Within the past six months or so, both of my children have become much more interested in music. Despite hearing various elder family members singing along on a regular basis, they never seemed to grok that that's what was going on: singing the words that someone else was singing with the music. Now that they both get it, more often than not my listening is interrupted with their requests to hear some favorites. Here's what some of those favorites seem to be right now.
Both snolfs: Help I'm a Rock; They're Coming to Take Me Away; Little Boxes; Carra Barra Wirra Canna; Waltzing Matilda; Botany Bay [yes, I hear a lot of Rolf Harris these days]; Big Balls; No!; Older; and various Ozzie Black Sabbath songs (that's mostly from their older half-brothers).
Snolf #1 (male, 8): I'm So Glad; Roll the Bones; Veteran of the Psychic Wars; Tom Paine's Bones.
Snolf #2 (female, 6): Wowie Zowie; Orange Colored Sky; Swing Sucks! (a compilation disk; her faves seem to be Detroit Swing City and Mildred, Won't You Behave).
There are others I'm just not thinking of at the moment; often they'll hum or sing a snippet of something as they play, or come into my room. It pleases me that they enjoy music so much; in addition to listening to songs, #2 likes to come up with her own songs. As you'd expect from a young child, they're rambling improvisations without a lot of melody; but she's got a pretty good ear for rhyme that goes beyond a basic understanding. I'd say they're starting out pretty well.
Snolf Music
Sunni says:
Good to hear from you, m'dear! How did you know I regularly read your "Guitarded" sidebar, anyway?
I have my flute still, and a recorder, which both of them have dabbled with, but aren't really of sufficient size to learn how to play. I do want to encourage their musical exploration, without forcing it ... I've probably ended up under-encouraging it as a result. If you can recommend an inexpensive but decent keyboard for them, I'd be most appreciative. They both like the marimba sound -- or is it vibraphone? -- they've heard in various songs I play with some regularity.
Jon Sisk says:
Hi Sunni:
Long time reader, first time caller.
While at a fellow Erisian's house last week in Seattle, he had this amazing CD playing and it seems like a good choice to get your kids to appreciate some of the music from our youth:
Beatles for Kids
http://store.musicforlittlepeople.com/75949d.html
Sunni says:
John! [blows kiss] So good to hear from you! Thank you for the suggestion -- the snolfs enjoyed watching Yellow Submarine and were on quite a Beatles kick a few months back. I'll check it out!
Billy Beck says:
I'm glad my guitar column is working for you, Kiddo. Good deal, then.
As for keyboards: did I mention "cheap"? How old are these children? (Perhaps I might know if I'd been following closely enough, but I don't know.) This last Christmas, I bought for my three year-old nephew a keyboard at Radio Shack, and I think I got the whole thing out the door -- with a power supply purchased separately -- for a bit under forty dollars. It's got small keys (perfect for his little hands), a hundred or so different voices, and a bunch of other stuff (rhythm accompaniments, etc.) beyond his reach right now. He's happy as he can be, and the whole thing's a big fat hit. I would say that, unless we're talking about an extremely gifted child, something like this is sufficient up to the age of about ten or so. I *don't* have any specific recommendations, but I say that you can think "small" and "cheap" and pull the thing off nicely. These days, you can set up very effective tests of kids' interest in the affair without burning through a fortune on something that might not work out in the end, or might not survive the physical challenges of childhood. (e.g.: a glass of milk spilled in a forty dollar keyboard isn't going to be an enormous shattering tragedy.)
Let me know if you have any other questions, at all.
Having been blessed with parents who took profound interest in this aspect of their childrens' lives, the very idea of kids picking up music as a practical element of their own lives just always thrills me. It's a life-long gift. And for those who have it, there is nothing else like it.
Sunni says:
As the major reason for blogging this item was to capture a snapshot of my children's interests at this time, I've added their approximate ages to the post. I try to respect their privacy as much as anyone else's, so there hasn't been a lot of hard data on them posted here.
$40 sounds like a very good investment, indeed. And I do have a question: any thoughts on when to start teaching them how to read music? I've shown music to them, and explained that it's a language of sorts, but that's been it thus far.
Billy Beck says:
Okay, Sunni: I was just outside grooming the coal-bins, but came right back in because I couldn't resist v-shopping.
Have a look at this Casio at Wal-Mart. Fifty-eight dollars. Full-size keys, even.
Here is another Casio (Amazon) at $49.99. It needs a separate power-supply.
Here is one by a company called KeyTech (of whom I've never heard), at $99.95: full-size keys (velocity-sensitive: the harder you hit 'em, the louder the output, like a real piano) and a bunch of other stuff.
Here is a Yamaha at the same price, that's even more capable. (A note: "polyphony" refers to how many notes the synth can generate at once. This one can do 32 notes. I believe the Casios I pointed out above can only do four.)
Here is a Casio model (12 notes), "Sale Price $85-$120".
All this stuff is somewhere in the range of what I might recommend, depending.
Sunni says:
Thank you, thank you! Time to do some eBaying, then.
[Haven't forgotten our dangling threads, in case you were wondering. Just busy.]
Billy Beck says:
On reading: that's where you've got me, Sunni. I never learned to do that. (There's an old joke -- Q: "What's the best way to make a guitar player turn down?" A: "Put a chart in front of him." )
I might not be the best one to ask about this. Generally, though, I think the analogy you made might be a decent indicator. What you said is exactly right. Proceeding on a premise like that, I'd say that one might get started about as soon as they start coming to grips with any written language, or shortly after. I would say that it's never too late, but one thing about children (and I'll bet you know this) is that they are able to learn at rates that they will never again sustain for the rest of their lives. On that premise, I'd say the sooner, the better.
Billy Beck says:
I should have suggested eBay. I have bought guitars there, and some people think that's crazy: buying a guitar sight-unseen. I haven't missed, yet, and have come up with at least one stone keeper. (Guitars come & go, over time.) Buying electronic keyboards should be ridiculously easy, by comparison, because they're not nearly so touch-subjective. If you turn 'em on and they work, then that's all there is to it.
Good luck. Don't hesitate to ask if you think I can help with anything.
jeffrey smith says:
To read music the surest way is to learn an instrument. Billy's idea of a keyboard is an excellent suggestion. Give them a songbook, help them pick out the notes, and let them play with it. Once they can read music, give them something interesting to play, like:
[some Bach stuff that's probably beautiful but ridiculously difficult]
Jac says:
Ah, Rolf Harris... right on!
Sunni says:
Hey, Jeffrey, good to see you again; I was starting to get a bit concerned I'd inadvertently scared you off or something.
Hey Jac, have you heard his cover of Stairway to Heaven?
Jac says:
Heh...
There's an old Australian stockman, er, ROCK BAND trying... dying.
Listen to that right after Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport or Stairway to Heaven, and you won't stop laughing.
Rolf Harris is great. :laugh:
Jac says:
Crap... screwed up the tags. :blush:
[S'okay, I-- the Tag Fairy -- fluttered in and fixed 'em.]
Billy Beck says:
These children will require guitars.
(nod) I'm tellin' ya.
For now, cheap electronic keyboards will do.
Cultivate this, Sunni, right away. It's a life-making move. Get on top of it with everything you can.