How to Help Your Children Develop a Love for Music

This post was originally published on the Plucky Violin Teacher Blog on February 23, 2016 so links and resources may not be current.

When we put children in music lessons, oftentimes, one of our main goals is to help our children develop a love of music. Maybe your child expressed an interest in the piano or violin, and were excited to begin lessons, but they soon realized, “Hey, this is work!”

How do we develop their love of music while teaching them that anything worth doing requires serious effort and work?

Of course, we need to do everything we can to make the actual practicing fun and engaging, (a herculean task, for sure.) But what else can we do to develop a love for beautiful music?

1. Make listening to music part of your family culture. In addition to listening to their Suzuki repertoire, (so important for making quick progress) try to have music playing throughout the day. Not only does this expose your kids to lots of music, but it can actually change the mood and atmosphere in your home. Music can brighten your day and give you energy. Pandora is a great option, just type in the name of a great artist and it will play and play great music all day long.

Here are some violinists you could try: Hilary Hahn, James Ehnes, Ida Haendel, Janine Jansen, Itzhak Perlman, Jascha Heifetz, Rachel Barton Pine, Joshua Bell, and many more.

Pianists: Vladimir Horowitz, Glenn Gould, Alfred Cortot, Martha Argerich, Arthur Rubinstein, Daniel Barenboim, Mitsuko Yuchida, and more.

Cellists: Pablo Casals, Emmanuel Feuermann, Pierre Fournier, Zara Nelsova, Janos Starker, Mstislav Rostropovich, Jacqueline Du Pre, and more.

Violists: Yuri Bashmet, Paul Hindemith, Nobuko Imai, Kim Kashkashian, Lawrence Power, William Primrose, Pinchas Zukerman, and more.
If you play another instrument, try googling greatest bass players, or harp players, or flute to find a list for your instrument.

2. Take your children to quality live music performances. There is nothing like a live performance to spark the imagination and inspiration of your young musician. I remember attending a great concert where Gil Shaham played with the Utah Symphony when I was quite young and being absolutely enthralled. The Utah Symphony holds a “Salute to Youth” concert every year where young performers, winners of a concerto competition, play with the symphony and it is just spectacular for young musicians to see other youngsters perform (very, very well) on their same instrument. Research to see if your local symphony does something similar, and most professional orchestras perform some “pops” concerts that are designed for younger audiences. (Though all the performances would be great.)

3. Read books about music together. There are many picture books and chapter books about music that are perfect for young musicians. I shared a few of my favorites in this blog post. There are more in this discussion on the SAA website.

4. Watch some family-friendly movies about music. Check out some of the ones mentioned here. Fantasia (the original and 2000) are excellent films. Disney’s Peter and the Wolf is always fun, and the music is wonderful.  Here’s another great discussion board on the SAA website about movies to watch with your young musicians.

5. Consider taking music lessons, or practicing an instrument yourself. I think this might be the hidden secret to success. The things we choose to do show our children what we really think is important. Our words are never as effective as our actions. If you want music to be an important part of your children’s lives then it probably should be a part of yours as well. By practicing daily yourself, you can create a culture of work, progress, and music in your home.  

How do you help your children develop a love of music? What are your favorite resources (books, movies, etc.)?