Smithtown, NY knows how to shake off the winter chills and overcome the summer blues with music. Every corner of the town in Suffolk County comes alive with dance and live music throughout the year. The town has a melody in the air that is quite contagious. You can hear the tourists and travelers hum a tune while walking out of a pub or walking into a music festival. It is quite common to spot locals with guitar cases, cellos and ukuleles walking to music classes or for performances.
Have you ever heard of towns and cities where music connects every aspect of their lives? Well, Smithtown NY is one of those towns!
Is it time to enroll your child for guitar lessons?
When a child begins to show his or her appreciation for music, you can start thinking about enrolling them for formal lessons. You can get hundreds of hits the moment you search for “guitar lessons near me Smithtown NY” on Google or Bing right now. Sadly, there is no copyrighted formula that can make a child fall in love with an instrument. You can only lead a child up to a guitar or piano, but it’s up to them to like it and then love it. Teach them easy 90s guitar songs first so they develop some interest in learning guitar.
Today, many children naturally gravitate towards the guitar. Whether they have spent their early days listening to your favorite artists or watching music videos on their iPods, the most prominent music instrument that may have caught their attention is the guitar.
Ask any adult. At least 70% of the music-loving population has dreamt about playing the guitar at one point in their lives. Therefore, introducing your kid to the vast and varied world of music holding the hands of a child-sized acoustic guitar might be the right step for the parents of a potential rock star.
How can you encourage your child without forcing them to love the guitar?
Now, we come to the challenging part – how to help a child enjoy his or her music lessons. As children, many believe music to be “natural” and free-flowing. Less than 1% of the population is born with perfect pitch. Others have to acquire it with extensive practice and careful listening. These two aspects of music often put children off from falling in love with the guitar.
Playing the guitar is not tough. Training one’s ears to listen to the tunes and picking up new melodies is the tricky part. Here are a few things you need to ensure after your child finishes each lesson or practice session –
- Help them believe that they have the potential to master the guitar and make it sound good.
- Tell them that they can make their daily practice sound “musical.”
- Assure them that they will gradually learn more to make them sound like their icons.
- Never discourage them from experimenting and listening to new music.
These small steps can even boost your child’s learning skills, mathematics skills, and overall IQ.
How to keep your child’s interest in music alive?
Keeping the music alive in the household is the first active step you should take to encourage your child. Forget just the classical pieces. Play whatever songs your child seems to enjoy. It is all about internalizing the melody and developing their listening skills. Whether they like to listen to One Direction or Steve Vai, let them play the songs on a loop if that’s what they want. Don’t stop them from playing the air guitar in front of a mirror.
Discuss music with them. It is vital for parents to learn a little about music history and theory. However, don’t present these lessons in the form of trite passages to your child. Meld them with the backstories of your child’s favorite rock stars. Teach them about music creation, writing, and composition of their favorite tracks. Talking about music with your child can stimulate their interest substantially, especially when you present them as facts from their favorite musician’s biographies.
How to make guitar practice sessions interesting for your kid?
Whatever you do, do not let your child perceive daily music practice as homework. That is the fastest way to make a kid lose interest in guitar. Leading guitar and music schools in Smithtown, NY encourage free-thinking and spirited practice. At home, ensure that your child does not feel undue pressure to practice guitar lessons. Playing music should imbibe joy and relaxation. The moment a child believes it to be an additional home task, they are highly likely to develop reluctance and boredom during practice.
Don’t forget kind words of encouragement after each practice session. If you have formal music training, sit down with your guitar and show them the “moves” to keep them engaged during practice. Moreover, you can arrange for at-home tutoring to help your child practice in front of an expert if you lack the skills to play the guitar. After all, receiving multiple music lessons per week can help your child improve much faster than his or her peers.
