Last night Jim and I went to a winery to have dinner and hear one of his buddies play in a band. The drummer in Tim (the friend)’s band had a high school age son who also had a band and they headlined for his dad. I thought the three-piece rock band the son was in was really good and lead me to tell Jim that when the time came it would be cool if Nicole and/or Chris could jam out like that.
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I don’t think Jim would be embarrassed (too bad) for me to publically say that keeping a rhythm isn’t one of his strong suits. Admittedly I dance best to something choreographed or if I’ve had a glass of wine or three. Neither of us play and instrument though we both would like to. Our kids will be forced to learn piano (at least) because we think there are multiple benefits to playing. Our singing voices are best left to in the car or reciting nursery rhymes at bedtime. Nicole's too little to tell whether her willingness to belt out Itsy Bitsy Spider will lead her anywhere.
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But can they learn to be truly musical people when their parents lack the gene? Jim and I both appreciate music, but that’s not the same as being talented.
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At the end of the kids’ set I reiterated to Jim that the kids should be in a band.
“They’ll play piano,” he reminded me.
“Piano isn’t really a band-type instrument, dear,” I responded.
“Well, they can be in a classical band.”
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Ah…. A classical band.
6 comments:
I think learning an instrument young is the way to go. I am learning to drum and zill now and I can tell that those who have had experience with music in the past are catching on far quicker than I.
It is okay not to be able to keep the rhythm...took me forever to get there and I am only there about 60% of the time!
I disagree on piano not being a rock band instrument. You'd be surprized at how many of the most talented rock musicians are classically trained...sort of like how many football players are trained in ballet. Classic techniques will take you far.
People who have no rhythm are pretty much hopeless, but they're in the minority (sort of like those who are tone deaf). Most people who think they have no rhythm just need to focus, and practice a lot.
As for lessons starting early...start them when they're about 5, and make sure they keep practicing. My teacher when I was young wasn't very good about keeping lesson appointments, so I'd skip practicing between lessons because they were so far apart. Bad idea. Now I wish I was more piano proficient, but it's a little late for me.
I can't keep rhythm, either, Jim!
I totally agree with Viki on this one. If you were to research how many of the "hair bands" all had classical training you'd be surprised. I'm sure as long as you continue to expose them to music there will be a natural talent that emerges somewhere.
Agreed, with all of the above. Starting with piano is definitely the way to go, and something that I wish I had done. But everyone's comments are right, classical training goes a long way to support experimentation in other areas, both with music and sports. So train them up!!
Piano player = keyboard player in a band
Plus piano is a good way to learn chords, which is good for any instrument in a band (I wish I had a better grasp on chords and stuff).
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