As a child, I loved my teddy bears. I sewed clothes for them, I made cardboard furniture for them, I beaded jewelry for them, and when I was old enough, I spent all of my babysitting money on their belongings. As many children do, I slept beside my teddy bears, holding onto them, even clutching them straight through the night! I loved to set up their space, organize their belongings, and look at their lives. Would I have done this for a stuffed being with no face? Perhaps not. Would I have done this for an old piece of scrap fabric with a face? I probably did.
What is it about inanimate beings with faces that appealed to me as a child? We know that humans recognize faces from infancy. We recognize our mother, our father; we see the faces of others, who may be friends or foes. We are wired to look for faces early on, to analyze the expressions of potential friends. And for children, these friends need not be people. These friends need not even be animate beings, such as living animals. The main attribute to these friends is that they simply have emotional features. While children can give emotional attributes to nearly anything, they especially do so to beings that have a face. These beings have eyes to look (and to cry), and they have a mouth to talk (and to smile).
These beings with faces are committed friends, present through thick and thin, experiencing a child’s life with him. Just as children see and talk to their inanimate friends, these inanimate friends see and talk to them. Children can care for their inanimate friends, feed them, tuck them in at night, try to bathe them, even make bandages for them. Children can also throw them, colour on them with a permanent marker, neglect them for days, even shove them in a box. These beings with faces never leave. They accept their child owners unconditionally. These inanimate friends are crucial to children’s emotional health as children work through the ups and downs of each day.
Musical education is also a significant aid in healthy emotional development. To some extent, music is like a stuffed animal. It comforts us, it talks to us, it accepts us, and it never leaves us. Music and faces work well together to provide our students with a deepening understanding of human emotions. This deepening understanding, over time, will help our students interpret their own emotions, find emotional stability, and explore ways to sympathize and empathize with others. By incorporating faces into my teaching as often as possible, I am working toward my goal of helping my students connect their music to a variety of emotions; emotions which they may or may not have seen before.
To incorporate faces into my teaching, I run what I have often called a “multiple personality studio.” I have stuffed animals, large puppets, finger puppets, egg shakers with eyes, and more. These objects have voices, attitudes, and personalities that have developed over time and that my students have come to know and expect. I attribute certain characters to specific activities, which helps to ease transitions from one activity to another, and which helps to make each activity more memorable. These characters can be used as props for games and activities. They can also be audience members for in-lesson performances. If I don’t find a face on an object, I give it one. I often draw faces in my students’ notebooks and on their music. I am also a bit of a dramatist; I act out and improvise extreme and subtle emotions in music, and I have my students try to do the same.
If you are unsure how to begin bringing more faces into your music lessons, I would recommend starting with one stuffed animal, and going from there. Give your animal a name. Have the animal sit within arm’s reach in lessons. Have the animal ask your students lots of questions, and have him answer your students’ questions. Move the animal so that he is looking at you, then at the student. Tilt his head down when he is sad; move his paws to wipe his tears. Tilt his head sideways when he is confused. Press in between his eyes to see concern or anger. Quickly tuck in his chin to show surprise. Lift a paw to its mouth to double that effect! If the animal loved something, move his paws to his heart. If he’s hungry, move his paws to his tummy. Quicker movements and dancing can show his excitement. If the animal has manipulable ears, tilt them in the direction of sound. Have the animal move his paws and head regularly when he speaks. Allow your students to make the animal talk and express, too!
Our students don’t have to be children to benefit from faces; we can all connect faces to music to expand our emotional vocabulary. For those of us who may think that we teachers and our students are, or should be, above stuffed animals, puppets, and cartoon faces, I encourage you to just experiment with incorporating more faces in your teaching. If you find yourself in a studio with mostly teenaged, young adult, or even older adult students, it is not too late! We humans are experts at analyzing faces! One way to start with older students is by searching “facial expressions chart” on Google Images. There are many more facial expressions than just “happy” and “sad”—why not print out a chart and have a student try to assign a different emotion, or facial expression, to each different section of their piece? This exercise would be beneficial for students of all ages and levels.
Utilizing faces in our music lessons shows our students that we see life in inanimate beings, that we can make inanimate beings come alive, and that we can help inanimate beings reflect human emotions and experiences. This work in music lessons will help our students develop their emotional understanding and vocabulary so that they can attribute emotional meaning and depth to their music from day one! This way, our students can strive to create music that will be sincere, vibrant, and truly alive, reflecting human life as it reaches their audiences.
Written by Bronwyn Schuman, Founder of Music Theory Playground™ (Originally written for ARMTA in 2021)