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Play and the Institution
By Deborah Lee | June 20, 2008
When I was a kid in the 70′s, I lived in a small town, we didn’t have cable, and the internet was unimaginable. My sister and I spent our time playing with toys (the kind without batteries), making crafts and playing outside. In the summer we had Vacation Bible School, at school we had 4-H, and we had girl scouts when they could find a leader.
Boy have things changed. Now kids play ball with purchased uniforms and coaches, do their crafts in classes, and play with video games. Of course there’s some free play out there, but when I talk to parents they tell me about this activity and that activity. I got overwhelmed just looking at the summer events from the St. Louis County Library.
Don’t get me wrong. I think these opportunities are wonderful. I do a lot for myself and my son. My fear is that people have developed a mindset where this is the only way.
It’s the same with music. When a parent thinks about giving their kids some musical experience, they sign-up for lessons and rent/buy an instrument or they sign them up for a kids choir. Maybe they go to some kids concerts. This is very important to do, but don’t get caught in the trap that this is all music is about.
Simple Steps
Keep music activities part of you schedule, but keep some out too. You and your family can grow musically by making music a fluid part of life. Here are some ideas…
- Start tapping. When you are listening to music tap out the rhythm or the beat. This is something I do often on my son’s back or belly. It helps develop an internal sense of rhythm and makes us both more aware of what is going on in the music. Try it on yourself using different parts of your body to tap with and tap on.
- Move from listening to singing. You hear songs every day. When you find something that interests you take the steps to learn to sing it. Move from humming to learning the words. You can do this with any song even commercial jingles and songs from Sesame Street. Don’t worry about how you sound, just have fun learning.
- Make up new words to songs. This is great to do in the car and can end up in some wonderful silliness.
- Buy some rhythm instruments. Use them alone or to play along while singing or listening to music.
- Make some instruments. Take household items and make instruments. There is a lot that can be learned by stretching a rubber band around a shoe box and observing how the pitch and tone changes. There are lots of books and websites with ideas on homemade instruments for every skill level.
- Make up new music. This doesn’t have to be difficult. Just pick some words and start singing about them. They will probably be simple and repeatitive at first. That’s alright. If you keep doing it you will start to notice improvement.
Resist the temptation to critque yourself to the point of giving up. Don’t hold yourself to the same standards as a professional musician. Have some fun and look for how you are improving. Once you build a little confidence you can stretch yourself more.
Deborah
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