Many children, given the opportunity, want to learn to play a musical instrument. They don’t have to be pushed or prodded, they just want to do it. For the most part initial interest is motivated by two factors: (1) It sounds like fun; and (2) Everyone else is doing it.
Some children, however, are tentative about diving into instrumental music. That’s OK. While you should not force your child to do something he doesn’t want to do, be encouraging. Look for openings in conversation that you can use to talk positively about your enthusiasm for music. There are plenty of reasons for doing so.
• Music enhances the quality of our lives, and it surrounds us every day. Can you remember ever going through a day without hearing at least some kind of music? Probably not. Music is so much a part of our culture that to imagine life without it is almost impossible. In short, music is an essential part of daily life.
• Music is not passive, it is active. As important as music is, the role it plays in your child's life should include more than listening to records, watching TV, and attending concerts. Music is something we do.
• Most children love to perform - either by singing or playing an instrument. Remember when, as a toddler, your child danced and sang in front of the TV or made a drum set out of a wastebasket and your stainless steel cookware? Joining band or orchestra offers your child an excellent opportunity to perform or do music (and it saves a lot of wear and tear on that stainless steel cookware).
• In addition to developing a whole new set of physical and mental skills, your child will also learn responsibility, self-discipline, a feeling of self-worth, and the value of cooperation.
While it's true that your child can learn most of these values in other activities, such as playing football or cheerleading, playing an instrument will enhance your child's life for many years to come, long after football and cheerleading are nothing more than a few faded pictures in the school yearbook. In other words, you can do music a lot longer than you can do many other activities.
I work with a small group of older men who play brass instruments. All of them played in grade school, junior high, high school, and even in college. Now in their 60’s, 70’s, and even 80’s, they still enjoy making music on a regular basis.
Members of this musical organization started like your child, as youngsters who wanted to learn to play an instrument. Some of them are excellent musicians, some are average, but all have richer, fuller lives because they made a decision to do music.
Learning to play an instrument involves your child in an activity that helps build important social skills and reinforces a positive sense of self-worth. Most important, playing an instrument meets a basic need to make music and exposes your child to an understanding of the fine arts in a way not possible through listening alone.
Not only that, but it's an investment that lasts a lifetime. What better reasons could there be for joining?
Coming up next: Why kids really join band or orchestra and when to start.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Your Child Can Play An Instrument
Like many parents, you may think the ability to play a musical instrument is a ''gift.'' You may believe that children who are born with this ''gift'' can learn to play an instrument - those without the gift can only listen. This, simply, is not true.
Your child does not have to be able to play trumpet like Doc Severinsen or violin like Itzhak Perlman to be a member of the school band or orchestra. Almost four million young people play band and orchestra instruments in this country. Very few of them are “gifted” musicians, yet most are happy, contributing participants in their school music programs.
Learning to play an instrument is, chiefly, a matter of developing a set of skills. These are skills any child can learn - like tying shoes or playing video games.
And, as with all important life skills - such as tying shoes (and playing video games) - some children learn faster than others. Given enough time and sufficient interest, however, any child can learn them. If you don't believe me, ask yourself this: Do you know any child who can't play video games? Of course not. Children aren't born knowing how to play Super Mario Galaxy or Dora Saves the Mermaids yet, somehow, they learn.
The physical coordination and mental skills required for a child to learn to play a musical instrument are no more complex than those required to play many video games. The problem is, so much emphasis has been placed on ''creative genius'' that we have all become brainwashed into believing that only those children who possess some sort of ''magic'' can do it.
In the real world, ''magic'' is also a skill. The foundation of magic is little more than a set of well-rehearsed skills or tricks. And so it is with learning to play an instrument. Ninety percent of learning to play a band or orchestra instrument involves developing physical and mental skills.
In a nutshell, your child can learn to play an instrument. All it takes is interest.
Some children need encouragement. Some children hesitate to bring up playing a musical instrument because they are afraid of failure or perhaps because the idea hasn't occurred to them.
That was the case with me when I was in seventh grade. My mother asked, one day, whether I would like to learn to play an instrument. If she hadn't asked, I might never have started playing the trombone. The notion of joining band just hadn't occurred to me.
Even if the subject hasn't come up, ask your child whether he has thought about joining band or orchestra. You might be pleasantly surprised at the answer you get.
The recipe for your child’s success as a band or orchestra musician, then, contains two key ingredients: (1) Interest – Your child must want to learn to play an instrument; and (2) Support – You must take an active interest in your child’s musical experience.
Coming up next: Why you should encourage your child to play an instrument.
Your child does not have to be able to play trumpet like Doc Severinsen or violin like Itzhak Perlman to be a member of the school band or orchestra. Almost four million young people play band and orchestra instruments in this country. Very few of them are “gifted” musicians, yet most are happy, contributing participants in their school music programs.
Learning to play an instrument is, chiefly, a matter of developing a set of skills. These are skills any child can learn - like tying shoes or playing video games.
