Mozart composed from the age of 5. Although it’s unlikely that your kids will play for the European royalty, the chances are highs that your kids will benefit from learning a musical instrument.
For this LowTechTuesday, we are gonna tell you why your kids should learn how to play a musical instrument and we’ll try to give you a few tips to make your kids enjoy playing music as much as this one:
Why your kids should learn to play music
The list of reasons your kids should study music is endless! This article perfectly explains why your kids should get into playing an instrument. Here is a summary of the different benefits:
1 – It develops their creativity
2 – It teaches them patience and discipline
3 – It gives them confidence
4 – They’ll make new friends (by joining a band!)
How to motivate your child to practice an instrument
First option:
Lock your kids in a room with an accordion and yell at them. Maybe some beautiful sound will come out of it.
Second option:
The goal is not to force your kids to play an instrument, or turn music lessons into torture sessions. The goal is to make them find the motivation by themselves!
1 – Help your kids find their instrument
Nobody wants to play an instrument they are forced to. For some kids, the flute might not be the coolest instrument on Earth. So help your kids find their own instrument.
To do so, you can go to a music instrument store with your kids and make them try all sorts of instruments. Maybe they’ll fall in love with one of them.
Another way to do it is to simply ask them what kind of music they listen to and find the one instrument that makes this music so special.
What about bringing them to a concert? Seeing how band members enjoy playing together might show your kids that it’s worth all the effort they put into it. A concert of kids will show them they can do it!
You can also try this test to see which instrument your kids should play.
2 – Create a Family Band
What about creating a family band?
If every member of the family learns how to play an instrument, you will motivate each others. You will also add a final goal to the music study. Your kids will then not study music to study music but practice with an objective: have a family concert!
A family of four can form a rock band: one parent at the drums, the other at the bass, one kid at the guitar and the other at the keyboard?
3 – Don’t let them quit!
Learning to play a music instrument can easily be discouraging, especially in the early days. You should use the proven method of the carrot and the stick.
The “stick”:
30 minutes of practice = 30 minutes of video game.
The “carrot”:
Record your kids practicing, at least every 3 months, and show them the progress they have made. Seeing themselves going from trying to understand how the instrument works to actually making sound come out of it will encourage them to pursue.
4 – Choose the right songs
Make your kids enjoy to play Beethoven and Stravinsky might take some times. So what about aiming a little bit lower?
Playing covers of current pop songs can be a first step to music making – even if it’s just a snippet of the song.
We like this cover of Call Me Maybe:
4 – Get involved
Showing your kids how excited you are when they are practicing and attend all their concerts will make a huge difference! You should be their first fan!
Liked this article? Don’t forget to share it on your social media! What about you, does your kid play an instrument? How did they start?