THE EFFECT OF THE TOMATIS METHOD ON PIANO STUDENT WITH LEARNING DISABILITY

Abstract

Learning for humans begins at birth. The human baby is always in an act of learning in order to understand its mother, its environment and what is going on. When they reach school age, reading and writing begin. In this new situation, some students have difficulties. This difficulty is defined as “Learning Difficulty”. This difficulty, which is also expressed as dyslexia, is a type of disorder that is diagnosed in considerable numbers today. Music ceases to be a hobby for some individuals, it becomes a profession as a professional. There is an institution where education is given from a young age to make music a profession. Conservatories are the most basic schools that provide various instrument training. Piano is also included in this training. Piano learning is a practice that activates both hemispheres of the brain. For this reason, it is extremely useful in increasing the plasticity of the brain. Piano education is also applied in learning disabilities. The positive effects of music are also revealed by different studies. With the method developed by the French otolaryngologist Alfred Tomatis, a new method has been tried in many ailments including learning difficulties. These studies, called the Method, are carried out with a headset developed in the laboratory that provides conduction through bone and air. Frequency changes to Mozart's works cause stimulation in the inner ear and have a positive effect on people. The aim of this study is to improve the success of the lessons and piano playing by applying the Tomatis Method to a piano student diagnosed with learning disability. In addition, it was observed whether there was a difference before and after the method with the scale applied. As a result of the research, it was determined that the three-course Tomatis Method application with the student gave positive results. In order for the study to be statistically significant, it has been suggested to increase the number of samples.