The intuitive approach of this book enables the very young beginners of piano and children in special education to start playing the piano right away!
The main goal of this book is to provide children the confidence and motivation to take their musical training to the next level.
First steps of a little artist" closes a gap in both music education and music therapy In forensic psychiatry, the focus is not only on treating the patient's psychiatric problems. Treatment concentrates also on the patient's criminal and antisocial behaviour. Music therapy offers a structure where patients can express, explore, experience, contain and regulate feelings. The settings can be a starting point for developing and challenging the ability to listen to others and a certain flexibility. Needs for social relationship and attachment meet in music therapy in a safe and non-verbal manner. Regular sessions can be helpful to motivate forensic psychiatry patients to cooperate with the treatment...
...Due to the long course of treatment, there are always interfaces to music education. Dr. Erman Türkilis method serves as a low-threshold opportunity for learning an instrument. I use the method for numerous clinical pictures such as autism and schizophrenia, but also for patients with cognitive disabilities. "First steps of a little artist" is an excellent vehicle for learning foundational musical concepts. The method challenges the patient but never overwhelms. It allows the patient to come in contact with the personal source of creative expression. Over time, the patient develops skills leading to a certain sense of mastery and increased confidence. As a pleasant side effect, “First steps of a little artist” encourages thoughtful work over time. This method really opens the door to the world of music for everyone.
This new book from musician and educator Dr Erman Turkili uses an intuitive approach that enables very young beginners of piano and children with special educational needs to start playing the piano right away Using colours, shapes, stickers and symbols, minimal text and appealing, entertaining illustrations, First Steps of A Little Artist gives children the confidence and motivation to take their musical learning to the next level... Read More Here
The Book's content is simple to understand and apply. Parents with no musical knowledge can use the whole book with almost no explanation, which makes it easier for the early beginner and parent to connect through music education. We passed roadblocks easily using this method with my students with autism, and this book has made learning joy again.
Autism and Playing Music
The tempo, melody, harmony, prosody and other musical elements may vary during the playing of a music piece, and may directly affect an individual’s emotions, observed in affective expression as well as somatic, physiological emotional responses. Such visceral, emotional responses are connected with the complex auditory stimuli, such as music, through complex auditory stimuli, such as music, through dedicated brain areas including left temporal lobe. Temporal lobe, where semantic memory for language is also seated, is reciprocally connected with the basal ganglia, the neurobiological substrate of the procedural memory involved in playing music.
When a child with autism plays music, the activity generated in the basal ganglia may well trigger activation in the interlinked brain regions, including areas for verbal auditory processing and episodic memory. Does this lead to an improvement in communication or self-awareness? Although, there is not yet an evidence for this plausible speculation, the repetition inherent in both when listening to and playing music is widely accepted by the parents of children with autism to dampen the negative emotional state associated with unpredictable, stressful situations. The effect of exposure to repeated stimuli is familiarity, and may give comfort to an individual with autism who may be perplexed of overwhelmed by the unpredictability of the social world. The consequent emotional comfort, either momentary or lasting, may help and recruitment of connected brain areas and augmentation of their functions,leading the child’s openness to novel experience and further learning.
Erman Türkili who is both a performer and an educator of music has dedicated a significant portion of his career to teaching children and adolescents with developmental disabilities, among which autism spectrum disorder has a distinctive place. His teaching methodology aims to bypass the language based difficulties and allows the student to develop playing skills, that may activate brain motor regions synchronously with language related areas. Although, this explanation warrants rigorous research for evidence, there is an abundance of experience suggesting that children and adolescents with autism who play music, enjoy life and share their enthusiasm with social company, and possibly learn more. Learning to play music is a privilege that must be shared by and accessible to every child in the society.
Erman Türkili’s teaching method is an important and valuable contribution in the service of the purpose. I am pleased to have seen that children and adolescents with autism have taken their share of the opportunity created by his approach.
YANKI YAZGAN, M.D.
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and General Psychiatry
Professor (ret.) Marmara U. Fac. Medicine, Istanbul
Asst. Prof. (adj), Yale Child Study Ctr. New Haven, CT
Musician and Educator, Head of Music Dept. Bahcesehir University, Istanbul, Turkey
In 1995, Dr. Türkili started his music education at the conservatory of Cukurova University in Adana, Turkey. At a young age, he appeared as a soloist and chamber music musician.
In 2005, he was awarded with an assistantship from Pittsburg State University to continue his graduate education under the direction of Prof. Selim Giray. He won 4 competitions and became the state champion of the competition held by ASTA (American String Teachers Association).
In 2007, he was awarded with an assistantship from Pittsburg State University to continue his doctorate education under the direction of Prof. Eliot Chapo who served as a concertmaster as New York Philarmonic, Dallas Symphony and such. At the age of 26, he finished his education and received the “DMA – Doctor of Music in Arts” title.
Between the years of 2009-2019, he investigated the benefits of learning an instrument by using symbols and colors. He has been working with kids with spectrum as well as children of early ages. Dr. Turkili founded a learning center in Istanbul “House of Arts and Sciences – www.bskcocuk.com”, where he and his colleagues work with children with learning disabilities and with young children from ages 2-3 and above.
He also serves as an assistant professor at Bahcesehir University Conservatory and currently is the head of the music department.
