As parents, we often would like to offer our kids the chance to become good at something that we never had the chance or opportunity to become ourselves. Kids don’t always share the same motivation or inspiration yet. But what can we do to encourage and inspire them to willingly activate their interest in learning a musical instrument?
Today we will look at the key elements to inspire your child to become a curious, ambitious and dedicated music student.
Surround Their Environments With Instruments
Most people have random instruments laying around at home. Perhaps a hidden acoustic guitar in the basement or an old piano at granny’s place.
Have these instruments visible as your child grows up. They familiarise themselves with their environments and add these objects to “Who I Am”, even if they don’t play them yet and can just look at them.
I remember my mom made sure that her instruments were just visible to us. She didn’t mind if we tried out a few keys on the piano or stare at her guitar. It was present in our lives and it became a part of “Who We Are”.
My sister went on to play the piano and I chose the direction of string instruments both by choice.
Since you might have thoughts about how to guide and support your child to choose the right instrument, I wrote an article about it that will help you with your decision.
Regularly Play or Practice an Instrument Yourself
If you play an instrument yourself, that would already be a foot in the door. Kids are mesmerised by the rhythm and structure of music and pay automatic attention to a musician.
Just pick a few strings once in a while. You will know that you have your kids’ attention as soon as they start asking you to play more often or they will start to bring the guitar to you.
Present Musical Idols to Them
We all need to find the people that inspire us for different things. The only difference between us adults and kids are that they don’t always have access to finding their role models other than family members, and they need guidance in making the right choices.
It’s our job as parents to guide our kids to follow safe and inspirational artists that present a positive influence.
Be open to scrapbooking and posters on the walls of their favourite stars. This is all part of the journey and process of becoming a musician.
Take Them to Music Concerts
Music concerts are an ideal chance to encourage curiosity. Use it as a family outing. Perhaps an acoustic park where there’s space for a picnic and other kids to play and engage with. Make this an unforgettable experience, irrelevant to our intentions as adults.
Use the way there to play music in the car, and sing together. And the way back for reflection and what they liked or disliked about their day.
I remember attending a dramatised musical about Buddy Holly when I was 8 years old. His story left such an impact on my motivation in my life which I will never forget it. It took place in a state theatre and felt warm, loved and comfortable.
All these components are key to being open-minded.
Check out the cool clip below. One can’t help but feel inspired. It taught me that life has highs and lows and that we should push through the challenges by finding solutions.
This post was written and posted by De Wet from startingmyband.com on 04.02.2023. The content was stolen from me if this blog post is seen anywhere else.
Pay a Visit to a Local Recording Studio
Search for your local studio and give them a call to hear if you are allowed to pop by. Tell them that you would just like to show your child what it looks like since you they’re interested in becoming a musician and just need to put the vision in place.
This is such an eye-opening experience to see how artists are being recorded and how it looks inside that people are inspired just by this type of visit. Not many studios would allow this, but you will never know if you don’t ask.
I still manage to visit the recording studio where I made my recording and I am always greeted and welcomed with open arms. I love walking in and seeing all the records against the walls and various artists coming and going. It is an unforgettable experience and one that we should be open to sharing with our kids as inspiration.
Connect Instruments to Their Fantasy World
Our aim is also to get the kids away from the TV, smartphones and screens, but how about placing a bridge between the two different worlds?
I have seen many kids being inspired by playing Guitar Hero on their gaming consoles, which was just the spark they needed to realise how cool it is actually to be able to make the music themselves.
Check the images below to have an idea about what it looks like:
Arrange Playdates with Other Kids That Go for Music Lessons
Using the influence of peers is an approach that often bears fruit. The playdate does not have to be about instruments or music, but to build friendship in general.
Only when the foundation of friendship and trust is established the mutual influence will start.
This basis helps both parties have friends that play music which is also a key component in keeping the kids motivated and engaged during their learning phase.
If you would like to know more about keeping your child motivated to practice and play their instruments, don’t miss the post I wrote about it. It will help you put the right elements in place from the word go.
Pay a Visit to the Local Instrument Store Together
I remember walking into the instrument shop and seeing all the guitars hanging, big speakers on the floor, and all the cool guys hanging around there, trying out new instruments. Even though I was not able to play yet, it made me dream, and it kept me curious.
This could be one of the tools that you might want to use. Even if it’s just a walk-through experience to get to know different types of instruments.
If it’s allowed, check how your child reacts with a guitar in their hands. Very important is not to buy one immediately, but to build up curiosity. If they will just get what they want on the spot, it might end up being less interesting.
Leave some space between the music experiences for reflection, inspiration, dreaming, and becoming more curious
Connect Music to an Exciting and Positive Feeling
Enjoy something special with your kids after their musical experiences. For example, after a visit to the instrument store or attending a concert, go for ice cream together and reflect on their experiences.
This is not a reward, but merely connecting music to the “feel-good” hormone. The idea of playing an instrument would now be connected to a positive feeling and something that they will always look forward to.
Kids’ natural instincts are that they would like to please their parents, and we want to motivate them to make their own decisions, responsibly. That’s why it stays important to stay open, honest, and open-minded about the different interests our kids may have.
It might be that they choose a different path by themselves, but at least we can say that we’ve done everything in our power to inspire our kids to choose to play an instrument.
If you manage to get them to start, the next challenge would be to make sure that they don’t quit. Be aware of the reasons why students quit music and know what to look out for in this blog post that I’ve published.
If you have any other creative ideas, please share them below in the comments section. I would love to integrate them so that we can help more kids and their parents.
Until next time, Rock On!