If You Want to Introduce Your Child to Classical Music. Where to Start.
Disclaimer: This post is not intended for musician parents, music enthusiast parents, or parents whose children are seriously involved in music. Nor is it intended for those who have been taking their child to concerts and museums since the age of two.
My mother didn’t know lullabies. She would read me poetry or play Vivaldi's The Four Seasons. I have perfect pitch and love poetry. The perfect pitch is, of course, a coincidence, but most things are better introduced at an early age. Whether it’s poetry or Olivier salad. A teenager will wrinkle their nose at this mayonnaise wonder and will read what they chose themselves or what their friends recommended. They are grown up and know everything. It's better to start early.
So, where to begin.
First of all, don’t drag your child to a concert right away. Don’t overwhelm them with the beautiful. Play something at home. For a short time. How do we introduce complementary foods? Gradually. The same goes here.
Secondly, the concert shouldn't be long. Don’t overfeed. If the child gets tired of listening, leave. It's hard to love something forcibly.
Thirdly, not just one instrument for the whole concert. An orchestra is better. Even better, "Peter and the Wolf."
Fourthly, no opera! Opera is good to visit with teenagers. But choose something with either drama—there’s plenty of that—or a good, solid plot—this is harder to find.
Fifthly: before the concert, choose something with a storyline. Nutcracker cartoons; Tom and Jerry when Tom plays the piano, flash mobs—all of these are yours. Everything funny and impressive too. I love showing little ones Rossini's aria of the cats and asking what's happening. The kids laugh and love to make up stories. In general, the question "what happened there" is a very good one.
Sixthly: choose the composer carefully. You don’t need Wagner! Choose something easy to listen to. Remember the golden set of clichés. All those Für Elise, Mozart’s 40th Symphony and Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. They are overplayed to death. They are used in advertising, but they open the door to everything else. To Bach and even Wagner. To all this heart-stopping beauty. Just a little preparation is needed.
So, where to begin.
First of all, don’t drag your child to a concert right away. Don’t overwhelm them with the beautiful. Play something at home. For a short time. How do we introduce complementary foods? Gradually. The same goes here.
Secondly, the concert shouldn't be long. Don’t overfeed. If the child gets tired of listening, leave. It's hard to love something forcibly.
Thirdly, not just one instrument for the whole concert. An orchestra is better. Even better, "Peter and the Wolf."
Fourthly, no opera! Opera is good to visit with teenagers. But choose something with either drama—there’s plenty of that—or a good, solid plot—this is harder to find.
Fifthly: before the concert, choose something with a storyline. Nutcracker cartoons; Tom and Jerry when Tom plays the piano, flash mobs—all of these are yours. Everything funny and impressive too. I love showing little ones Rossini's aria of the cats and asking what's happening. The kids laugh and love to make up stories. In general, the question "what happened there" is a very good one.
Sixthly: choose the composer carefully. You don’t need Wagner! Choose something easy to listen to. Remember the golden set of clichés. All those Für Elise, Mozart’s 40th Symphony and Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. They are overplayed to death. They are used in advertising, but they open the door to everything else. To Bach and even Wagner. To all this heart-stopping beauty. Just a little preparation is needed.
