Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Things You’ll Need:
- patience
- good ears
- positivity
- warmpth
Step1
Start Slow: Children have very simple minds and even children in a grade school level need to take things in manageable chunks. For this reason beginning beginners with a very simple pattern is the best way to go. Begin by teaching them the 1,2,3,4 of quarter notes. While the first inclination may be to avoid this most basic element of rhythm, it is the essential building blocks on which all other rhythm is built around.
Step2
Pull Back: For a next step, rather than adding in sixteenth notes or speeding up tempo or moving the children into a totally different time signature, pull back. Once they have mastered this most basic element of rhythm, remove the 2 and the 4. This teaches them about taking breath, adjusting the familiar tempo, and keeps them from losing concentration.
Step3
Move Them Into and Out of the Familiar: Once they have mastered a few different rhythm patters in a couple of different time signatures, you can begin to move them into and out of the familiar. This holds true whether you’re teaching them an wind instrument, percussion, or if you’re trying to get your kid to dance; the essential elements of time keeping and time measure allow the child to begin to learn the wonderful language of rhythm.
Step4
Practice: If your child or a group of children is ever going to get good at anything that you’re trying to teach them, as an instructor the goal is to keep them moving forward. Assign them homework, keep them coming back and performing, allow one who otherwise might not volunteer the opportunity to perform and show all her classmates how good she has gotten; it will inspire everyone to go home and get better for the next time.
Authority 
