Music helps all students learn.

Need some music in a hurry for your students?

A teacher and musician, Jenny Billard, from Sydney, Australia, at her her The J.E.M. Site (Jen’s Educational Music Site) provides inexpensive music downloads for educators.

Working with children in remote communities in the Northern Territory prompted Billard to implement “creative" teaching techniques like using songs. She needed to catch the children’s interest and make learning easier and more enjoyable.
“It wasn't until some of the grandmothers and mothers of the children visited me at school that I found out that these children were singing my songs all around the community and at home," reported Billard. “Since we had a lot of trouble keeping children at school and interesting them in learning in such a remote area of Australia, this blew me away. Of their own choice, these children were taking learning home with them, little did they know."

Billard finds that younger children respond most positively to songs that are “cheesy and up-tempo," such as rock ‘n’ roll style, which she says are also the easiest to write. The musical and lyrical clichés found in these songs actually give them greater appeal to little ones. Older children prefer more sophistication in their music and often respond better to versions of rhythm and blues, hip-hop, or dance tunes. The “cheesy" songs that strike a chord with kids have an added benefit -- whether you like them or hate them, they are extremely memorable.

“Music is a great motivator for learning!" Billard shared. “Not only does it make you more physically relaxed when you learn, it is fun, inclusive, and more efficient. Obviously, if remembering a song and its words is easier than remembering a set of grammatical rules, then it is far better to learn those rules through song and leave behind the stress of learning where you can. If the songs appeal to the children, then they are more likely to have the songs running through their heads away from school too. It beats homework!"

The J.E.M. Site (Jen’s Educational Music Site) is very new, but Billard has big plans. A current focus is to build the songs teachers most need, so she encourages educators to send song requests to her via the site's “contact us" page.