When to introduce the love of classical music to a child?

[Mandryka]

Parking a kid's ass in front of a TV shouldn't be encouraged imo.

Better than parking their ass in front of a cake, which is another effective strategy to keep them quiet.

[Parsifal]

Most of the responses in this thread strike me as rather bizarre.  You can't compel your kid to like something.  If, as a parent, you listen to classical music and make your love of the stuff obvious, then your kid will be exposed and perhaps drawn to it.  But if your mission as a parent is to make sure your kid loves classical music, that's a rather twisted set of values, I think. 

My father had a fancy stereo and a big stack of LPs, with only a couple of classical titles (the Dorati/Mercury 1812 Overture, the van Cliburn Tchaikovsky, a Beethoven's 5th with Furtwangler).  Mostly he had Sinatra, etc.  I got into classical many years later after I studied it in high school.

[Sammy]

Most of the responses in this thread strike me as rather bizarre.  You can't compel your kid to like something.  If, as a parent, you listen to classical music and make your love of the stuff obvious, then your kid will be exposed and perhaps drawn to it.  But if your mission as a parent is to make sure your kid loves classical music, that's a rather twisted set of values, I think. 

I'm with you on this subject.  It's even more bizarre when a grandparent thinks he/she can have impact on the child's musical exposure and preferences.  It's likely that a kid will want to listen to the music his peers are grooving on.

[DavidRoss]

"When to introduce children to classical music?"

ASAP

[xochitl]

i agree with the dissidents

after 2 failed attempts [younger siblings] i now think you should nudge them lightly and if they respond, good; if not, leave them be.

[Cato]

Most of the responses in this thread strike me as rather bizarre.  You can't compel your kid to like something.  If, as a parent, you listen to classical music and make your love of the stuff obvious, then your kid will be exposed and perhaps drawn to it. But if your mission as a parent is to make sure your kid loves classical music, that's a rather twisted set of values, I think. 

...  I got into classical many years later after I studied it in high school.

True: either the child/adolescent will like it or not!

My parents knew nothing about classical music, in fact, they rather actively disliked it ("Crap" was one of their milder terms for it, preferring barnyard terms whenever I had it on too loudly for their liking).

Somehow, despite them, I latched onto classical music fairly early in grade school and have never let go!

I once knew an assistant principal (a 20-something at the time, with practically no teaching experience) who sneered at my use of classical music in my German classes (from Beethoven's Ninth through several of Schoenberg's works with German texts to Hindemith's Cardillac).  I still remember him saying this precise sentence:

"God!  I HATE that classical music stuff you play!  How do your students stand it?!"   

He went on to complain with some vehemence that his parents religiously took him to concerts at a fairly early age and through early high school.  The only thing he recalled was immense boredom and even more immense resentment that he was forced to sit for 2 hours + at something he did not understand or like, when he could be at home doing anything else.

[Karl Henning]

There is a difference between parking your kid's ass in front of a TV, and putting on an educational program that you enjoy with your child and even discuss about afterwards with them.

And a difference worth noting.

[Karl Henning]

. . . i now think you should nudge them lightly and if they respond, good; if not, leave them be.

Good.

[Cato]

I had a math teacher (who was actually a cousin of mine) who used to play his classical music selections while we were trying to do assignments and write tests in class, we all thought he was such a tool for doing that. Asking him repeatedly to turn it off etc. .. and it in no way enhanced any of our appreciation. It was so self-centred, preachy and inappropriate on his part. There is a time & place for everything and he had no concept of that.
.

I have used the music - for both Latin and German - sparingly.  The kids have in general seen it as a treat, a reward for translating the texts, and some have been enthused enough to dig deeper into the field.

Perhaps your teacher/cousin had heard of these experiments in memory where classical music played in the background supposedly improves performance: the volume level, however, is supposed to be very low.  It seems in your case it was much more of a distraction.

[battuta]

Hi shelnatowsky ,

I am the father of a 12-year-old son. I happen to care for him so I have the pleasure of waking him up in the morning, and I do so with music. I play for him a variety of styles: Jazz, rock, classical, world music ( Japanese, Indian, Balinese, etc.). We also played Mozart for him when my wife was pregnant: we taped headphones to her belly.

What I'm trying to say is that you can train anyone to enjoy and love any style of music through repetition, specially if you start at an early age.

An explanation for this is that the building block for music is repetition. This is why accomplished soloists (pianists, violinists, cellists, etc.) become so proficient at what they do because they spend hours daily repeating and perfecting their technique and repertoire.

I would suggest that you expose your grandson "indirectly" to music: play music while his engaged in another activity such as playing with blocks. While he listens, you may educate him by telling him who wrote the composition, how long ago were they born, etc.

Also, start with "light" classical music: compositions which are easy to remember because of catchy melodic lines and simple harmonic progressions. That includes Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Vivaldi's Four Seasons (selected movements), Bach's Brandenburg Concertos (selected movements), and the like.

You may also take him to concerts. Start with smaller ensembles and shorter performances such as those in the local libraries. If you take him to an orchestra performance, go to a family concert (those targeted at families with young kids).

Finally, you may have "kids" instruments laying around for him to play with and also start him on a musical instruments such as recorder (which is easy to make a sound), or piano (as if you have one, otherwise you may purchase a portable keyboard).

I hope that helps,

Good luck!

[some guy]

You know, playing off of my other post, it might be interesting to hear how each of us learned about classical music, and when.

How did we do it--or how was it done to us.

