Break it Down Part 4: Which learning style are you? How do you use this knowledge in learning to sing?

We all learn in a different way, which one are you?

We all have different strengths that best guide our learning. Are you primarily a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner?  How does this knowledge help you?  It can help you to learn a song faster and more effectively!

Each of us use a different combination of these skills to learn something new, but take a moment and ask yourself:
1.  Do I learn things the best by listening (auditory)?

      ** Do I remember what my teachers say the most?
      **Can I think back to remember exactly what was said?
      **Can I produce singing best by listening and then trying to recreate the sound?

2.  Do I learn things the best by seeing it (visual)?

      **Do I remember best by looking at the board or my notes?
      **Do I think back to remember and visualize what was written down on the page?
      **Do I want to see the notes and rhythms or vizualize a concept and then sing to
            understand/remember or recreate the sound?

3. Do I learn things the best by doing (kinesthetic)?

      **Do I remember something the best if I have actively moved while learning?
      **Do I think back to remember and need to do the action?
      **Do I repeat a physical action or practice, practice, practice to physically recreate the sound?

You may find that you answered yes to many of these questions and under each category.  Since we all learn with a combination of the above, that makes sense.  But, which one do you lean on the most?  It may be helpful to think about when you are studying for or taking a history test.  Which resource do you use the most?  Do you write to study?  Do you talk through it?  Do you study the page and then close your eyes to see where the information was on the page?

We learn and process information in the different areas of our lives in a similar fashion.  Especially if you are new to musical study (voice lessons), determine which of the 3 learning styles you lean on the most in your academics and then try to use that element more in learning to improve your singing.  Your singing teacher most likely uses a combination of elements to help you to learn, but by identifying your DOMINANT learning style and sharing it with your teacher and remembering it, you can facilitate (and speed up) your learning better technique!  In teaching singing we are dealing with an instrument that we cannot see and which our brain has a lot of control over.  If we help classify how that brain processes information best, we speed up the learning process!

Lean on your dominant learning style when you practice.  How did this help your singing this week?  Happy Singing!