183
We take that pattern,

0:01:14.184,0:01:17.851
and every time we perform[br]that piece, we do it differently."

0:01:17.852,0:01:20.182
Then, we had a string quartet,

0:01:20.183,0:01:24.799
which included amplified sounds[br]with improvisation.

0:01:24.800,0:01:29.908
Structures upon which other structures[br]had been imposed.

0:01:29.909,0:01:32.838
This is the creative process.

0:01:32.839,0:01:38.462
This is the process[br]which starts with an idea

0:01:38.463,0:01:43.813
which comes from the imagination,[br]the musical imagination.

0:01:43.814,0:01:49.663
And when the musical imagination[br]is ignited in a group circumstance,

0:01:49.664,0:01:55.906
we have the most extraordinary power[br]to change lives with music,

0:01:55.907,0:01:59.037
and to involve people in music.

0:01:59.038,0:02:04.868
And it should start[br]with very, very, very young children

0:02:04.869,0:02:06.918
not teenagers.

0:02:06.919,0:02:09.719
Not that -- you can't start--

0:02:09.720,0:02:11.232
I've taught teenagers

0:02:11.233,0:02:14.152
who had their first experience[br]with music as teenagers.

0:02:14.153,0:02:18.520
But my view is[br]that all of that improvisation,

0:02:18.521,0:02:22.330
all of that creativity you saw[br]on the stage today,

0:02:22.331,0:02:26.246
is the right of every child,

0:02:26.247,0:02:30.630
no matter where and no matter[br]what the circumstance.

0:02:30.631,0:02:36.688
Every child, I believe, should have access[br]to properly taught music

0:02:36.689,0:02:42.387
in the hands[br]of a properly taught teacher.

0:02:42.388,0:02:45.292
(Applause)

0:02:47.080,0:02:51.153
And it can start in the simplest way.

0:02:51.154,0:02:54.213
Music is an oral art.

0:02:54.214,0:02:56.751
And when I talk about music, I define it

0:02:56.767,0:03:01.152
as "sound, organized in some way,

0:03:01.153,0:03:04.352
passing through time."

0:03:04.367,0:03:08.801
With children, we begin with imitation,

0:03:08.803,0:03:12.900
the most powerful way of teaching.

0:03:12.901,0:03:16.268
And if you don't mind[br]becoming three-year-olds

0:03:16.273,0:03:20.507
just for a minute[br]- I promise you, a minute -

0:03:20.508,0:03:22.199
I will make my point.

0:03:22.200,0:03:25.521
I'm going to clap a pattern,[br]I want you to clap it back.

0:03:25.522,0:03:26.997
(clapping)

0:03:29.067,0:03:30.434
(Audience clapping)

0:03:32.170,0:03:33.717
You're clearly not three.

0:03:33.718,0:03:35.266
(Laughter)

0:03:35.267,0:03:36.520
Here's another one.

0:03:36.521,0:03:38.111
(Clapping sequence)

0:03:39.638,0:03:41.281
(Audience claps sequence)

0:03:42.788,0:03:46.344
What you notice is you accelerate,[br]you get louder,

0:03:46.345,0:03:48.664
and you don't actually do[br]the pattern properly

0:03:48.665,0:03:50.435
(Laughter)

0:03:50.436,0:03:54.008
which means you are educable,[br]you can be taught.

0:03:54.009,0:03:55.030
(Laughter)

0:03:55.031,0:03:57.024
When you do that with children,

0:03:57.025,0:03:59.351
what you're doing is you're engaging them

0:03:59.352,0:04:02.799
in their first oral experience.

0:04:02.800,0:04:05.523
They need to listen.

0:04:05.524,0:04:11.367
And as a result of the listening,[br]they repeat, and it requires focus.

0:04:11.368,0:04:15.990
When this happens, and we take[br]a very simple nursery rhyme,

0:04:15.991,0:04:18.010
and we say, with children, we go,

0:04:18.011,0:04:21.466
(singing) "Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall.

0:04:21.488,0:04:24.281
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall."

