When the child in your care takes up a musical instrument for the first time, it is likely to be down to you as their carer to facilitate lessons, supervise practice - and keep up a good attitude. If a child has a positive experience when learning a musical instrument, the benefits can be enormous, helping them to relate good habits of practice and performance to other areas of life and discovering a lifetime's outlet of relaxation and pleasure. If, however, learning a musical instrument becomes a cause of friction within the family, the child may be left feeling a failure and disliking lessons and music in general.
Making music together
A baby or pre-schooler won't be at the stage of dealing with formal lessons - except, perhaps, in the most hot-housed homes! - but music can still be an enjoyable part of your day to day home routine. It can be in the background, perhaps classical music while you're preparing and eating a meal, or part of the action, such as energetic dance music when you're performing chores. Encourage the child to join in the fun, and make singing part of bathtime. If music has never been a big thing in your own life, you can broaden your horizons by borrowing CDs from a library or just tuning in to different stations on the radio.
Many parents want their children to learn an instrument as early as possible because they think it will come more naturally to the youngest.
Apart from the Suzuki Method (see box), this is not the case. Most music teachers say eight or nine years old is a sensible age to begin learning an instrument. When parents ask your advice, there are three criteria about their own child to consider: is the child a fluent reader? Do they have the physical stamina and co-ordination to take part in lessons after a day at school? Do they understand the need to practise?
Which instrument?
The piano is by far and away the most popular instrument that children start with. This may be because there's already a piano at home or because the parents learned how to play it in their own childhood, but that doesn't necessarily make it the best choice. First, it is worth considering how the child will have to learn two lines of different music, for the right and left hands; this can be difficult for some, especially dyslexics. Also, the piano tends to be a solitary instrument, so the child is less likely to be involved in group playing with other people, unless you are able to accompany them on the violin or clarinet! Many teachers say progress will seem slow with the piano, whereas they can start learning other instruments at a slightly earlier age and progress more quickly.
On the plus side, children are more likely to gain an appreciation of the instrument when it is properly played, just because it is so popular, and if they become proficient they will always find ready listeners wherever there is a piano in the room. And they will not have to pack it into a case and carry it around with them.
It might be easier to try the violin. Three-quarter sized violins are available, which makes the instrument easy for a child to handle, and with the Suzuki method they can begin at a young age. Even with conventional teaching, a child can start the violin at around six or seven, provided their co-ordination is good and they are under no pressure to read complicated sheet music.
An interest in brass instruments should not be followed up with lessons until the child is about 11. Apart from the cornet, which some younger children readily take to, a lot of 'puff' is needed on a brass instrument to achieve any recognisable sound. There is actually some evidence to suggest that asthmatic children find the breathing discipline useful in helping to control their condition, but no child should attempt to play a 'blowing' instrument until their second set of teeth are firmly in place.
Woodwind instruments also require a disciplined approach to mouth position and sound manipulation by breathing on the reed. As with stringed instruments, woodwinds scaled down in size are readily available. But before rushing into oboe or clarinet lessons, why not consider the descant recorder?
Because the recorder is so common in primary schools the world over, it is often overlooked as a 'proper' instrument. This is a real shame. While the sound produced is not in the same league as piano or clarinet, this is probably the most useful instrument a child can learn. The recorder has only two octaves, so it is easily manageable for smaller fingers, and it provides an ideal medium for teaching a child to read music. Mastering the fingering will also help the child to progress to larger instruments, like the clarinet, at an older age.
The recorder is so simple to learn, that if the child's school doesn't teach it, you could easily buy or borrow a book and learn together. The instrument itself is a reasonably cheap purchase and requires little maintenance.
Make it fun
A surprising, but logical route to ensuring that learning an instrument is fun lies in encouraging parents NOT to buy one. Nothing places more pressure on a child than having an expensive violin, or worse still, piano, sitting unplayed in the house, reminding the parents at every glance that their child ought to be playing it, and getting their money's worth.
It is not difficult to find a music shop that operates a loan scheme, where a deposit plus nominal monthly fee can be paid in return for the instrument of your choice. Some stores even allow the instrument to be purchased, minus the rental amount already paid, once the child decides to stick with it. No child should be forced to play an instrument simply because money has been spent on it, and nobody can foresee how a child will take to an instrument until they have had a few lessons.
There is absolutely no point in continuing if the child doesn't like the lessons, practice or the sound they are producing. Getting through grades in exams is not a good enough reason for playing; there is not even a good reason why a child should take exams unless they genuinely want to measure their progress in that way. The teacher should provide opportunities for performance, play for the child to demonstrate what the instrument sounds like at an advanced level, and make the child feel that what they are doing together is interesting and worthwhile. Teachers should also discuss the child's progress on a regular basis with parents or carers.
As a nanny who supervises practice and takes the child to lessons, you are sure to be the first to know if their heart is not really in it. Once you've allowed sufficient time, and are sure the teacher is doing his best, you should let the parents know. If the child doesn't like the teacher, a new one should be found as quickly as possible, because giving up on account of the teacher is just as common, if not more so, than giving up due to lack of interest in the instrument.
But there is a lot you can do to see that learning an instrument is an enjoyable experience. It is not a straightforward path from beginner to proficient player. This is something children find hard to grasp and it is why so many give up. It is natural to feel that they are getting better and better at playing, and then go for two or three months where progress is minimal or they're making more mistakes than ever. You can lessen their disappointment by ensuring they practise in regular, short bursts, and that their timetable is not overloaded. For beginners and young children, ten minutes of steady practice a day is enough. See that the child warms up with finger exercises or scales before attempting to play whatever piece he has been given - not warming up beforehand will lead to mistakes and frustration.
Most importantly of all, resist the urge to push the child to practise more and progress faster. As any professional will tell you, performing music takes years to become familiar with and enjoy properly, and the secret lies in having fun rather than in winning some imaginary race.
THE SUZUKI METHOD
This system of teaching was developed in the 19th century, based on the concept of the 'mother tongue'. Suzuki believed that the same route that children use to learn how to speak their own language, through daily listening and imitation and with encouragement and praise, could be used to teach them to play musical instruments. This system encourages children to start as young as three years, and it relies on the parent or carer taking part in the lessons at the same time and acting as teacher at home.
Children learn to play the instrument by rote before going on to reading music notation, and lessons include musical games, recitals and rhythm and movement sessions.
