I played the flute in school and thoroughly enjoyed learning how to read music and didn’t even mind all the practicing involved. As I began homeschooling, I became aware of how learning a musical instrument really has many benefits such as teaching responsibility and patience, boosting confidence, reducing stress, improving math and reading skills, and exposing you to different culture and historical periods—just to name a few. I encouraged my children to start with piano lessons at a young age. All my children love music, but I had no idea my oldest would discover such a deep love that the enjoyment remains with him today. From learning improv with piano lessons to guitar, drums, and even the banjo, music has created such an avenue of creativity, service and enjoyment in his life.
There are many tools to bring music into your family that may just spark a lifelong love of music in your children’s lives. The piano is a wonderful instrument to begin with to provide a solid music foundation. Alfred’s Music for Little Mozarts books for 4, 5 and 6-year-olds help kids learn beginning piano skills and basic music instruction with ease. Alfred’s music courses for older children also have very clear instructions with wonderful illustrations but move along at a slightly faster pace. If you have a new music student in your home, Alfred’s 89 Color-Coded Flashcards help teach symbols, notes, and other musical terms. These flashcards can be used by any music student for any instrument.
Teaching your children to play the recorder is an easy and inexpensive way to introduce them to music. They can learn how to read music while actually building their confidence as they learn to play an instrument. The Canto Recorder and Recorder Books offer easy-to-follow instructions with clear illustrations. The set comes with a recorder and an instructional song book with songs arranged by difficulty level. The recorder is a nice option because of its simplicity; you can all learn as a family.
If your child is interested in learning a stringed instrument but not quite ready for the guitar, try out the ukulele. This instrument can be a precursor to learning other stringed instruments because of the basic strumming patterns and simple chords. Children’s Ukulele Method Book gives children everything they need to start learning this enjoyable instrument. Starting with a simple description on how to hold the instrument, this book then gives instruction on how to play each chord as well as strumming technique.
When your child is ready to move to the guitar, Alfred’s Self-Teaching Basic Guitar Method Book 1 is an excellent course to teach your older child and can also be self-directed. Starting with the foundational knowledge of notes then transitioning into chords, this course emphasizes both as lessons progress.
If learning a music instrument is not an option for your children at this time, you can still introduce your children to classical composers. You can find excellent composer biographies like Scholastic’s Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Composers series. These straightforward books introduce young children to classical music in a fun way, using colorful cartoons, real pictures, and an interesting storyline of each composer. My children even picked up these books to read in their free time or we brought them along on long car trips. Another favorite resource is the Music Masters series. These CDs interweave a narrative of the composer’s life along with selections of the music. Each CD is approximately an hour in length. Another great idea for long car rides.
Help Your Kids With Music is an excellent music resource to use together with your whole family. Use to supplement your children’s music lessons or as a way to introduce your children to key elements of music and music theory. The instruction is clear and there are lots of colorful examples, making it easy for those of us who are not musically inclined.
To be honest, it was very intimidating teaching a musical instrument to my children. I chose to outsource their lessons when learning a new instrument. However, there are so many options today that make it easy to introduce your children to music before they take formal lessons. There are also many ways to expose your children to different genres of music while developing a love and appreciation for music for years to come.
~ Gina