0:04:24.282,0:04:26.094
We do this little pattern,

0:04:26.095,0:04:29.028
I frequently say to the little children,[br]very young children,

0:04:29.029,0:04:31.893
"Who can do a different pattern?"

0:04:31.894,0:04:34.219
Child one puts a hand up and goes

0:04:34.220,0:04:36.969
(singing same pattern)[br]"Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall ..."

0:04:36.970,0:04:40.345
I said, "Thank you very much."[br]Who can do a different pattern?"

0:04:40.346,0:04:43.130
(singing same pattern)[br]"Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall ..."

0:04:43.133,0:04:44.133
(Laughter)

0:04:44.134,0:04:47.325
And then, the next child will say,[br]"When will this be over?"

0:04:47.334,0:04:48.868
(Laughter)

0:04:51.920,0:04:54.719
All teaching is an act of faith.

0:04:54.720,0:05:00.308
And with children,[br]the idea that repetition

0:05:00.309,0:05:04.937
and putting it in the circumstance[br]of offering ideas is vital.

0:05:06.332,0:05:09.578
Music is important[br]for the following reasons:

0:05:09.579,0:05:15.850
it is abstract, it doesn't mean[br]anything outside itself.

0:05:17.560,0:05:21.573
When we play a sound,[br]you can interpret that sound as you wish.

0:05:21.574,0:05:24.051
I'm going to go to the TEDx Steinway.

0:05:24.052,0:05:25.489
(Laughter)

0:05:27.512,0:05:32.305
And it is a Steinway.[br]I've sampled [David's] Steinway.

0:05:32.902,0:05:36.076
I'm going to play some sounds.[br](playing piano)

0:05:39.106,0:05:43.654
Those sounds are abstract.[br]They mean nothing other than themselves.

0:05:43.655,0:05:49.133
If I then say, "I'm going to play[br]a composition, and it's called something.

0:05:50.156,0:05:53.889
I want you to imagine[br]what this composition might be called."

0:05:54.349,0:05:56.540
(Playing a short tune)

0:06:01.052,0:06:04.669
Does anyone have an idea[br]what that composition might be called?

0:06:04.670,0:06:06.369
Probably "Highly forgettable".

0:06:06.370,0:06:07.918
(Laughter)

0:06:08.907,0:06:11.129
But, in each person,

0:06:11.130,0:06:15.750
that sort of music, any music,[br]will evoke a different response.

0:06:16.647,0:06:21.653
Music does not describe.[br]Music does not narrate.

0:06:21.654,0:06:26.550
Music does not tell stories. Music evokes.

0:06:26.551,0:06:29.886
Music suggests, music implies,

0:06:29.887,0:06:34.747
and music opens up the mind[br]of a child in an extraordinary way.

0:06:34.748,0:06:38.091
And I want to give you some ideas[br]on that - back to the Steinway.

0:06:39.003,0:06:41.820
These three pieces deal with night.

0:06:43.634,0:06:46.135
(playing "Claire de Lune" by Debussy)

0:06:48.933,0:06:50.938
"Claire de Lune" of Debussy.

0:06:51.418,0:06:54.258
(playing "A Little Night Music" by Mozart)

0:06:57.189,0:06:59.053
"A Little Night Music" of Mozart.

0:06:59.753,0:07:02.613
(playing "Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven)

0:07:05.845,0:07:07.985
"Moonlight Sonata" of Beethoven.

0:07:09.043,0:07:11.529
They have nothing to do[br]with night whatsoever.

0:07:11.530,0:07:12.563
(Laughter)

0:07:12.564,0:07:15.967
The title is simply a way in.

0:07:15.968,0:07:21.769
But this abstraction about music[br]is what offers a child

0:07:21.801,0:07:28.801
the chance to move into[br]a really special world of thinking.

0:07:29.206,0:07:33.673
And we get children, therefore,[br]to try to understand

0:07:33.674,0:07:38.226
that the most important thing about music

0:07:38.227,0:07:42.166
is to make your own music.

0:07:42.167,0:07:46.534
Children must make their own music.

