Larry Marcel is the conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in the United States. In his 35-year music career, he has conducted more than 4,000 operas and concerts. He has six children and has deep insights into children's music education. Author William R. Choate conducted a special interview with him on how to cultivate a love of music in children. His talk is reproduced below.
Children like to listen to music. I have six children. I once let each child sit on my lap, stay absolutely quiet, and listen to classical music alone. They were all visibly mesmerized by the music. You don’t have to be a musician to experience this precious moment, and you don’t have to be preparing your child for a career in music in order for him to benefit from this experience. When people ask me, both as a professional musician and as a parent, what is the most important issue in arousing and developing a child's interest in music, I simply answer, "Exposure."
However, I am not saying that children should be exposed to music under special circumstances, such as taking children to small concerts and forcing them to receive classical music regardless of their age. He said or hinted with his attitude, "You must listen well, because music is good for you." This approach is likely to have the opposite effect. The best way is to make music an integral part of the child's home environment and become something that the child automatically associates with the pleasant environment around him. If you take a toddler with you when he or she is not old enough to attend a concert, you will be irritated and restless most of the time because of the child's unruly behavior. What you have established at this time is a passive relationship with music. In a family environment, you should definitely introduce your child to music when he is less than one year old, and try playing some works that can attract babies. In most cases, babies will become active.
What kind of music do children like to listen to?
People often think that children initially respond to music with a strong rhythm. In a sense, this is true. Because rhythm is the most basic element of music, even for tone-deaf people who can't distinguish pitches. But why should the music that children can listen to be limited to music that involves clapping to the beat? I find that very young children often respond strongly to melodies, almost on an emotional level. Children love to listen to music that combines powerful rhythms with pleasant melodies. Remember, very young children have no prejudices, no narrow favorites, no social pressure to accept one kind of music and not another. In my experience, children can be allowed to listen to some beautiful, melodic pop music and folk music, and some representative "cool" jazz music can have a surprising effect even on babies and toddlers.
Some parents often take out a book and sit with their children to help them identify objects, colors or different animals in the book. Why can’t they use the same method to identify clarinet, violin, What about drums and trumpets? My children and I listen to music together, look at pictures of musical instruments, and play games of finding musical instruments. It is fun for my children to enjoy the different sounds and timbres produced by different instruments. My two and a half year old can already recognize eight different instruments. Of course, my career as a band director makes this game easier for me. However, many public libraries and stores that sell tape recorders and tapes also have audio tapes with small picture books of musical instruments, which can be convenient for anyone. Another great game is to work with your child to make up a story using suggestions from the music.
Should anyone learn instrumental music——
When a child’s interest in music goes beyond simply listening to music and begins to show interest in playing an instrument (such as As early as six years old), it must be encouraged, but in the right way.
The essentials of getting your child to learn an instrument - whether at home with a private teacher or in a training group (like a Suzuki Method class) - isn't about producing a prodigy, adding someone to a famous band is supposed to make you children are exposed to a new, rich language.
Parents should regard learning music as a means and should not use it to urge their children to make a career as a public performer. Over the past two decades, only a handful of people have been able to make a living as musical performers, even though a number of highly trained prodigies emerge from American music schools every year. Beneath the majestic peak of the music profession lies a sea of ??heartbreak.
In fact, if you look at most accomplished people in any walk of life, including business, you will find that at one time they wanted to be a concert violinist or a piano player. The number of players is astonishing. No matter what their current job is, the ability to concentrate they gain while learning music has become an important ingredient in their career success.
A few words of caution -
If you have reason to believe that your child has special talents, you still should not push him to perform in front of an audience. Even as an adult, there is nothing more intimidating than performing in front of an audience. Let your child engage in musical activities in a fun, fear-free atmosphere; let him play with friends, with the school's performance group, at games or other school events.
What is the best age to start learning music? Around age six or seven, or when the child is ready. Any earlier than this, the child may not be physically able to master the instrument yet.
A word about practice. I think it's best to think of practice as a matter of effort. If a child sees that he's making progress and that his initial effort is bearing fruit, then he's likely to automatically practice and practice will become something he enjoys.
Find a teacher who can give your child an attainable goal - a piece of music. After a week of practice you will be able to play well. If possible, let your child choose a piece of music so he can actually say, "I wish I could play this piece." Then once he gets a feeling of success, you can go back to the basic techniques and start over. I think it's a mistake to start off with nothing but scales and drills for a child, and it drives everyone in the room over the edge. It is necessary to understand the meaning of the word practice in a comprehensive sense and let the children play on this basis. Once they experience the fun, all the scales and exercises will no longer be empty things they do not want to do.
Remember, music training is the best background for any field of work your child eventually enters, because the ability to play an instrument also gives children another talent, which is to The irrational things (which can also be called spiritual things) that come from our intuition, emotion, and inspiration are expressed in non-verbal language.