The fourth-grade students in our district have the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument. This program is not required; it is optional. But having played piano for nine years, from the age of six to the middle of my fifteenth year, I cannot imagine not taking advantage of the chance to have my child learn to play an instrument at no cost to me. It’s empowering to be able to generate beautiful sound (and, for a beginner, to generate sound, beautiful or not) from an instrument.
My older son Ben is studying the clarinet, and for every note he hits, there are three he misses. And the misses are like assaults on the eardrum. It’s strange, though. The pleasure he derives when he produces that C he’s seeking more than offsets his disappointment and frustration at missing the note. It seems a little success goes a long, long way in learning to play a musical instrument.
Our district has a phenomenal, award-winning music program. So when the parents of this year’s fourth graders were asked to attend an evening informational session moderated by the director of the district’s program, I made it a point to be there. And I’m so glad I went. That night I learned quite a few useful tips:
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• Spend some time with your child thinking about which instrument he or she should study. Boys gravitate towards drums, girls towards violins or flutes. But there is value in choosing an instrument that is less popular. If there are fourteen budding saxophonists, for example, how many will get the chance to play during an ensemble performance?
• Listen to instrumental music with your child. See what sounds appealing to him or her. A friend suggested that we listen to Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, which I thought was a brilliant idea, because each character in the symphony is represented by a different instrument: Peter by the strings, the bird by the flute, the duck by the oboe, the cat by the clarinet, the wolf by the French horns, the grandfather by the bassoon, and the hunter by the timpani drums.
• Have your child practice his instrument every day, even for only twenty or thirty minutes. Learning will occur more rapidly if reinforced daily. And make sure to listen in on practices as often as you can; encourage the sweet notes and make light of the sour ones.
• Don’t fear that your child’s academic performance may be compromised by having to spend time practicing his or her instrument, taking the lesson itself, etc. Research has shown that children who play an instrument earn higher grades and score higher on standardized tests than children who do not. Although there are several ways to explain this finding, they’re largely irrelevant to the basic point that the schoolwork of your beginning instrumentalist should not end up suffering.
Ben’s been practicing his clarinet for a week now. Already I see progress, and so does he. Each night he shyly asks me to listen to his efforts; how could I refuse? His younger brother often serves as a one-man audience, clapping when Ben has made it through a three-note song without a mistake. Ben would deny the pleasure Jack’s attentions bring him, but I can see the pride shining in his face when Jack starts clapping for him. Yes, he’s proud of himself, he really is.
Just as I am proud of him.
[tags]kids, children, parents, parenting, music, instruments, lessons, appreciation, patience, subtle, dedication, caring[/tags]
Photo graciously provided by dro!d, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
3 responses so far ↓
Hetha // Oct 11, 2007 at 2:23 pm
When I was Ben’s age, I announced that my instrument would be the drums. I was immediately shut down (I cannot remember by whom) and told that I would play the flute. Ten years later, I bought a beautiful drumset complete with top of the line symbols and proceeded to play the hell out of them. Good for Ben for sticking with it, it’s got to be frustrating for a little guy sometimes.
ewe_are_here // Oct 11, 2007 at 2:36 pm
I want my boys to play instruments as well.
I played the piano for a few years, then switched to the flute. I rather regret giving them up years ago, but I’m trying to learn to play my guitar. In all that spare time I have.
Joy of course // Oct 15, 2007 at 4:51 am
Lovely as usual. I took the piano for many years myself, and while I am no longer able to do much more than pick out a melody I find reading music invaluable. We are trying hard to convince our own aspiring singer, the value in learning an instrument as well. But she is cringing at the thought of more practice time.
Good for Ben.
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