A number of students are fast approaching the final stages of exams, both in music and in school. Italian terms are often one of the areas that students find most challenging. How can we overcome this so we can do as well as we can in exams? How can we possibly cram in all those words to get the best possible marks in our music theory?
Try flash cards. Looking at a list of words and hoping they sink in simply will not work. Our brains don't work like that unless you are lucky enough to have a photographic memory.
With flash cards we write the Italian word on one side and the English meaning on the other - use crayons or felt tips if you like. Laminate them for the future if you have time. We then lay out the Italian words and time how long it takes to say out loud the correct meaning. If you turn the card over and the wrong meaning has been given, add 10 seconds to the time. The first time you try this may involve many penalties, but these will become less frequent the more you try the activity.
The aim of the activity is to reduce the time, have a bit of fun and learn the words. Your brain is much more likely to pick up these words if you make a game of the activity as well!
Friends and family could also get involved in this game or even accompany with some music in the background! Flash cards don't only just work for music. They can work for keywords in any subject. Let us know if it helps and if you tried a different approach to learning your Italian terms.
This blog is written by the Lead Teacher of Primavolta Mobile Music Tuition. Primavolta was founded in Blackpool in 2006 and has continued to grow since. We are able to provide mobile music lessons across a wide area of the UK, still managed by the same initial music teacher. The blog comes from a vast amount of teaching experience and is designed to be thought provoking on issues related to your music tuition.
