Have you ever noticed how you can remember the words to a song that you haven’t heard in years? I hear songs that I haven’t heard in maybe ten or twenty years on the radio, and can instantly start humming along. How exactly does the brain do that? I can’t even remember what I had for dinner yesterday, but I remember the nonsensical lyrics from some seventies pop song. The brain does work in mysterious ways. I was giving a ride the other day to a university student I play squash with, and she started singing to the song on the radio, which was probably at least 15 years older than she was. I mentioned that to her, and she said it was one the songs her parents played a lot as a kid. She still remembered the words. “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry, was the song by the way. The only hit the band ever had.

So, If remembering words over a long period of time could be considered education, then I guess music is an amazing tool. What about music from other cultures and different languages. Why not give a listed to a little greek radio ( ελληνικό ραδιόφωνο ) and find out for yourself.  I suspect it will work pretty well, and you may even educate your self in some Greek language speaking skills.  I know I learned a few french words from a certain disco song that Patti Labelle made famous a few years ago.  You can get greek online radio ( ελληνικό online ραδιόφωνο ) right in your web browser these days.  All you need is a computer and the internet.

Considering, that studies have shown that even infants still in their mothers wombs benefit from hearing classical music before birth, it would probably do us all some good to broaden our listening choices these days.

Once they turn at least five years of age, and have the physical control to start learning an instrument, then I think they should start. It depends on the instrument to some degree as well. Our kids had a piano instructor, that wouldn’t start teaching piano to children until they were at least seven years old. She thought that prior to that, their fingers simply weren’t big enough to play all the keys. Speaking of pianos, you may be wondering what brand to get for your kids. Well, it doesn’t have to be the best of the best, like James Bond’s brand of watches. We had just an old piano that my father bought years ago. I think he traded in his test De Ville Co-Axial replica on it when he was younger. Not a bad decision in hindsight, considering all the use we’ve gotten out of the piano. Friends of ours also bought just a regular Yamaha electric piano when their kids started playing.

Personally I’m glad to have had all the music lessons I did as a kid. And I never had to sell my replica Omega for a pair of drumsticks to get started. Drumming was something that was a big part of my life for a lot of years, and I must admit to missing the days I spent playing for hours. The nice thing about musical ability, is that it never truly leaves you forever. You can always pick it up later, and do something with it. I still harbor ideas of building a soundproof drum room in the basement, getting a nice kit, and starting playing again. Once of these days, I likely will.

Small scale guitars have been around for a long time.  They take a lot less work to fret and are easier on the fingers than full size guitars so fingers that haven’t developed can play along.  Aside from the guitar, all of the rest of the gear is the same.  You’ll use the same guitar cables, amps, picks, and effects as you would for a full size setup.  Many parents prefer to start their kid with an acoustic before jumping into electric so that they can have more control over the loudness, rather than dealing with having to constantly turn the amp down.

Teaching guitar to kids is a test of your patience, but the reward of improving your child’s ears and mind is well worth it.  Keep in mind the short attention span that kids have, so do any teaching you can in short bursts.  It also works best if you have a guitar that you can play along with them.  Many kid’s songs are very easy to learn and play, so you can be playing together fairly quickly with consistent practice.  There are also tons of guitar books that are geared towards teaching kids guitar that you can pick up to help you out.

Helping your little one learn to play guitar is an extremely rewarding experience and something that you both can enjoy for years to come.  Teaching kids music is one of the best things that you can do to help them out for their entire life.

Music opens doors, and gives kids opportunities that they may never have had without the benefit of learning to play an instrument.  So much of how we are, is a result of the people we choose to associate with.  Or hang with, as the kids would say.  Musicians are a slightly different breed of people, and have a very artistic view of the world.  While that may not be your view, is does expose your kids to a different perspective, and that I believe is fundamental to their growth and development.

That’s why I say it’s not that important which instrument you have your kids learn, as long as they learn something.  If your kids aren’t set on any particular instrument, and your not too sure, then choose the piano.  It’s hard to go wrong with piano lessons, and the piano can be used as a stepping stone to another instrument later on.  The basic fundamentals and theory of music are all there in the piano.  If they decide to play guitar, violin, drums, trumpet, or even the tuba later on, then what they’ve learned from the piano will be of benfit.

But, whatever they start with, make sure they stick with it for at least a year.  Two or three would be preferable, but I understand how hard it can be to get kids to practice their instrument even for one they want to learn.  Let alone one they’re not that keen on.

At some point, you need to give them the choice as to whether or not they continue with lessons.  With my oldest daughter, it was the second year of high school.  She had attained her grade 5 piano, and other things in her life were beginning to consume lots of her time.  Even still, she continued on teaching herself herself music from the current music charts.  Seeing her do that for a year or two was in some ways more rewarding than having her doing regular lessons.  She was playing the music because she enjoyed doing it.  That is afterall, how music should be played.

You can now order CDs, that have modified lyrics specific to your child, grandchild, nephew, or niece.  It’s of course a little trickier to do than a book, but with the advancement in computer music software it is quite possible.  In some cases, the names and facts are dubbed over an existing song track.  But, the better software will have a library of pre sung names that are actually substituted in place of the original lyrics.  While the former approach may sound more professional, I don’t think that to a younger child it will make much difference.  Maybe just to the parents.

I know a few kids, that would love to hear this kind of music with their own names in it.  My kids had a few of those personalized books when they were younger, but I had my own way of using that same technique with regular books and songs.  While reading or singing songs with the kids, I would frequently substitute their names and friends names in place of the regular characters in the stories and songs.  It was a lot of fun, to do it with a song they knew very well.  Because of course they’ve heard it so many times, they could tell it from memory.  But, when you mix it up a little it kind of throws them off.  But in a good way.