In my case, there was no encouragement at all.* My parents had some records of Hollywood music that they rarely played. The only music I heard was TV music. (I was apparently quite good at reproducing tunes from the shows with my voice.)

Then my dad's half-brother got rid of all his 78s to me. Mostly classical (snippets) and jazz.

Well, I took to the classical like nobody's business. Why? Who knows. But I did. And I did it without any encouragement from my parents. Well, they did grudgingly sign me up for the Columbia record club and even more grudgingly paid for a few LPs a year. They hated the music, but I guess they thought it was better than that God damned rock and roll that all the other kids were listening to. 

*And of course James now spends much of his time trying to discourage me from listening to the things I now prefer. What the hell is up with that? 

[Cato]

No .. it had nothing to do with that, and those memory tests are total BS imo;

  I do not buy them either, but they are beloved for Science Fair experiments by a good number of teenaged scientists throughout America at least.

[Holden]

Step One is to probably remove the word classical from the post. Music is music whether it was composed by Hildegard von Bingen in medieval times or by Deadmau5 in 2013.

Next is exposure and doing it by osmosis can work very well. I grew up in a household where music was on the radio and its content varied greatly. My first exposure to it was probably in my mothers womb as she loved singing and had a very good voice. What I'm saying is that I absorbed it from a very, very early age. I was never pushed to enjoy it and I think that this is important

Music is more than just listening and I am grateful that there were simple musical instruments around the house to play, including my fathers harmonicas which, despite him being stone deaf he could play well. Doing it is far more exciting for a child than just being a passive bystander. Eventually my parents asked me if I would like to learn the piano, I said yes so they had to buy a second hand one and I'm so grateful that they did. At most schools children are encouraged to perform whether it be in the choir or as part of an instrumental group.

I like the cartoon idea (sorry James but media is a major part of children's lives nowadays) and definitely one of those interactive orchestral days with the local SO are a must as is going to the odd concert, regardless of musical genre.

Finally, I'm going to disagree with a previous statement. While it's a lovely thought, not all children are musically inclined and my experience as a PE teacher doing dance with the kids as part of the lesson tends to back this up. But it would be nice wouldn't it?

So just let it happen.

[Karl Henning]

Not sure if you meant my post; but a point of clarification: what I said was that all children are receptive to music, not that all children are musically inclined.

Overall, though, a fine post.

[Parsifal]

Hi shelnatowsky ,

I am the father of a 12-year-old son. I happen to care for him so I have the pleasure of waking him up in the morning, and I do so with music. I play for him a variety of styles: Jazz, rock, classical, world music ( Japanese, Indian, Balinese, etc.). We also played Mozart for him when my wife was pregnant: we taped headphones to her belly.

What I'm trying to say is that you can train anyone to enjoy and love any style of music through repetition, specially if you start at an early age.

I don't know what it would mean to "train" someone to enjoy or love a style of music.   It seems to me that love of classical music is more than a response to training.

[Daimonion]

Find the classic cartoons where things like von Suppe' Overtures are used, or Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #2 etc.

Bugs Bunny in Rhapsody Rabbit or Rabbit of Seville or What's Opera, Doc?: highly recommended!   

Try this: A Corny Concerto

http://www.youtube.com/v/m735o_eEwgg

Walter Lantz at Universal made several cartoons with classical music: here is an excerpt from Kiddie Koncert with Swedish accented Wally Walrus conducting:

http://www.youtube.com/v/MWQ-fYCYDYs

Thank you very much for these suggestions. My children love it. The 3 years old one, in particular, cannot stop laughing when watching to "The Storm" (I am just trying to make him asleep after 4 sessions of watching it in row).

Do any of you know further cartoons of this kind? (we need to do something before he will get asleep;-))

All the best,

Daimonion

[pencils]

i agree with the dissidents

after 2 failed attempts [younger siblings] i now think you should nudge them lightly and if they respond, good; if not, leave them be.

This Be The Verse

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
  They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
  And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
  By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
  And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
  It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
  And don't have any kids yourself.

Philip Larkin

[Cato]

Thank you very much for these suggestions. My children love it. The 3 years old one, in particular, cannot stop laughing when watching to "The Storm" (I am just trying to make him asleep after 4 sessions of watching it in row).

Do any of you know further cartoons of this kind? (we need to do something before he will get asleep;-))

All the best,

Daimonion

Try these!

http://www.youtube.com/v/_oFKKEKcAts

The complete cartoon of Wally Walrus conducting Rossini!

http://www.youtube.com/v/VKKR4JJMqoQ

Max and Dave Fleischer from the 1930's:

http://www.youtube.com/v/FKuQulmIdZs&list=PL5C8F2E4E53B4809A

One of my favorites: (Flash is not working for me, so here is the link)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1glhp_merrie-melodies-rhapsody-in-rivets_fun#.UenOQoJaM7A

[Daimonion]

Thank you very much! I will try them as soon as my son wakes up;-)

The Rhapsody In Rivets reminds me of a song from our communist time, when Poland was rebuilt enthusiastically. It goes something like "let's go to work!" (the music, btw, is by Szpilman):

http://www.youtube.com/v/rpVMc7TeScU

[Cato]

Thank you very much! I will try them as soon as my son wakes up;-)

The Rhapsody In Rivets reminds me of a song from our communist time, when Poland was rebuilt enthusiastically. It goes something like "let's go to work!" (the music, btw, is by Szpilman):

Many thanks for the link!

The cartoon uses Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #2

One of the Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons uses music from Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride.  I cannot find it yet on YouTube or elsewhere, but will keep looking.