My love for music is a defining characteristic. While I do have favorite genres, I am happy to listen to all kinds of music and I do throughout the day. I love how it evokes emotions, how lyrics can be both literal and figurative, and I so admire the skill required to play/sing/write music. Live music is an experience that can transform you. I see music as an art form that is accessible to everyone and when we share it with our kids, we expose them to a greater worldview. Music is such a part of our daily lives, we wanted to make sure our children loved music too. And more than loved it, understood and appreciated it.
It’s easy to expose your child to music when they are little. We had Baby Einstein videos and lullaby CDs. Isaac was very young when he saw a VeggieTales video at church and he was a huge Larry and Bob fan from the beginning. Twenty-two years later, I can still sing you “The Hairbrush Song.” We enrolled the kids in preschool music programs where they learned music theory but mostly had fun getting to play the tambourine and kazoo.
I didn’t want my children to rebel against something I loved and rob themselves of it out of spite, so we walked a fine line of encouraging them but not forcing them. For example, both kids were happy to join the school band and continue with private lessons until graduation. But I couldn’t convince either kid that piano lessons were fun. While neither kid has chosen to start a punk band….yet, they both played with ensembles, summer bands, honor bands, and solos. They taught themselves new instruments and even learned how to improv in jazz bands. For several years we had tickets to the Kansas City Symphony Family Series where they could hear concerts and discussions aimed at a younger audience. Isaac started asking to watch his favorite bands live around the age of nine. We took him to his first concert at ten, where he managed to get a front row spot by the time the headliners came onstage.
Our formula to create lifelong music lovers includes listening to music together and talking about what we hear. We text each other songs to check out, snippets of lyrics that move us, videos that impact our hearts, and we have open and frank discussions about them together. I’ve been making the kids playlists (soundtracks if you will) for special birthdays, vacations, or events for their whole lives. It was our personal choice to never censor our kids’ music. When Isabelle wanted to listen to ONLY Hannah Montana, we went with it. When Isaac wanted to hear “what Ben Folds actually wrote” we allowed the explicit lyrics. Isaac understanding the social commentary provided in “99 Problems” and Isabelle breaking down “The Real Slim Shady” in middle school were unforgettable opportunities to discuss experiences larger than their own.
After school concerts and spring band competitions were canceled earlier this year, Isabelle chose to join a virtual band concert. A YouTube group, Lyon Bros, arranged a medley of songs which anyone could order. Everyone practiced on their own and sent in recordings. Lyon Bros did all the editing and put it all together to create a youth concert with musicians of all ages from around the world. Watching Isabelle take part in this concert, all on her own, I knew she would continue to love and respect the art of music for her lifetime. Also she sent me a Lizzo song yesterday.
While I love that my kids continue to play music, I recognize that being a life-long music lover is not dependent on those skills. It’s been years since I sat down at the piano or picked up an instrument (and I’ve been asked by everyone to please sing in private only) but that doesn’t change the big role that music plays in our home. So cheers to kids who love music, who dance to their own beat, and drag their parents along for the ride. Considering how pervasive music is in our culture, the daily exposure is sure to create music lovers in your home too.
