I bought this one at Cracker Barrel for 6 bucks. It’s a
Hohner and it’s really great quality. Great sound and it holds up well to the explorations of a young child. It’s really important to get good quality instruments for your child and for yourself.

Quality instruments don’t need to be expensive to have a good sound. The problem is that a lot of what’s marketed out there as instruments are really just noisemakers. Even a non musician can hear the difference. Try to listen and ask “Does it thud or does the sound carry through the air? Does it squeak or does it sing?”

Even if you don’t have a lot of musical experience, you can learn to listen for the difference by comparing the sounds different things make. One thing you can start with is to tap on things around the house and compare the differences and similarities. Try tapping in different places and with different items to see how the sound changes.

It doesn’t take much to start developing your ability to listen and to begin to understand music better. Having that understanding opens the door to having richer experiences with music. We’ve got plenty of noise in this culture. Wouldn’t it be great to replace some of it with music.

Deborah

SERVICES: This year I am altering my brother-in-law’s pants and helping my sister get set up to sell stuff on eBay.

REPURPOSING: I do this two ways. I give quality gifts from things I already own and I take things I own and remake them into something unique.

This year I took half-zip pullovers my son has outgrown and made backpacks for the kids.

I also add decorative elements to items to personalize them and make them more interesting. Last year I used pieces of roof flashing to create a unique decorative front on a simple blank journal.

MEMORIES:  I  have my grandmother’s old everyday dishes and want to decoupage her picture and other collage items on it and give it as way to remember her.

I also want to create a scrapbook with the recipes my grandmother cooked most often.

Another idea on my list is to use decorative family tree charts I purchased on Ebay and fill them in with all of the names we’ve found so far from our genealogy research.

GROW IT: We have a small city garden and I enjoy canning. I like to think of things to make that would make good gifts like salsa or jelly. I have also done this by buying produce at the farmer’s market when it’s in season and cheap and canning that into something good.

Fresh herbs are easy and cheap to grow, but expensive to purchase. Put together a small herb garden in a planter and give away the whole thing. You can also grow them yourself in larger quantities and make a small swag or wreath of different herbs to make a nice fresh gift and can be hung in the kitchen and used for cooking even as the herbs dry.

It’s best to buy the seeds and planters during gardening season for the best availability and price.

DOWNLOADS:  If a someone has an interest in a particular subject, you can download free articles, ebooks, podcasts, videos, etc. on that subject and give them as a gift in print or CD/DVD format.

The printed items could be bound in an inexpensive binder or report cover or a coil binding from an office supply store. My library lets me copy 200 pages a month for free and I hear a lot of libraries have a similar service.

I am doing this for someone who is interested in starting a business as a life coach.

Have a Merry Christmas,

Deborah

Deborah

PS: You can still receive “Getting Personal with Your Christmas Music” for free. It’s my chapter from the ebook Saving Christmas. Go to www.ourmusicalhome.com/savingchristmas.

For the most part, we just make music a casual part of how we live. He has had the benefit of playing with his toys while string quartets rehearse in our living room and he goes to Kindermusik class every week. Even with all of that, most of his musical education at home is very casual at this age.

We sing the Barney clean up song when picking up around the house. We also have lots of musical instruments (real ones and quality toys) all around for him to experiment on. 

Today, a friend came over and the boys had a sword fight with our boomwhackers. These are plastic tubes that are tuned to different pitches. They didn’t realize they were playing an interval of a major 2nd when they hit them together, but I believe these small experiences have helped my son grow musically. 

One thing I do is tap the rhythm on his back when we hear music, even from TV.  Sometimes I will tap the rhythm of the song and sometimes I’ll tap the underlying beat.  It really internalizes the beat for him and will hopefully develop a more natural sense of timing. I struggled with keeping time in my younger years, so I want to make sure he has a solid foundation.

Most of the music making is impromtu, but we do have one regular routine at bed time. We will all pile into bed for family devotion time. We start singing Gloria Patri followed by a Bible story. After that we say our prayers and end with the doxology. He almost always falls asleep after the Doxology.  It’s a great routine for us and it teaches him music of the church. At some point we will add other music from the liturgy. 

If you don’t have kids, you can still incorporate things for yourself.  Try to tap out the beat and the rhythm while you are listening to music.

Keep your instruments in plain sight. You are more likely to sit down and do something with them if they are easily accessible.

If there is a song at your place of worship that you are stuggling with, bring it home and learn it a little at a time. Sing it as you do things around the house. Maybe even memorize it.

There are lots of things you can do to make music part of your daily life. Just remember it is about growth and experience. Little things do mean a lot when it comes to music.

Deborah

I am quick to set them straight. Musical ability is something that can be developed. It is not the only indicator of what a person is capable of musically. A person doesn’t follow a path based mainly on their abilities in that area. What drives the person is their passion and desire to follow that path.

This was true in my family. My sister was one of those people who picked up music quickly and had a good ear. In my family she was considered the musical one even though I was the one who practiced all of the time.

It took me longer to develop my ear and sense of rhythm. As a matter of fact, I was told that I should never sing and my band director wouldn’t let me march my first year because I couldn’t stay in time with the music. To add salt in the wound, my younger sister was marched that year even though she was only in 6th grade.

I didn’t quit, though. I ended up with a music degree and professional acknowledgement that I do have an excellent singing voice. I also became band director of the band where I wasn’t allowed to march my 8th grade year.

Music was so important to me that I pushed through despite the setbacks. Aptitude and talent did not do it. I was able to develop those things in myself through hard work and proper training fueled by my passion for music.

This is why I am so passionate about helping others find their musical voice. My circumstances could have robbed me of something very meaningful in my life. Many others are being robbed. Music belongs to everyone and no one should go through life believing they if they don’t have “it” then they have nothing. It’s not an all or nothing proposition.

I encourage you to be careful. Don’t take the joy of making music out of your life or the life of your children.

Deborah