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.
No comments:
Post a Comment