Teaching your child music, what has been your experience?

[Maquenzie]

My oldest, 4, takes Suzuki Violin. Other than daily practice, daily listening to a Suzuki CD, and weekly lessons, we don't do anything else.

I have a Suzuki Baby CD that I've started using with my youngest (13 months).

I would love to teach other things as well, primarily note reading and pitch. For those doing that, how are you doing it?

We also have a piano at home, but I've been conflicted on piano lessons. A part of me wonders where we'd even find the time. My oldest goes to Montessori school 5 hours a day, daily violin practice, reading to me once day, math activities, occasional foreign language activities, and I typically read 60-100 pages from a chapter book a day. There isn't very much free play time left. We sometimes use the piano during violin practice, but not that frequently.


For those with children learning an instrument, how do you handle the stages of not wanting to do practice?

[Fuzby]

Hi,
I have a 13 who was learned to play the violin at 3.  I took him to a teacher (as I can only play piano) but I had a fancy box that I had a hole in it for him to reach in and grab a piece of paper with an instruction.  One paper would say, pluck an A, and then he would reach for another and it would say, do 5 jumping jacks, and another one would say to play and E with the bow, and then have a drink of juice, etc. etc.  He learned to pluck twinkle twinkle and play Ode to joy, in just 3 months of lessons.   Got an award too. He really enjoyed the lessons, as long as it wasn't just before nap time!  Actually when he was around 8 he was tested for, not  sure what it is called but the school does it to see if there are disabilities etc, and they found that his part of the brain that is responsible for learning music was in the 99 percentile-they said he could very well be a concert pianist if he wanted.  I'm trying to think what I did with him.  I played music constantly, not just classical, actually it was mostly not classical. I would play little tunes on the piano and have him repeat them, just a few notes at a time.   And we sang in the car with music all the time.  When he was eating I would sing with him.  Did a lot of clapping rhythm to music. He also did one year of 'music for young children', but that didn't really work out for us.   

I have a one year old now, and every time we go by the piano I play C or D, E and sing the note, and playing lots of Bach and other music, I'm hoping to get a repeat.  He doesn't seem as musical so far as the other one, not sure what the difference is. 

[Maquenzie]

I looooove that box idea! I will set one up tonight. Do you have any other ideas for keeping lessons fun?

[Fuzby]

The box idea definitely was a hit.  I also would wrap a little present in the box, he loved the surprises.  I have all boys so the name of any game is action.  I would set up cards and have them pick the right one by pushing their cars and knocking over the right one, or when they answered the right questions they ran across the room and jumped onto pillow, or the couch.  If I played a high note they would jump up very high, if it was a low note they would crouch on the floor.  And of course lots of clapping and jumping up and down when they got it right!  Puppets are great too, they are more likely to follow the instruction from a puppet sometimes! I found that it was easiest to get them to do most anything until they were 6, that is when they got their own ideas on what they wanted to do!!  Also when as soon as he learned about 4 notes I would find a song and had him play his 4 notes one at a time, at the beginning of each bar, and play for some people and he would see their reaction and praise. Like Bach prelude in C, the music is very predictable and he could play a new note at the beginning of each bar. I guess you would have to have some musical background to figure it out.  My older son couldn't learn violin, he only wanted to bang on things, so I would have him bang on keyboard or xylophone type instrument to music, he could only do up to 4 notes though, and for him the crazier the music the better, a pretty prelude would have bored him!  

I found too that when I made his lessons all about the violin he seemed less inclined to want to do it, when I made it seem like only part of the lesson was about the violin he did much better. The lessons were about surprises!  And then eventually it became about the violin. And I made the lesson only 20min, with a washroom break.  I find this works for kids with Adhd also, I use to teach piano and I had a very musical but extremely hyper kid who was about 7, his lesson was 10min and then all games.  I think the box thing would have worked really well for him.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

Maquenzie- if your kids go to montessori school and lessons, then presumably you spend a certain amount of time in the car. You can always use that time for audio learning of musical topics or otherwise (versus whatever happens to be on the radio).



