Gulsana Magzimbetova opened a school in Aktobe, Kazakhstan, to teach children and adults to play any instrument and any style of music by relying on colours and geometric shapes instead of standard musical notation.

Music therapy has long been recognised for its ability to heal both physical and mental conditions, bridging the communication gap among children and adults, to help them express their inner feelings.

While music therapy is gaining popularity, the next step in this form of therapy has been showcased at Expo 2020 Dubai as the methods used by Kazakhstan teacher Gulsana Magzimbetova publicised.

Five years ago, teacher Gulsana Magzimbetova opened a school in Aktobe, Kazakhstan, to teach children and adults to play any instrument and any style of music by relying on colours and geometric shapes instead of standard musical notation.

The same method was revealed at the Kazakhstan Pavilion at Expo 2020, on a two-stringed dombra to coincide with Expo’s Tolerance and Inclusivity Week and explained how the idea for her potentially revolutionary method of music education came about.

Talking about the method, Gulsana Magzimbetova said, “The children at the preschool I was teaching at could not read or count. The only thing they understood was colours and shapes. The method I have developed can be used by anyone. My youngest student is three, my oldest is 83. So far I have taught more than 1,000 students.”

Magzimbetova’s method using a piece of sheet music resembles a series of coloured rectangles and triangles, while the stem of her dombra has colour bars that help students know where to put their fingers.

Magzimbetova said she would like to see schools that teach her method open around the world – and that the results of her method are clear. “All the children who are playing instruments usually have no bad habits. They are focused and they are really into the learning process. Just as music is a universal language, it is an antidote to many ills,” she shared.