0:07:46.547,0:07:50.984
It is not they shouldn't reproduce music,

0:07:50.985,0:07:54.500
but they must make their own,

0:07:54.501,0:07:57.441
and they make it best through singing.

0:07:57.442,0:08:01.635
That every child,[br]given normal circumstances,

0:08:01.636,0:08:06.403
has the capacity to sing;[br]you, all, have the capacity to sing.

0:08:06.404,0:08:08.136
Shall we test that?

0:08:08.137,0:08:09.180
(Laughter)

0:08:09.181,0:08:10.335
Yes, we shall.

0:08:10.336,0:08:11.983
(Laughter)

0:08:11.984,0:08:15.514
I will give you a little phrase[br]and I'd like you to sing it back.

0:08:15.515,0:08:18.154
La-la-la-la-la, la-la, la, la.

0:08:18.155,0:08:21.025
(Audience) La-la-la-la-la, la-la, la, la.

0:08:21.026,0:08:23.564
Richard Gill: La, la-la, la-la, la-la.

0:08:23.565,0:08:26.263
(Audience) La, la-la, la-la, la-la.

0:08:26.267,0:08:29.467
RG: Pitch better than rhythm for you lot.

0:08:29.476,0:08:30.663
(Laughter)

0:08:30.664,0:08:31.714
Very good.

0:08:31.715,0:08:34.224
Now what about if I give you[br]a little pattern here,

0:08:34.225,0:08:36.332
like, foot, hand, foot, hand.

0:08:36.333,0:08:39.260
Just try that, foot, hand,[br]and then, sing this back,

0:08:39.260,0:08:41.847
la-la, la-la, la, la, la.

0:08:41.847,0:08:44.616
(Audience) La-la, la-la, la, la, la.

0:08:44.617,0:08:46.979
RG: La, la-la, la-la, la-la.

0:08:46.980,0:08:49.432
(Audience) La, la-la, la-la, la-la.

0:08:49.433,0:08:52.070
RG: Now sing the whole thing[br]from the beginning. Go.

0:08:52.071,0:08:57.306
(Audience) La-la, la-la, la, la, la.[br]La, la-la, la-la, la-la.

0:08:57.307,0:09:01.057
RG: Exactly.[br]When in doubt - improvise, right?

0:09:01.058,0:09:02.873
(Laughter)

0:09:02.874,0:09:04.150
(Applause)

0:09:09.325,0:09:13.785
Through singing[br]is how we engage every child.

0:09:13.786,0:09:16.556
Through singing is how we teach children

0:09:16.557,0:09:20.514
to be literate, to read and write.

0:09:20.515,0:09:24.515
Through singing is how we teach[br]children to analyze.

0:09:25.125,0:09:28.441
I was working with a group[br]of first grade girls,

0:09:28.442,0:09:32.951
and we were doing a song[br]about "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake".

0:09:32.952,0:09:36.633
And I had the pitch on the board.

0:09:36.634,0:09:38.900
Not that they could read the pitch,

0:09:38.901,0:09:42.137
but I believe[br]they should confront the example.

0:09:42.138,0:09:45.713
And throughout the lesson,[br]we did a number of activities.

0:09:45.714,0:09:47.401
And at one stage, I said to them,

0:09:47.402,0:09:50.469
"Let's look at the song on the board.[br]What do you notice?"

0:09:50.470,0:09:54.873
And one of them said,[br]"It goes up, and it goes down."

0:09:54.874,0:09:57.955
This little bright one[br]by the theater divide said,

0:09:57.956,0:10:03.153
"Well, there are crotchets[br]and minims in that song."

0:10:03.154,0:10:04.495
(Laughter)

0:10:04.496,0:10:07.009
And everyone else in the class[br]went, "Oh, boy."

0:10:07.010,0:10:08.584
(Laughter)

0:10:08.585,0:10:11.415
So at the end of the lesson,

0:10:11.416,0:10:14.393
I like to make a summary,[br]"What have we done?"

0:10:14.394,0:10:17.400
It's very important for me[br]to find out what we have done.

0:10:17.401,0:10:20.327
So all of them are sitting[br]on the floor, and I said to them,

0:10:20.328,0:10:21.607
"What did we do today?"

