My college roommate once had an extra ticket to a concert and invited me to join her. The band was one with which I was familiar, but I didn’t own any of their albums (yes, this was WELL before Spotify), or that I could even recognize more than the chorus of any of their songs. She probably figured that I was enough of a music-lover that I’d make decent company. So I went. And, as you might guess, I had to fake the level of fun I was having because I DIDN’T KNOW ANY OF THE SONGS. I mean, it’s kinda hard to get into the concert vibe when you’re just swaying to music to which you have no attachments.
About a decade later my husband and I sprang for tickets to Wicked when it came to town. I had deliberately avoided learning any of the songs, despite its raging popularity, hoping that my first exposure to the music would be live; that it would be a fresh experience. And you know what? It was amazing. But I loved it even more when I dragged my four daughters to see it on Broadway, singing every lyric in my head, anticipating every scene change and dreading the end as it drew near. I even loved it better when I saw the film version than that first time, because by then, the songs had been sung around our kitchen table dozens of times while playing board games, in the car on road trips, and while cooking in the kitchen. The songs from Wicked now had memories and meaning attached to them. That heightened the experience of watching the production (either on stage OR film). It took everything within me to not burst out into song (shoulda gone to the sing-along, I suppose).
Now that I teach music to young kids, I can see even more clearly how knowing the songs improves the class experience dramatically. The songs in the Let’s Play Music curriculum are not fluff. Each song is purposeful, teaching valuable components of music theory and making the learning experience more FUN! Each weekly assignment includes a listening component, where kids are encouraged to listen to the songs during the week in preparation for class. As you might expect, the kids that sing along in class get the theory much better than those who do not. AND, perhaps more importantly, they have more FUN!
This is one of the components of the Let’s Play Music curriculum that drew me in to become a teacher. As a private teacher, I often sat at the piano with a student, who was sightreading blindly (which, I acknowledge is a skill, in and of itself). But if we want our students to develop a LOVE for music, they have to be familiar with music. They need exposure to beginner classics, so that when they begin to pluck out the melody, a light will click on in their heads. Just enough of a light to motivate them to keep on going.
We use some of those classics in Let’s Play Music. We also spend the entire first year learning to sing songs that they will then learn to PLAY on the keyboard in their second year. Every time a parent sends me a video of their child playing a piece of repertoire, it puts a smile on my face that 90% of the time, they are singing along. Double the joy! In fact, the only reason I even learned to play the piano is because I loved singing so much and wanted to be able to accompany myself. Does everyone who learns a musical instrument need to be able to sing? No. But what a waste of a perfectly good instrument if we don’t. Having a connection to a song, either by listening to it or by singing it, is so much more inspiring. Kids who love the songs they are learning to play are much less likely to quit piano.
When I first introduce a song in class, I expect to have to sing a solo. But occasionally, weeks later, I’m still singing a solo in class and I’m struck at how distracted the kids are. I know they haven’t been listening to the songs at home and their experience in class is compromised by the lack of familiarity. Contrastingly, when they sing along, or when they finish a phrase that I begin singing, they are engaged, they are learning and they will come out of class with SO MUCH MORE. Just by listening to a few songs in the car or at home each week.
As a parent of a former Let’s Play Music student who was motivated to practice independently, I would sit down with my son for the first practice session of the week before setting him free for the last four days of practice. (Many kids need more supervision than this, so I’m not necessarily advocating for this way of conducting music practice.) I was glad that he was able to practice on his own. Still, I didn’t want to turn him loose with my phone each day for the listening portion of his weekly assignments. Giving my 5-7 year-old access to my phone was risky, not to mention inconvenient. My solution: we listened to the songs in the car to/from his activities. Being a teacher of the curriculum was helpful, since I also had to learn and practice the songs. It was a win-win.
Though my days as a Let’s Play Music parent are over, my days as a teacher have not. Fortunately, Let’s Play Music is great about providing support to teachers and parents to optimize the learning music experience. Through them, I have since discovered that there are kid-friendly alternatives to tablets and phones for playing the music. It appears that going digital is not all it’s cracked up to be and parents want a screen-free option for listening to music. Imagine that! So, if you’re a Let’s Play Music parent and you’d like options for home practice, or if you’re just a parent who wants your kids to experience the benefits of a music-filled childhood, check out this music player. Or this one. So simple even a preschooler could use it. Now go let your kids blast some music.