I happen to love teaching music to children.
Taking them from wherever they are on the
spectrum of music appreciation and showing
them more.
For several years now I have been involved
with the music classes at our Co-op.
First I was the assistant in the more formal
choirs taught by a certified music teacher
and then as the teacher after she
moved out of state.
As a person who just loves music but is not
a certified teacher I don't even pretend to
be an expert at all aspects of music. I do,
however, have a lifetime of singing, playing
piano and listening to music to fall back on.
I have sung in several choirs, was in a vocal group
that traveled and found a love for classical music
in an early morning class at Penn State.
One would think that getting up early, rushing
to class and then sitting in a darkened auditorium
listening to the classics might put one right back
to sleep. But, instead, it invigorated me. I learned
to love the harmonies and creativity of so many
instruments working together.
So....when I teach young people about classical
music I let them listen to it. Not for lengths of time
at first. We listen to pieces and identify the instruments
we hear. I tell them stories of the people who have
written the music. Such interesting stories!
We laugh together at Beethoven's Wig and other
silly lyrics put to classical music.
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| Photo Credit: Amazon.com |
I highly recommend this series of CD's if you are
teaching music at home. Truth be told, even my
teenagers get a kick out of them. I would put them
in while we were driving here or there and tell them
that I was prepping for my music class and my guys
came to love them too.
Teaching music to children is a joy.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to
have done this for so many years.
This will most likely be my last year with
our co-op.
I will miss my young students and
hope to make the most of this last year.
What do you do to teach your children
to love music?
Becky K.