We do a few things now. Some of the programs we use-

-Attend Prezuki class once a week and reinforce lessons/songs at home
-Suzuki Disc 1 Daily, sometimes Disc 2
-Trebellina
-Trebellina note flashcards
-http://www.youtube.com/user/geenogee I recently bought the full Prodigy Mozart program and it should be arriving any day hopefully
-Random Classical Music Cds
-Themes to Remember (we need to use this more often)
-A piano DVD from the local library, ridiculously low budget but DD enjoys it
-Beethoven's Wig (we need to use this more often)
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejf-fgmYp6Q (I fast forward to the singing parts of these 2 clips, I need to edit them one of these days)
-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne077Id2P7I&feature=relmfu
-BK Music Basics & Cyndec's Musical Instruments are favorite LR files

We have a variety of kid's hand instruments including this M & D Set http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2267333 , this First Act Set http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2341202 , some finger cymbals, a lollipop drum (huge hit in our house), a homemade star wand (similar to the ones used in prezuki class, used as a precursor to a bow), and a glockenspiel or two. I have been using the glockenspiel for pitch training but after recently learning about bell instruments potentially causing pitch confusion, I am making an effort to purchase a piano more quickly and will use that instead for pitch training. We use our hand instruments for repeating the games/songs we learn in prezuki class, to keep rhythm to nursery rhymes, for call and respond, etc. They also just love to bang around on them and explore the sounds. They are not top quality (the glockenspiel is a bit better than the rest) but for percussion type instruments I don't think it matters as much as say a piano for example. We sing quite often in general throughout the day, including solfege forwards and backwards a few times which DD knows by heart.


I just came across this list last week: http://www.acceleratedlearningmethods.com/auditory-stimulation.html (click the link at the bottom for a list of recommended music selections for accelerated learning)


A few other programs I am considering in the future. (The SingnLearn site also has a ton of other learning Cds for math, english, etc)
-http://www.singnlearn.org/khxc/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=magnificentmasters&sid=4zh8b98js0d27nnhq843wb4u85bm7v44
-http://www.singnlearn.org/khxc/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=portraits&sid=4zh8b98js0d27nnhq843wb4u85bm7v44
-http://www.singnlearn.org/khxc/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=profoundeffects&sid=4zh8b98js0d27nnhq843wb4u85bm7v44 (click the PDF to see the resources and data, WOW. Amazing stuff.)
-http://www.amazon.com/eMedia-EV12090-My-Violin/dp/B000VPRFSE (the kids can always watch as I click through the software)
-Piano software of some sort, undecided on the brand
-http://www.wehearandplay.com/
-I probably need to buy a violin soon and begin private lessons. I have been meaning to for a while but haven't been sure if DD's attention span is mature enough.
And of course we simply cannot wait for LITTLE MUSIC!



use www.keepvid.com to DL any youtube videos to your computer, replay with no ads or buffering delays

(we also do other spanish music and learning songs but I don't count that as part of our music program, I count that towards foreign lang or EK)

[Maquenzie]

Wow!! Thank you!! So much to read through and digest. (that's good!) ...and in thinking about pitch and bell instruments versus a piano, I can really understand that. It's easier for me as an adult to find the pitch to sing on a piano.

Fuzby, thank you for your suggestions! I made a "magic box" last night in prep for tonight's lesson, covered it with a black and purple silk scarf. HUGE hit! Violin practice went on for almost an hour! And it had been becoming a bit tedious for both of us. I finally said we really just have to stop because it's past bedtime! I will alot more time for violin practice tomorrow, in case we're just having a blast again.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

I was just adding in about their "progress" and how my kids have been responding to the program. I lost the whole post when my internet crashed. Again. My ISP has been in and out ALLLL night for weeks now, it's so frustrating! I am firing them tomorrow and switching providers!

Anyway, I will rewrite it and update tomorrow. I wanted to add a few more thoughts but I am off to bed.

