Encourage Music Learning Without Being Pushy

Its only lately that I have really appreciated the benefits that I enjoyed as a result of growing up in a musical family. My father was a keen jazz guitarist, my mother an accomplished pianist and my uncle an avid drummer.

Having children of my own I can see how they have benefited from having access to guitars and other musical instruments as they’ve grown up. We’ve never pushed them toward learning to play an instrument like piano or violin. Instead we’ve given them the space they need to develop their own individual interests, just as I was, and we think that this approach has been very good for them.

Our youngest boy has no interest in playing an instrument of making music. He has a very keen interest in sports, especially football, and online gaming. However his older brother was bashing out rhythms on a toy drum kit from about the age of three. By the time he was seven years old he was playing along with my guitar playing on his mini child size drum kit.

My daughter has something of a rebellious nature and has always liked to challenge her mother and me. However, in recent years she too has begun to take a keen interest in music but for her this involves DJing and playing her music so loud that it prompts our neighbours to ask if it can be turned down. Her interest in DJ equipment and modern dance music has led to her developing skills in music production using computers and it’s looking like she will progress to a music technology course at college.

I think that parental influence is a significant factor in the developing interests of our children. We’ve tried to provide very clearly defined boundaries while encouraging them to be independent. As they grow older it is clear that they are developing into independent, self reliant and capabel adults. We just wish that our daughter would play her dance music a little more quietly and stop upsetting our neighbours.

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