0:10:21.608,0:10:22.746
"Nothing."

0:10:22.747,0:10:23.873
(Laughter)

0:10:23.874,0:10:26.192
That's a very common response, "Nothing."

0:10:26.193,0:10:27.368
(Laughter)

0:10:27.369,0:10:29.883
We just jumped,[br]and we clapped, and we sang.

0:10:29.884,0:10:32.495
And they went--[br]and I finally got out what they did.

0:10:32.496,0:10:34.354
This one put her hand up and said,

0:10:34.355,0:10:38.250
"Well, we learned about crotchets[br]and minims, but I had to teach us."

0:10:38.251,0:10:40.069
(Laughter)

0:10:40.070,0:10:41.684
(Applause)

0:10:43.911,0:10:47.793
Most interesting was watching[br]the other kids go, "Yeah, that's true."

0:10:47.794,0:10:49.437
(Laughter)

0:10:49.438,0:10:54.198
So the next day, another song[br]is on the board,

0:10:54.199,0:10:58.186
and all these lessons are being videoed,[br]they're being taped.

0:10:58.187,0:11:00.947
Another song on the board,[br]we're observing the notation.

0:11:02.176,0:11:05.170
And at the end of the lesson,[br]I bring them all together,

0:11:05.171,0:11:08.396
and I said, "What do you notice[br]about the notation today?

0:11:08.397,0:11:11.766
The pattern. It goes up,[br]it goes down, it does this?"

0:11:11.767,0:11:14.468
And she was sitting right there,[br]and she looked up at me,

0:11:14.534,0:11:16.901
and she said, "I haven't got a clue."

0:11:16.903,0:11:18.797
(Laughter)

0:11:21.467,0:11:24.001
Which was tolerated[br]by the rest of the class.

0:11:24.013,0:11:25.282
(Laughter)

0:11:25.283,0:11:27.293
That concept. They probably agreed.

0:11:28.228,0:11:30.220
With music,

0:11:30.221,0:11:34.688
you open up the mind of a child[br]in a very special way,

0:11:34.689,0:11:38.396
different from drama,[br]different from dance,

0:11:38.397,0:11:40.596
and different from visual arts.

0:11:40.597,0:11:45.475
There was a movement which said[br]all the arts work the same way,

0:11:45.476,0:11:49.462
when we went through the touchy-feely 60s.

0:11:49.463,0:11:54.705
That is simply not true.[br]The arts function in different ways.

0:11:54.706,0:11:59.350
And music, in my view,[br]is at the top of the food chain.

0:11:59.351,0:12:00.708
(Laughter)

0:12:00.709,0:12:04.132
The drama people tend[br]not to agree with me on that.

0:12:04.133,0:12:05.133
(Laughter)

0:12:05.134,0:12:07.270
But I also put dance in there.

0:12:07.271,0:12:13.113
But what I want to say is[br]that the power of the creative thought

0:12:13.114,0:12:17.667
transferred from music[br]to all other areas of learning

0:12:17.668,0:12:20.326
is hugely potent.

0:12:20.327,0:12:24.686
The neurological evidence for music is in

0:12:24.687,0:12:26.996
in a spectacular way.

0:12:26.997,0:12:29.229
That's a bonus.

0:12:29.230,0:12:34.001
Music is worth teaching for its own sake.

0:12:34.002,0:12:37.621
It is worth teaching because it is good,

0:12:37.622,0:12:40.813
it is worth teaching because it is unique,

0:12:40.814,0:12:42.726
and it is worth teaching

0:12:42.727,0:12:46.322
because it empowers[br]children spectacularly.

0:12:46.323,0:12:50.312
And when you get a fifth grade boy[br]who comes up with a piece of music

0:12:50.313,0:12:55.084
and says, "Look, I made this myself,"

0:12:55.085,0:12:57.012
with that sort of threat

0:12:57.013,0:12:58.383
(Laughter)

0:12:58.384,0:13:01.116
you know it's working, thank you.

0:13:01.117,0:13:02.854
(Applause) (Cheers)