Are your grandchildren learning music? Have you taught them to play an instrument? Pianist James Rhodes discusses the impact that learning to play can have on children - and their grandparents.
James Rhodes
Do your grandchildren need music?
Posted on: Thu 20-Oct-16 10:42:12
(24 comments )
I can't tell you how many people have come up to me after a concert and told me how they used to learn an instrument as a child and how much they now regret giving it up. And I'm also equally sure most children roll their eyes at the idea of practising scales, would far prefer to be playing on their iPads than their piano and have zero interest in classical music. Of course they would.
But the truth is that music is one of the few things available to us that allows us to pause our increasingly fast-paced and pressurised lives. It helps us to focus, process feelings, socialise, improve motor skills, discipline, memory and self-esteem and a host of other important things that we can then carry into adolescence and beyond. Progressive governments have annihilated music education to the point that it is all but obsolete in our state schools. And unless our parents or grandparents are lucky enough to have the funds to pay for it, private lessons are usually out of reach.
Progressive governments have annihilated music education to the point that it is all but obsolete in our state schools.
But imagine being able to spend a small amount of time every day working alongside your children or grandchildren, doing something extraordinary like learning a piece of Bach together. You don't even need a piano as an electronic keyboard will do the job just fine. It is a life-enhancing activity that involves moving away from overstimulating screens and the isolation of computer games, and helps families come together.
We read every day about the chronic and almost endemic depression and anxiety amongst children and teenagers today. They exist in an incredibly pressurised environment, with cyber bullying, pornography, exam pressures, gang culture, body image issues and increasing violence all playing a role in their lives. It must be exhausting and stressful and worrisome. I certainly struggled as a child after a very abusive few years between the ages of 6 and 10 and whilst it didn't fix everything, finding the piano and learning music gave me a safe place. It was something just for me that provided answers for questions I didn't even know existed. And still today I credit it with saving my life.
It is a myth that learning an instrument means scales, arpeggios and music theory. That it means struggling through Beethoven and Chopin. You can find a piece you want to play, whatever genre that may be, ignore scales (seriously!) and simply enjoy the process of learning that piece. Whether it's Justin Bieber or JS Bach, learning an instrument can only improve lives. It is a beautiful antidote to the overstimulating and anxiety-inducing world we live in. For all of us, not just kids.
James's book, How to Play the Piano, is published by Quercus and is available now from Amazon.