How to Raise a Musical Child
How to Raise a Musical Child
I am sure this is a question many parents have thought about. I know I did, as a young parent, years ago.
As an early childhood teacher (teaching through music and movement) and a piano teacher, I'm often asked by parents, "How do I raise a musical child when I do not have a musical background myself?"
Don't worry! You don't need a musical background to raise a musical child. What you need is to create an environment where music is normal, fun, and low-pressure.
Here are some tips:
1) Early listening exposure - listen to music from different cultures and different genres (e.g. classical, pop, blues, funk, bossa etc.)
2) Exploration of sounds with musical instruments
(a) Treasure hunt with your child - find things around the house (e.g.pots/pans for drums, wooden spoons for sticks) to use as drums and sticks.
(b) Craft activity with your child - make your own rainstick, shakers, and castanets.
You don't have to spend a lot to buy toddler musical instruments either. Kazoos, maracas, recorders, ukeleles, xylophones, and smaller keyboards don't cost too much. You can even find some of these offered in your "Buy Nothing" groups.
3) Singing
(a) Sing or hum to your child. You do not need to have a "good" voice to sing. It is fine to sing off-key. Don't judge yourself. On the contrary, your enthusiasm is more important than being on pitch.
(b) Sing with your child. With infants and younger toddlers who are preverbal and learning to speak, mimicking and echoing their sounds help with pitch/rhythm development and learning about musical conversation (with the turn-taking and call and response structure).
4) Movement
(a) Moving/dancing to music - Let us "hop" like a bunny, "fly" like a bird or "march" like an ant. Lift your infant up in the air or move their arms or legs. While you are carrying them, sway to the music.
(b) Body percussion - Pat our tummies, tap our shoulders, stomp our feet, clap our hands. Tap your fingers against your child's arm/leg. Create different rhythms. You can do this with or without music.
(c) Using props - dance to music using scarves or ribbons. Put on butterfly or fairy wings and "fly". Put on your cat "ears" and "tail" and slink around like a cat.
5) Attend live music events - In the summer where I live, there are free concerts and dance performances in the public parks. Concerts include classical, jazz, rock music. The dance performances include folk dances from China, Ireland, India, Polynesia, Brazil and you can listen to music from these countries. Attend a friend's child's music recital.
The children who get to bang around and discover sound tend to stay more curious about music later. These early years of musicking lay the groundwork for formal musical instruction later.
START TODAY! Create a joyful musical environment for your family!
* Heart Strings Mandarin's classes (online and in-person) introduces children to:
1) Music of all styles
2) Exploration of Musical Instruments
3) Singing
4) Movement