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 July
2005
Music...Memory... Magic!
A few days ago, I was sitting at the dinner table with my
son, Eric, who is almost 5 years old. I sang a four word phrase to him:
"Jesus, we see you..." Almost absent-mindedly, Eric sang back, "Jesus, we
believe." I asked him if he remembered when we sang that song. He
instantly replied, "When we talked about the bwind man and Jesus."
I shook my head in amazement. Eric was
recounting the story of the Man Born Blind from John 9. I had devised this
simple song for a lesson with a group of 4 to 5 year olds during the last week of February!
Eric had not only memorized the musical phrase, but had made a lasting
connection with the lesson.
W Listen to Eric sing the phrase
While I like to think this story
shows my son's intellectual genius, I rather suspect it
demonstrates the powerful relationship between music and
memory.
Greatest Hits from the Shower...and elsewhere
Music has a way of locking moments
into our memory. Like a significant smell, the right tune can instantly
bring us back to a moment or experience that might be lost otherwise. Here
is another example:
The other day, I was humming a melody in the
shower.
The tune was a weekly favorite when I played in summer band
concerts, in my home town, 25 years ago! The realization startled me: How did that melody surface?
Where did it come from? My mind suddenly teleported me back to a gazebo in the middle
of the Bristol, Vermont town park, playing Sousa marches. I remembered the
joking among the band members, and the beeping of horns around the green
after the band finished a song. I saw the elderly bandleader, Roy, hiking up his pants
between pieces, despite his suspenders. All of these fun memories came
back to me riding piggyback on a melody.
Make Music Moments
Unleash the power of music in your teaching. You don't
have to be a musical "sensation" to do it. For my class with 4 and 5 year
olds, I had no instrument, and no AV equipment. All I did was make up a
very simple melody to go with the words, "Jesus we see you; Jesus we
believe." At the end of each lesson activity, I sang the phrase and
invited the kids to repeat it back. Each activity enforced some aspect of
the story, and by the end of the lesson we had sung the tune seven or
eight times. Imagine my delight to have Eric not only play back the verse,
but also understand why we used it, four months later!
Designers of vacation bible schools know all
about the power of music. After an action-packed week, our kids end up singing
the lively
songs all year. The catechetical message sticks with them, too. Families and catechists alike wish that the parish could use a
vacation bible school format year round.
While it may not be possible to duplicate all
of the activity of VBS in your regular parish or school setting, it is
possible to have fun with music. You could select a hymn or song as your
group theme, and come back to it throughout the year. You might even use
the refrain of the song each week. You can develop simple sung phrases of
petition or thanksgiving for your prayer times. If you are singing with
kids, you can borrow a melody from "London Bridges," "Mary Had a Little
Lamb," and the like. If you are working with older kids and adults, you
will need to be a bit more sophisticated. Just about all of our
favorite hymns from church are built around passages from the Scriptures.
As you prepare your session, reflect upon the scriptural theme and see if
one of your favorite hymns doesn't come to mind. Then,
ask how you might bring this hymn, or a part of it, into your session.
A Must for Every Session
The adage rightly suggests that music is the
"universal language." Music touches hearts and moves spirits.
Using music regularly in catechesis will help your learners make a
heart-connection to your teaching. The head will follow. This is the stuff
of which great memories are made!
Chris Weber
Director
Catholic Education Ministries of Central Maryland
301-447-3707
Copyright © 2005 by the Catholic Education
Ministries Center of Central Maryland, Emmitsburg, MD 21727. All rights reserved.
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Music has a way of locking moments
into our memory. Like a significant smell, the right tune can instantly
bring us back to a moment or experience that might be lost otherwise.
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