[Maquenzie]

Okay, so I've been thinking more and more about teaching piano and how I'm probably dropping the ball on that. We have a real piano (that I will get tuned soon, we can wait until then to begin anything). But I also have a toy piano, we've had it for over 3 years. I *think* it's a good one. This is it...

http://www.toypiano.com/product_information.asp?html_model_number=189B

I suppose I need to hunt for my tuner and check it though.

IF it's in tune, I might start teaching a simple melody (very slowly) to the baby. Does anyone have any experience with Schoenhut pianos?


But if we do piano with my 4 year old, I have NO idea where to start. Something simple and short, like a book we can both learn from would probably be good. (I cannot play piano, I mean...I can print out free music and in a week learn to play Christmas songs with chords and melody, but I have no idea if I'm doing it "correctly". I'm not that great at sight reading or piano.) I'm definitely not interested in adding formal piano lessons to our schedule, because it's just full already. I'm thinking of picking up a beginner piano book, yamaha or such.

[aangeles]

Hi Maquenzie,

I don't have time to do a long post now, but I thought you might be interested in this thread if you've not seen it already:

http://forum.brillkids.com/teaching-your-child-music/our-experience-so-far-with-%27music-for-little-mozarts%27/

[TeachingMyToddlers]

aangles- thank you for reminding me about that thread! I need to implement a few of the things mentioned.

Okay, trying this again, take two…
I plan to buy an Ipad down the road, and when I do I will probably get this app or something like it, I am sure there are others. This is just the one I happened upon on youtube. http://apps.usedhonda.jp/pm/

In regards to their progress, at 26 months DD:

-Sings songs relatively on pitch (or at least tries to anyway and understands the concept) including solfege forwards and backwards by heart (the pitch sounds close to my untrained ears but I don't know how exact it really is at 2 years old)

-Sang independently for the first time in front of her music class with everyone looking at her when it was her turn.  She is expected to complete the last line of a song that the teacher leaves off. We practiced this particular song as a family over winter break, making it very fun for her.  last night, when it was her turn she sang the whole song unprompted, much to her teacher's surprise.

-Has really developed a love of music in general, singing, and banging around on the instruments. Most intriguing of all, on three separate occasions (weeks apart) she mentioned hearing violet when playing the triangle by asking me “Do you hear violet?” or saying “Hear violet!”  While I had read about this concept/possibility previously, I had never talked to her about anything like this. It really caught me off guard to hear her say something like this out of the blue. It could be something, could be nothing, only time will tell. The triangle is the only instrument that she has responded like this. Check out paragraph three in this Suzuki article. http://www.perfectpitch.com/suzuki.htm This was/is one of the main motivations in wanting to step up our music program, if the potential is beginning to blossom it is my responsibility to nurture it as best I can.

As for my 13 month old, he loves to catch my eye and dance when I put on music. I had previously been letting him tag along to DD’s Pre-zuki class and the teacher didn’t mind at all. He would just sit in my lap and observe. I’d clap his hands and such while my husband interacted with my daughter.  I never once had to take him out of the room for fussing. Apparently, over winter break he has become a lot more spirited and mobile. Last night I had to take him out of the room twice for fussing and keep him out. He didn’t want to sit in my lap, he wanted to explore. So I let him climb the flight of carpeted stairs 5 times in a row trying to wear him out (I spotted him of course). I decided I would like to enroll him in his own class for younger kids such Music Together, Kindermusik, or Musicgarten, or even gymboree if they have a music based option (Prezuki enrollment doesn't begin for our program until 18 months). This fall he will be old enough to officially join Prezuki and as a paying customer I won’t feel so badly if he disturbs the class then LOL.

At home, he has developed enough coordination to hold the drum handle in one hand and beat it with the mallet in the other. He could not be more pleased with himself over this! The xylophone and triangle are his other two favorites and he too loves our music time in general.

[momtobaby]

What are some of the things I can start my 7 months old baby on to teach her music?

[mom2bee]

@momtobaby

I would try putting on CD's and listening to them and explaining about each Instrument, just like you might say, "Baby, do you hear that lowing/mooing sound? Thats a cow."

