How to introduce them to musical instruments

[Thierro]

I would like to introduce my little niece to musical instruments (she’s 28 months old).

 

How do I go about this? I play piano, guitar and some harmonica myself. I gave her one of my old harmonica’s en she play's on it but very seldom. But when she does, I encourage her, and I really try to show my appreciation by dancing and clapping my hands.

 

Whenever she’s around while I play the piano, I’ll let her sit on my lap, and she’ll bash the keys a minute or two and then leave the room. She also wants me to stop when she takes off. Not sure if she just wants someone to play with or doesn’t like the piano.

 

Is buying her a box with several instruments (toy piano, xylophone, flute) a good idea?

 

Whenever she feels like playing, she rumbles through her toys and picks out whatever she fancies the most. What if she doesn’t pick out one of the instruments? I guess I should just let her do her thing without interfering? How can I stimulate her to play an instrument?

Edited September 29, 2011 by Thierro

[Feelin Frisky]

I think the key is to find a way to lead a child to understand that music has a logic that they can control. If you just give a baby an instrument, they will stick it in their mouth even it it's not a harmonica or trumpet and then start banging on it because making noise feels like power. Somehow, a young child needs to be reached to start believing that there's more power in order than the noise of chaos. A young brain builds it's own capacity and if the right approach captures interest at the right time, a synergy can happen where the instrument can facilitate a musician. But it's hard to intervene with someone else's child and try to lead the child to make orderly sound expression a priority. You might try something other than an piano or guitar or tonette. Something like a xylophone/glochenspiel or even something less demanding like glasses of water filled with different measures to lead them to find out if they get a personal joy from orderly sound or they are just little noise makers that really aren't geared that way at that time. Good luck.

[Stung]

Kids are all different. She's at an age where many still just bang whatever they get their hands on, indiscriminately.

 

IMO, playing instruments when she is around so she can listen and watch & playing music for her often on the radio are important, exposure is key. Give her musical toys, sing to/with her. Do give her the instrumental toys--any educational toy is a good thing--but play them WITH her. Model how it's done. And pay attention to how interested she is--if she wants to wander away, I'd let her. Why force it and turn it into a chore? Maybe she's a child that needs to come to things in her own way, her own time.

 

My son was always extremely interested in listening to and making music, so I never had exactly this issue--but we bought him some instruments, when he was a little younger than your niece and was still in his banging phase. I found a banjo specifically made for 18-30 month olds which is totally different from just a smaller-than-ordinary instrument, it's got the spacing just right, the body could double as a soft drum and it can take a ton of abuse. I also got him some bongo drums and a cheap keyboard. Now he's a little more sophisticated, and has his own ukelele and little xylophone. He'll be starting real music lessons this winter, from a school that specializes in the Yamaha method and teaching little kids 3 and up. If he's not ready, though, we'll just take him out and try it again in six months. Six months can do AMAZING things to a kids level of ability and psychological readiness.

[Feelin Frisky]

Another thought: what I think a lot of people mistake in trying to teach a kid music is to get the child to play a melody--like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. That effectively does nothing to acclimate a child to the nature of music. It is pure "do what I say until I say it's over". I think what would be much better would be to teach just a simple three note piece of a melody and lead them to play it in other octaves on the instrument. This orients them to the nature of octaves and intervals and then you move as quickly as you can to the hard thing which is getting each hand to do an independent musical thing in key. If there is any aptitude or talent there, the logic will start compelling the child to "play". Melodies come much later as an idea. I think teachers even for grown ups on instruments still make this same goof. Playing a melody on guitar as the first thing to learn is senseless since guitars rarely are used to play the melody. Intervals and the ability to play the same chords/arpeggios on different parts of the neck is how to orient someone to the system of music. Scales come next. Then metoldies and ryhtm.

[Thierro]

That is some great input, thank you very much. It’s a shame that I only see her 1 or 2 days every two weeks and that I can’t spend more time with her to expose her to the benefits and fun of music. She doesn’t have any instruments at home, but she enjoys mumbling songs. Out of nowhere she will start singing small parts of nursery rhymes. Next time she starts singing, I will play the melody with her on the piano or guitar. I’m not going to force anything, but I will make the effort to make the experience of music engaging and fun.

 

Filling glasses with different measures is a great idea. She loves playing with water.

 

Does it actually matter to kids how a certain musical toy looks like? I have seen a little keyboard that looks very plain, but I also found one with little animals on them like this one;

 

Keboard

 

Or

 

Piano

 

It looks adorable, but I’m not sure if it is that alluring to kids.

 

Thanks again.

Edited October 1, 2011 by Thierro

[KathyM]

I would like to introduce my little niece to musical instruments (she’s 28 months old).

 

How do I go about this? I play piano, guitar and some harmonica myself. I gave her one of my old harmonica’s en she play's on it but very seldom. But when she does, I encourage her, and I really try to show my appreciation by dancing and clapping my hands.

 

Whenever she’s around while I play the piano, I’ll let her sit on my lap, and she’ll bash the keys a minute or two and then leave the room. She also wants me to stop when she takes off. Not sure if she just wants someone to play with or doesn’t like the piano.

 

Is buying her a box with several instruments (toy piano, xylophone, flute) a good idea?

