Nature is full of animal parents striving to help their kids survive in the great wide world. Alligator moms ferry their young around in their mouths to protect them from predators. Poison dart frogs find each tadpole its own pond to keep them from eating each other. And songbirds, well, they might allow their chicks to fall out of their nests to help them learn to fly.
Few things can bring a grown-up to tears more readily than a child singing. Why else would videos of kids singing on shows like X-Factor continue to get hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube? But there’s a fine line between helping your kids on the path to their musical dreams and becoming a pageant parent. The key is knowing what age to start voice lessons for your child.
If I told you to picture a “cool” person in your head, you’d probably imagine someone wearing a set of shades, driving a slick car to a rock concert where they’re playing lead guitar. Let’s face it: guitars are the definition of cool. But because being popular should not be the only reason you pick up an instrument, here are a few additional advantages of learning to play guitar.
The boot-stomping exuberance of a country fiddle. The mournful voice of an Irish folk song. The elegant notes of Bach or Beethoven waltzing through a symphony hall. Who knew that one instrument could evoke so many images? But the violin dazzles with an impressive musical range. Now, if only it were a little easier to play. Fortunately, the common challenges when learning to play the violin are common for a reason. Every beginning violinist grapples with them.
Since keyboard-based instruments have been around for roughly 700 years, instruments that use it, such as the piano, have gotten a reputation for being a little old school. But that doesn’t mean the piano can’t bring music into the digital age of the internet—and we’re not merely talking about the wonderful world of techno. We’re talking about taking the age-old traditions of piano lessons to the great wide web! Skeptical? These are just a few of the benefits of online piano lessons.
Between excessive screen time making our eyeballs boil out of our heads, cyberbullying, and YouTube videos that quite frankly weird us out, technology can sometimes get a reputation for being a modern-day boogeyman. Because of that, we are often hesitant to mix technology with something as pure and wonderful as music. But like it or not, technology has a part to play in all our lives—and it’s not always the role of villain. The role of technology in music education can actually be as a helper, a sidekick, and maybe even a friend.
What do B.B King, Stevie Nicks, Edie Van Halen, and Taylor Swift have in common? They all didn’t know how to play guitar at some point in their lives. But with hard work and a love of music, they captured the imagination of countless music fans. Even if you don’t intend to join the Rock & Roll or Country Music Hall of Fame, you can use the same grit and determination to learn to play guitar—even if you’re still staying home. Here is what to expect from online guitar lessons.
Singers are the only musicians who are their instruments. And that’s exciting! It’s like you’re practicing your own super-power. But because you are the instrument, it can make getting in front of a highly trained vocal professional and having them judge your technique even more nerve-wracking, even with the barrier of the computer screen. Because we want all our young super-powered singers to be set up for success, we’ve compiled the top tips for successful online voice lessons.
We’ve all heard that Mozart sat down in front of a keyboard at the age of four, composed by five, and performed for royalty by the age of six. Stories like that make us want to give our future musical geniuses the earliest start we can. But violins aren’t as easy to pick up as the keyboard (though young Mozart played that, too) and giving a toddler a fiddle and a bow can feel almost cruel. So how do you decide what age to start violin lessons for your child?
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Let’s be honest, you’ve heard some grown-up suggest piano lessons and then heard a child run for their life at least once in your life. Maybe that child was you. For far too long, piano lessons have been associated with boring, mind-numbing drudgery that teaches skills you’ll probably never use again. But piano lessons don’t have to be drudgery, and you can get far more out of them than “Heart and Soul” and “Chopsticks.” It’s high time we gave piano lessons another chance by looking at the advantages of learning to play piano. Read more