And, as with all important life skills - such as tying shoes (and playing video games) - some children learn faster than others. Given enough time and sufficient interest, however, any child can learn them. If you don't believe me, ask yourself this: Do you know any child who can't play video games? Of course not. Children aren't born knowing how to play Super Mario Galaxy or Dora Saves the Mermaids yet, somehow, they learn.
The physical coordination and mental skills required for a child to learn to play a musical instrument are no more complex than those required to play many video games. The problem is, so much emphasis has been placed on ''creative genius'' that we have all become brainwashed into believing that only those children who possess some sort of ''magic'' can do it.
In the real world, ''magic'' is also a skill. The foundation of magic is little more than a set of well-rehearsed skills or tricks. And so it is with learning to play an instrument. Ninety percent of learning to play a band or orchestra instrument involves developing physical and mental skills.
In a nutshell, your child can learn to play an instrument. All it takes is interest.
Some children need encouragement. Some children hesitate to bring up playing a musical instrument because they are afraid of failure or perhaps because the idea hasn't occurred to them.
That was the case with me when I was in seventh grade. My mother asked, one day, whether I would like to learn to play an instrument. If she hadn't asked, I might never have started playing the trombone. The notion of joining band just hadn't occurred to me.
Even if the subject hasn't come up, ask your child whether he has thought about joining band or orchestra. You might be pleasantly surprised at the answer you get.
The recipe for your child’s success as a band or orchestra musician, then, contains two key ingredients: (1) Interest – Your child must want to learn to play an instrument; and (2) Support – You must take an active interest in your child’s musical experience.
Coming up next: Why you should encourage your child to play an instrument.
Welcome to a Parents Guide to Band & Orchestra
It's three o'clock. The front door swings open. A multi-colored blur races down the hall past the living room and jettisons a twenty-seven pound book bag which slams to the floor, landing inches from the dog. The dog yelps, jumps over the sofa and crashes into the wall.
For most parents, it's a typical school day afternoon. This time, however, there's a twist. The blur reaches the kitchen, jerks open the refrigerator door, lifts a milk jug to its lips and yells, "GUESS WHAT? I WANT TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT!"
If you are like most parents, this declaration will generate feelings of joy and panic. Joy because your child wants to participate in something educational, wholesome and fun; panic because you haven't the faintest idea what to do next!
That's what this blog is all about: What to do next.
The purpose of this blog is to provide information and advice for parents so they can involve their child in the wonderful, creative, brain-stimulating world of instrumental music. We'll discuss how school music programs work; choosing an instrument; how you as a parent can help your child - even if you don't have a musical background; and much more.
As a parent (and many parents do not have a musical background) the first thing you need to know is this: Music is not a mystery. Learning to play an instrument is a skill. And skills can be learned. Fairly easily, it turns out.
That's not to say that learning to play an instrument doesn't require work. It does. The secret is in making the "work" fun and providing support for your child when he struggles. And he will struggle. It's all part of learning how to do something new.
As for me, I am a retired music educator with 34 years of classroom teaching experience, mostly in band, but also in general music, orchestra, and choir. In addition to my teaching experience, I also spent 10 years as Music Coordinator for the Kettering (Ohio) City Schools.
I've authored two books for parents on the subject of music. One is titled, "A Parent's Guide to Band and Orchestra," and the other "A Parent's Guide to Teaching Music." I've also written or co-written method and technique books for band and orchestra, as well as numerous magazine articles on choir and music in general.
OK, enough about me. This is about you - and your child - and learning to play an instrument. So, let's get started.
Coming up next: Your Child Can Play An Instrument
For most parents, it's a typical school day afternoon. This time, however, there's a twist. The blur reaches the kitchen, jerks open the refrigerator door, lifts a milk jug to its lips and yells, "GUESS WHAT? I WANT TO PLAY AN INSTRUMENT!"
If you are like most parents, this declaration will generate feelings of joy and panic. Joy because your child wants to participate in something educational, wholesome and fun; panic because you haven't the faintest idea what to do next!
That's what this blog is all about: What to do next.
The purpose of this blog is to provide information and advice for parents so they can involve their child in the wonderful, creative, brain-stimulating world of instrumental music. We'll discuss how school music programs work; choosing an instrument; how you as a parent can help your child - even if you don't have a musical background; and much more.
As a parent (and many parents do not have a musical background) the first thing you need to know is this: Music is not a mystery. Learning to play an instrument is a skill. And skills can be learned. Fairly easily, it turns out.
That's not to say that learning to play an instrument doesn't require work. It does. The secret is in making the "work" fun and providing support for your child when he struggles. And he will struggle. It's all part of learning how to do something new.
As for me, I am a retired music educator with 34 years of classroom teaching experience, mostly in band, but also in general music, orchestra, and choir. In addition to my teaching experience, I also spent 10 years as Music Coordinator for the Kettering (Ohio) City Schools.
I've authored two books for parents on the subject of music. One is titled, "A Parent's Guide to Band and Orchestra," and the other "A Parent's Guide to Teaching Music." I've also written or co-written method and technique books for band and orchestra, as well as numerous magazine articles on choir and music in general.
OK, enough about me. This is about you - and your child - and learning to play an instrument. So, let's get started.
Coming up next: Your Child Can Play An Instrument
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