 

Whenever she feels like playing, she rumbles through her toys and picks out whatever she fancies the most. What if she doesn’t pick out one of the instruments? I guess I should just let her do her thing without interfering? How can I stimulate her to play an instrument?

I would suggest waiting until she's older and has the self discipline to practice it. She's too young to have that kind of self dicipline needed, and you don't want to make it a pressuring situation. I started piano lessons at the age of 8. I started clarinet lessons at the age of 9, and took lessons in both for many years, and even into adulthood. I also taught piano lessons to children. I had a student who was 4 years old. Very eager to learn, but just too lacking in self discipline and her hands were too little to accomplish much of anything, so her mother and I decided to hold off until she was a couple of years older. 2 years old is too young IMO. It wouldn't hurt to get her some child sized toy instruments though, just to get her in the mindset that playing musical instruments is an enjoyable thing.

[Feelin Frisky]

This may or may not add up to anything but I'm going to entertain some thoughts out loud about music and youngsters. I mentioned before about teaching a child to simply play a melody is probably an errant first move if the objective is to lead the child into a symbiotic relationship with a musical instrument. Upon some further reflection, it occurred that music is both a "right brain" and a "left brain" phenomenon and understanding the dynamics of this can be key to understanding what we call "talent" and "genius".

 

The left hemisphere gives us our connection with real time and what we perceive to be objective reality. The right brain is somewhat the opposite--it is dominant during sleep where we dream and gives us the ability to react to music with imagery and feeling rather than just pure analysis or indifference. This creates a bit of a paradox. To actually play and master music, it is necessary for the left brain to find fascination with counting and deduction. There is not too much space for reacting and experiencing music.By not separating these things or getting them wrong entirely, we confuse musical appreciation with musical activity like playing and eventually creating. Teaching melody for instance is "monkey see, monkey do" for the payoff of liking what is heard. Leading a child to find the same three note sequence--say, a little song that sings "I am Tom" in a major key that sounds pleasant--in the range of octave on the musical instrument appeals to the analytical left brain with enough of a payoff to the right to make the exercise worthwhile as an overall first foray into music.

 

People who enjoy listening often marvel at the "genius" of those who play and create. But there is no real genius to it that can't be explained by current understanding of cognition and neuroplasticity. People who master playing music do not necessarily make good creators of songs. The creation of music that really succeeds in capturing hearts and minds (not just bumps and grunts) involves a social dialogue between the composer and the listener. Otherwise it is self-indulgence which may appeal to some people but will not register as "great" with those who know their stuff. So, it seems a progression of engaging the left brain and leading it to find comfort and fascination in the mastery of rhythm (timing) and what exactly is needed to be ready to play a note in that time wherever he or she needs to reach on the instrument. From there, the left brain can then begin to influence the "whys" and the directions of what to play and when.

Then, to become a successful music creator, the spirit of invitation must come forward to establish the grounds of a "value transaction" where the song-writer spends some time telling you about something about his or her unique experience but remembers to keep a connection that makes it worth while for other people to care and listen. For some people--the capacity comes together very quickly and it stuns us as talent and genius. It is really fortune of brain health and the dynamic of neuroplasticity which quickly fills in the wiring in the mind one needs to achieve on that high level.

 

There are many other brilliant brilliant things people do that we can't experience with our immediate sense like music and art. Genius is all around us in technology, in architecture, in the patterns in your linoleum. More thoughts after I finish my Cheerios.

[Eve]

OP, try The Early Learning Centre. Their toys are made to a high standard and geared towards supporting the learning of young minds.

 

I hope you have a branch close by. The staff are always so knowledgable and friendly. They would be able to advise you.

 

The toys cost a bit more than usual but are quality products.

 

 

http://www.elc.co.uk/children's-musical-instruments/5604,default,sc.html

 

Take care,

Eve x

Edited October 2, 2011 by Eve

[Eddie Edirol]

Ill take a different approach to this....

 

I think you should wait until she gets to around age 6 before you start exposing her to music. And when you do it, you should play to the tv or the radio, and let her see you doing it. let her come to you and be curious. Dont force it on her, dont offer to teach her until she asks.

 

Wait for her to come to you, one day she will ask you to show her how its done, and you do it little by little, and make it a treat. If you offer too much, she wont cherish the lessons. Leave her wanting more.

[turnera]

At her age, I would instead introduce her to a lot of music already prepared, in the form of CDs or videos, that encourage her to sing along. Let her experience the joy of music that way at first, since it requires no learning. Along the way, bring in an instrument that lets her duplicate what she's hearing on the CD, such as a tamborine or drum. Let her learn what rythmn is, and as she gets older, bring in more complicated instruments like the piano. Keep it part of her play - not surprised she doesn't want to stand there and watch you play - where's the fun in that? Make it something you do WITH her.

[Thierro]

Feelin Frisky, you are simply brilliant. I enjoyed reading that as a musician. From the majority of your posts you seem like a very intelligent man. I respect that a lot.

 

There is no ELC where I am from. They definitely have some very nice things. I love the Melissa & Doug piano and it even comes with an illustrated songbook and colour-coded key chart. I don’t feel comfortable purchasing it online for the obvious reasons. But thanks a lot for your input.

 

I am already very happy with the way she engages in certain musical activities. I am pretty much confident that I am taking this the right way. She still has a lot to learn, but she will do just fine.