Toddler Art Month: A Musical Interlude

Music and Art are like brother and sister, salt and pepper, wine and chocolate. You get the picture. They inspire each other and make the other more vibrant. I know that in our house we always have music of different genres playing or are singing songs. When Meryl asked me if she could include a post about music I thought, of course. I listen to music while making art, I want my girls to have an appreciation of music. And making music with toddlers is all about the process anyway so why not include it! Welcome Meryl of My Bit of Earth.

I spent over a decade of my life being "serious" about music.  Practicing flute for hours on our front porch through middle school and high school, picking up other instruments--like drums, bass guitar, and voice--whenever I could, and finally deciding to major in music education my freshman year of college.  

When I finally flamed-out under the grueling schedule of a music major, it was just as hardcore.  I didn't touch a musical instrument again for ten years, until--on my 29th birthday--my husband surprised me with a ukulele.  

I was initially thrilled.  Expecting to pick up right where I left off, I launched into practicing only to find that my fingers were stupidly slow.  I'd thought I couldn't possibly forget how to read music, but there I was, counting out "Every Good Boy Does Fine", like a complete beginner.  Frustrated, I hung the uke on the wall where it gathered dust.

Until my son was born.  

One stir crazy day towards the end of my maternity leave, I pulled the uke down and tuned it up.  My son loves the song, "I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly", and--even though I couldn't tell you the proper names of the notes--my ear was still just good enough to hunt and peck out the tune.  

From there we moved onto masterpieces such as "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", "Three Blind Mice", and "The Alphabet Song".  While my younger self may have scoffed at the simplicity, my son laughed and giggled and clapped.  He loved this "live music" so much, in fact, that when we found a cheap piano on Craigslist a few months later, we bought it.  It's pathetically out of tune, but it's worked fabulously for pounding out wonky Christmas carols and expending extra pre-bedtime energy.

Now that my son is starting to talk more, my uke no longer has the chance to gather dust.  Every few days or so, my son points to it--"Woah woah...Woah woah"--and down it comes for a rousing chorus of "merrily, merrily".  

Not only am I thrilled that he's learning to love music, I'm thrilled to find myself loving it again too.  Sure, I may need to expand my repertoire as he gets older, but for now, it's not about being good or playing difficult pieces--it's about making him smile.

The broader lesson?  Even if the only musical training you've had is a few forced piano lessons when you were wee small, you can have a lot of fun making music with your kids.  

A few tips to get you started:

• You can now google a tuner for just about any instrument online.  If you have a smart phone, you have the additional option of downloading a tuner app, which I recommend because it's more portable.
• For stringed instruments like guitar and ukulele, you can also find free chord charts online, but I found that buying a simple book that shows all the chords in an organized format was helpful.  You can also google the chords for just about any song you can imagine.  There are entire websites devoted to it.
• Want a few brush-up lessons or having trouble understanding something from printed directions alone?  Try YouTube.  My husband found a whole series of free ukulele lessons there.

But truly, don't get overly technical.  Let your kid bang on the piano.  Dig out that old guitar.  Make a drum out of an old oatmeal container if that's what you've got.  Above all, check your self-consciousness at the door and just start playing!

Thank you joining this space today! To read more from Meryl you can catch her at My Bit Of Earth and follow her on twitter.