Say, "do you hear that soft sound in the back of the music? Thats a___"

I have absolutely no musical skill and even less talent. I can't sing to save my life, though I like to do so occasionally when no one is around. I will encourage my children to play violin and or piano by ear and possibly get them an instructor or a program as they grow, but but I'm not banking much on developing musical prodigies, or even musical talent/skill. But I do want them to listen to lots of music, acoustic and acapella though, not electronically aided or produced music.

But I don't know that I'll include music as an active part of their education until they are 4-6 years old.

[lzp11]

I am not a very musical person but I am totally convinced of the benefits of early music teaching!  My dd is 22 months now and we are not doing any formal music programmes so far (but we are waiting with baited breath for Little Musician...!!!)

 The things we have done so far (as well as a few things that have already been mentioned):

- Going to a weekly “sing and sign” and class that I think is based on Kindermusik.  We’ve been going since DD was only 4 months and she LOVES it!  I find it great because the teacher is amazing – really enthusiastic.  We have different instruments to play every week, as well as dancing, singing and sign language.  The real benefit of this was that I learned a range of great songs that were really relevant to day to day life and things that she thought were important e.g. about changing nappies (diapers), getting clean and dirty, different food and milk.  I used the signing as well and that was also really great way for communicating.  As time has progressed, we have moved on to more complex songs and signs.  I’m sure you could also find this on DVD but I would recommend going to a group class if you can - it has also built her confidence in playing with other children and is a really fun part of our week.
- Beethoven’s wig CDs – we love these and play them in the car along with a whole range of other classical and other types of music.  I found that she prefers music that she’s been able to get to know well.  So I chose one track from Beethoven’s wig and played it three times a day for a week or so (alternating the track with the words with the one without words).  We would get out a drum and beat the rhythm, or clap or dance – getting really excited about it.  This idea is not mine – I got it from this great blog website:  http://www.childandme.com/ideas/teach-your-child/music/
- Putamayo kids CDs  - I love this range of world music children’s songs and exposing her to music from Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean.  These are all really lovely CDs.
- Singing all the time, including making up songs to fit day to day situations with silly words
- Steady beat – playing percussion instruments along to various music tracks, or even tapping her
- In the car we get to know a wide range of music by listening to each Cd several times (e.g. we’ve listened to opera, classical, salsa, etc etc)
- Dancing together to different types of music
- Classical baby DVDs – these are not formal music training but they have a great soundtrack and some nice gentle animations showing babies and other animals dancing, really clever and I enjoy watching as well!   I was way more impressed than with any of the baby Einstein DVDs  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Classical-Baby-Pack-Region-NTSC/dp/B0009WPKYA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1297628882&sr=8-2
- Playing with her toy piano and xylophone
- I play basic piano but really badly - I know I should re-start learning as a good example but I'm always so short of time.  In the meantime, I have dug out my old guitar and play this to her quite often.  I'm pretty useless with this too but the good thing is that you can use a guitar as an accompaniment to many many songs.  In fact, most nursery rhymes only need about 3 chords so you do not have to be particularly proficient to have fun.  I just think any kind of live music is great.
- I record some classical music programmes from the TV (e.g. various operas and concerts) and play in the background when we are playing at home.  She often looks at the different solo instruments and we talk about which ones they are.  This sometimes makes her go across to the guitar and ask me to get it out.

DD  has certainly seemed to have developed a love of music.  She often sings to herself or asks for music (either by signing or saying the word).
But I’m a bit unsure now about the next steps.  I don’t think she is ready for formal instruments yet.  I would like to sing solfege and show the hand signals but I’m not confident and don’t want to get it wrong.  Can anyone recommend a good youtube video that might help?

[lzp11]

Oh, I forgot to mention, I also found this site which might help with perfect pitch training.  It is a bit advanced for us but I'm hoping to start using it soon.  It is a Montessori Bells free internet based program for discrimination of musical sounds by pairing and ordering, developing pitch identification:

Montessori bells online: http://mbells.sourceforge.net/

[TeachingMyToddlers]

How cool is this?!



http://www.theorytime.com/Large-Vinyl-Floor-Grand-Staff_p_55.html

If you scroll down on the page they have some other cool items too. How neat!

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