Este artigo é escrito por uma amiga minha de Vancouver, que frequenta o mesmo curso de Professor de Música de Elite que eu. Especializada em ensinar crianças e jovens, a sua filosofia é ajudar os alunos a crescer através do poder da música.
Are you a parent of a child who wants to take music lessons (or is already in music lessons), and you catch yourself wondering if:
- the lessons take too much time
- the lessons are not worth it
- your kid really has any talent at all
If so, this article is for you.
Do not, for one second, consider denying your kids music lessons! PERIOD.
Music lessons with a quality teacher are the very best thing your child can have. Your kid learns a lot from music lessons because music is inherently human; ALL humans like music!
(There are some very rare exceptions - those people suffer from a neurological condition called amusia and it is very uncommon).
The only reason some people think they are not musical, is that SOMEBODY TOLD THEM THEY COULD NOT DO IT! (Usually that somebody was someone the person really looked up to, when they were young.)
Do you really want to be the person that stopped their child’s dreams before they even started?
Think about that – what if we always told kids (and adults, too!) that music is good for you? What if we praised kids for singing (whether they did well or not), for experimenting with music and sound... and encouraged them to keep trying, to play for other people? What would the world look like?
Anyone who wanted, yearned to play music, would be able to do it with ZERO fear and ZERO obstacles.
This would help them for the REST OF THEIR LIFE! Imagine how much they'd achieve in school, in their future careers, and continued lives - if they had no fear of setbacks, no fear of connecting with the world around them, no fear of trying new things?
They could achieve ANYTHING they put their mind to.
Sounds great, right?
How do we get to that point? We give children opportunities to learn music.
Some people reading this might be thinking – “I can’t afford quality instruments and lessons right now – so this doesn’t apply to me.”
As a matter of fact, this still applies to you. A quality teacher will actually SAVE you money and time! If you buy lessons with a quality teacher, you avoid bad habits in your playing (that take years to unlearn), frustration, and even injury (yes, being badly hurt!) from learning to play in the completely wrong way!
Think about it... would you rather spend money healing your child's preventable injury, or spend it on great music lessons that bring your child joy for years in the future?
The higher-quality the lessons, the better results you will have.
If lessons on your desired instrument really don't exist in your area (maybe for those in small towns), ask around; it’s possible some kind of community program or jam space exists where you may not know about it. I also believe with 100% certainty that musicians in your area would love to give you some advice, and even help you shop for a good instrument. Ask around!
Even high-quality musical instruments can be bought cheaply used… or even made, if you’re handy.
The only thing stopping you is fear - maybe fear of not finding anything high-quality, maybe fear of taking time to search, maybe fear of setbacks... none of these things will harm you or your child in the search for high-quality music lessons. I guarantee it, with certainty.
If you look, you WILL find a solution. I promise, musical education can be accessible.
Music exists in all cultures, in all places… it’s nothing to fear – it’s just music!! Go out there and find places where the kid can play!
It’s the best thing for your children. The worst thing would be to tell them it’s not worth it – and kill their dream before it even starts.
It’s amazing what people can achieve when they aren’t programmed to limit themselves.
Don’t limit your children. Give them opportunities to grow.
Tracy Laslop of North Vancouver Guitar School is the only guitar teacher on the North Shore specializing in teaching children and youth. Her philosophy is to help her students grow throughout their lives, through the power of music.