At first they may not catch it, but then they do, and something kicks in.  They look at you funny, tell you your singing it wrong, and insist you do it the right way.  At least initially that’s how they react.  The next time you recite the same book or song, they’re waiting for it.  And I think they get a little disappointed if you don’t use your literary license and start messing with it.  It makes things more fun, and get’s them thinking in more creative ways.  So, in a way you’ve taken a legitimate learning experience and made it that much better.

I know my life as been considerably enhanced because of the gift of music that I was given by my parents.  My father was the director of a drum corp, which was always a busy activity that brought countless musicians, artists, and arrangers through our home for many years.  Myself and all my brothers greatly benefited from that musical influence, and even in our later years continued to fall back on our musical skills to enhance and contribute to our daily lives.  Sure you can get healthy in other ways by buying sports nutrition supplements like Maximuscle Promax Diet and PhD Pharma Blend that when used judiciously will contribute to your healthy well being.  But, I believe that diversity is key to overall health.

If the kids have been misbehaving, and are in need of a timeout, you should try this little experiment.  I think it works especially well with boys.  At least it did with me and my brothers.  The next time the kids are on a timeout, turn on a little soothing gentle music to listen to.  Don’t let them think that it’s for them.   Just pretend your turning it on for you to listen to.  It also doesn’t really matter what kind of music it is.  It could be classical, pop, jazz, or even some rock and roll.  Just as long as it’s a little mellow and slow paced.  Now, observe how quickly the kids cool down from their little escapade that earned them the timeout in the first place.  I’m pretty sure, you’ll find that they calm down a lot quicker than without the music.  Try your next few timeouts with and without the music.  You will be surprised.

That’s just one little trick I’ve found that shows how music can have a beneficial and positive influence on both the lives of children and adults.

While it would be silly to suggest that you get your kids to take piano or any musical instrument lessons just to become a celebrity. The point to the story here, is that what you do as a child or don’t do has serious implications over the rest of your life. The old “you’ll thank be for it later” line is never going to be appreciated at the time by our children, but one that is worth repeating. Music is a life skill, and one that can take you places you’ve never dreamed of. Even if it only amounts to creating an incredibly popular YouTube video. A part of growing up and becoming more human, is to understand the different aspects that our culture can offer. If you can find a way to make it fun for your kids, that that’s even better. If not, than do wimp out and let them off the hook because your afraid they won’t like you later. While it’s true that they may be picking out your retirement home someday, I suspect they’ll be a little more happy with you as an adult if they have plenty of options open as they become adults themselves.

Well, let’s start off with my favorite.  At the very least the 100 Sing-A-Long Songs For Kids box set is going to give you plenty of material to work with.  It of course has all the favorites that kids love like “The Wheels On The Bus”, and “Do Your Ears Hang Low”.  It’s 3 seperate CD’s so if you get tired of one, or your super sneaky and quick, you can switch them while the kids aren’t paying attention and listen to something newer.  There were even quite a few I had never heard of.  This CD set is really meant for the toddler group under five years of age.

If your looking for a kids CD with a bit more of a grown up fare, then you’d have a hard time going wrong with “For The Kids”.  It’s got some great tunes the kids will love, that are played by some very accomplished artists that mom and dad probably know.  Artists like Tom Wait, Sarah Mclachlan, Five For Fighting and Billy Bragg.  Now, don’t be concerned that all these older artists make this more of a CD for mom and dad, because it’s really not.  As the title says, it is for the kids.

Music can be an essential part of any kids life, or for that matter, any adults life.  It’s crucial to learning, growing, and an effective tool in reducing stress.  Yes, believe it or not kids have stress in their lives as well.  A bit of music can go a long way to improving everyone’s health and disposition.  I know an old music saying that goes something like the more types of music you love, the more you love music.  I think, that’s an important gift, and one that needs to be instilled in our children starting at a very young age.  CD’s like these, make the lesson a whole lot easier to learn.

Future Rock Star In Training

Growing up as a child surrounded by music, I can adamantly state that I’m a very different person today because of that music.  I was the son of a drummer, the son of a drum corp director, the son of an aspiring piano player, the son of an aspiring trumpeter, and the son of a music teacher.  That may say more for my father, then it says for me, but it also speaks volumes for the world I lived in.  There were always musicians of all shapes and sizes, and skill sets around my home.  Most were adults, but as I grew through the years,  many of my peers were up and coming musicians that to this day continue to pursue their love of music.  To say music in my childhood shaped me as an adult would be an understatement.  And I mean that in a very positive way.  With the exception of the big name celebrity types, I can’t think of a single person that was close to me as a child, that didn’t benefit from growing up with music in their life.  For many of my friends, it was an escape from a family or school life they couldn’t cope with.  I have to wonder how much better their family lives would have been, if their parents had exposed them more to music.

Apart from the sense of accomplishment music brings to a young child, is the benefits to learning it provides.  It truly is a pathway to the brain that works exceedingly well for some kids who otherwise have great difficulty in learning.  The neurological benefits of music is still a relatively new area of research.  It is believed, that the sensory stimulation that music provides children can actually help them when they need to start learning reading, writing, and arithmetic.  There are of course been all kinds of approaches to getting kids to listen to music at a very young age.  Even before their born, some mothers play music to their kids while their in the womb.  They believe, that music can be heard by children waiting to be born.  Then there are all sorts of videos and CDs you can get specifically targeted to children which are meant to nurture their mental abilities.  This usually involves classical music.  One of the jokes around our family, is that my father (the drummer) used to tap out rhythms and drum beats on our backs while burping us.  That little anecdote may answer why my father managed to have four sons who all grew to become very accomplished drummers.