Everyone loves music, and getting your child interested in it from a young age can really help with their development.
Much like learning to ride a bike, younger children can find it much easier to learn new musical skills early in childhood and if they learn and enjoy playing one instrument they are much more likely to be able pick up other instruments just as quickly.
Let’s take a look at some tricks to help get your child interested in music from an early age.
Play Musical Games
You can start your child getting interested in music very early on in their life by getting music involved with their play time.
You could try playing musical chairs or sing a long game, so that they associate fun play time with music and start to learn instrumental beats.
Making toy instruments with your child is another great idea. Create a mini drum set using cardboard boxes and wooden spoons from your kitchen as the drum sticks. You can even make instruments by filling old clean tin cans or jars with beans and covering the top with tightly stretched cloth, or make a guitar out of a shoebox with a hole cut in it and rubber bands stretched across the top.
These ideas can really help with their imagination and associating music with fun times.
Learn A Musical Instrument
If your child develops an interest in music from an early age you could get them formal music training with companies such as LVL Music Academy or even a private tutor.
You could start your child as young as just two or three with a basic instrument like the recorder. It’s unlikely they will learn how to play it properly but they will enjoy the sounds it makes and will get them incentivised to improve and learn more.
Some of the easiest instruments a child can learn include the recorder, the drums and piano. The earlier they start to learn to play a musical instrument the easier they will find it, and the better they get with one instrument the easier they will find it to learn new instruments.
Let them try out different instruments or even sample tutor lessons before letting them choose the instrument that is right for them.
Reading music sheets can be quite complicated so get them to follow simple sing alongs or even youtube videos tutorials before advancing them on to learning reading musical notes.
It’s important to not force an instrument on a child. Should you like the guitar for example, do not try to force your child to also enjoy the guitar, they need to discover and find an instrument that is right for them.
Sing To Them
A very easy way to get your child enjoying music is to sing to them from a very young age. Singing to them when they are a baby will help associate your voice and melody to happy times and it will be something subconsciously they will remember as they grow up.
Stick to singing childrens nursery rhymes and children’s tv theme tunes, songs that are catchy and easy to follow to help keep their attention. As they grow older get them to join in and sing along with you.
You could introduce this as a playtime session so it becomes routine in their life to help them fall in love with music.
From a very young age of even a few months, there are classes where you can take your child to sing with other parents and babies, this will help aid development, social skills and develop a love for music from a very young age. This is also a good opportunity for parents to socialise and get tips on introducing music.
Provide A Good Example
Children look up to their parents and normally follow their lead. If they see you from a young age playing musical instruments and listening to music they are likely to follow your lead and want to do the same as you.
If you can play a musical instrument, then make sure you show your child how much enjoyment it gives you playing it. Let them try playing as well and show them the basics. Again it’s important to try and not force this upon them but let them discover the enjoyment themselves.
This way they are more likely to want to learn and will persist with it rather than trying it for five minutes, getting bored and giving up.
Playing and listening to music on long journeys can also encourage an interest. If everyone who is in the car is singing and having fun, your child will come to associate singing and music with something joyful.
Attend Live Performances With Your Child
Taking your child along to live musical performances is a great way to get your kid interested in music.
This doesn’t have to be sold out rock concerts but can be small intimate live music venues or even amature performances at your local venue.
This can really help spark their interest as watching live musical performances is so much more exhilarating than listening to music on the radio or your ipod.
If you are going to go to any live performance, it is always worthwhile checking if they have ear defenders for your child. Whilst you want them to enjoy the experience, you also want to protect their ears to ensure they can continue their enjoyment for many years.
To Conclude
Most people naturally gravitate to music in their life from an early age, but giving your child an extra nudge will not harm their chances of growing to love music from a very young age.
There are many proven benefits of developing a love of music early on, including improved cognitive ability and better social skills.
Learning an instrument also teaches persistence and patience, and a sense of achievement when they learn a new chord or a new melody.
So, have fun with music, don’t make it become a chore, and let your child express themselves.
