How to Teach Your Child Music
As y'all know, Miki has been taking violin lessons since September and actually enjoys it. Although she can be a total pain in the arse about practicing, there's love in the making.
Per her instructor, her posture is good, Miki pulls the bow confidently, and handles the violin properly.
Her main challenge right now is to read music. Like most kids her age, counting beats and making sense of the notes isn't exactly a piece of cake. Heck, I took piano when I was 13 and I didn't get it. Now that I'm 35, it still don't make sense to me.
(Which is why I'm fascinated by musicians who've managed to take their successes beyond their wildest dreams. The feat alone says a lot to those who have succeeded.)
So the instructor asks me to stay during her lesson and have me transcribe some of things she's trying to teach Mikayla in more creative terms at home. So...it's all about counting beats and establishing differences between eighth and quarter notes.
Hmmm...one's a bit fast than the other. Two eighth notes make a quarter note. I do remember something from piano...I think.
So Miki's a little awkward trying to play "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" with varying speeds in the music. Quite a challenge I must say.
When we left her music school, I explained to her that "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" would sound really messed up if there were too many interruptions and varying speeds. I sang a broken version (it didn't take much which is why I don't do karaoke) and the little one began to giggle. Since it was an old example, I needed to get a bit creative to illustrate her teacher's point.
You'd NEVER guess how I got her to understand the difference between eighth notes and quarter notes. Heh.
Oh, come on. It's too damn obvious.
What better way to demonstrate music...other than to bring out mommy's favorite group.
First I started to sing, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," to prove my point. But then I realized it was the wrong song. So I switched to "Shout", and boy, oh boy, IT WORKED.
Shout, Shout (2 quarter notes)
Let it all out, (2 eighth notes)
These are the things I can do without, (quarter, eighth, quarter, eighth, quarter, eighth, pause)
Come on, (eighth)
I'm talking to you, (eighth, eighth)
Come on! (eighth, quarter)
My kid picked it up immediately. When I illustrated with my god awful singing, somehow she made the connection. Without the eighth notes, the song was sung too slowly. Due to my horrific vocal stylings, it would easily have the dead cringe in their coffins.
At least my point got across. I whipped my handy dandy Tears For Fears' Songs From The Big Chair songbook I acquired via ebay. I showed her the music and she giggled over it.
I wonder how EWTRW would sound if she played it on the violin?
Per her instructor, her posture is good, Miki pulls the bow confidently, and handles the violin properly.
Her main challenge right now is to read music. Like most kids her age, counting beats and making sense of the notes isn't exactly a piece of cake. Heck, I took piano when I was 13 and I didn't get it. Now that I'm 35, it still don't make sense to me.
(Which is why I'm fascinated by musicians who've managed to take their successes beyond their wildest dreams. The feat alone says a lot to those who have succeeded.)
So the instructor asks me to stay during her lesson and have me transcribe some of things she's trying to teach Mikayla in more creative terms at home. So...it's all about counting beats and establishing differences between eighth and quarter notes.
Hmmm...one's a bit fast than the other. Two eighth notes make a quarter note. I do remember something from piano...I think.
So Miki's a little awkward trying to play "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" with varying speeds in the music. Quite a challenge I must say.
When we left her music school, I explained to her that "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" would sound really messed up if there were too many interruptions and varying speeds. I sang a broken version (it didn't take much which is why I don't do karaoke) and the little one began to giggle. Since it was an old example, I needed to get a bit creative to illustrate her teacher's point.
You'd NEVER guess how I got her to understand the difference between eighth notes and quarter notes. Heh.
Oh, come on. It's too damn obvious.
What better way to demonstrate music...other than to bring out mommy's favorite group.
First I started to sing, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," to prove my point. But then I realized it was the wrong song. So I switched to "Shout", and boy, oh boy, IT WORKED.
Shout, Shout (2 quarter notes)
Let it all out, (2 eighth notes)
These are the things I can do without, (quarter, eighth, quarter, eighth, quarter, eighth, pause)
Come on, (eighth)
I'm talking to you, (eighth, eighth)
Come on! (eighth, quarter)
My kid picked it up immediately. When I illustrated with my god awful singing, somehow she made the connection. Without the eighth notes, the song was sung too slowly. Due to my horrific vocal stylings, it would easily have the dead cringe in their coffins.
At least my point got across. I whipped my handy dandy Tears For Fears' Songs From The Big Chair songbook I acquired via ebay. I showed her the music and she giggled over it.
I wonder how EWTRW would sound if she played it on the violin?
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