We have a very musical home. Bluey and Plum both have their own guitars that they like to strum while composing original songs. Recently, Plum acquired her own microphone to add to the mix. Dad plays guitar and spends many a night on the deck creating music. Mom loves to sing and will soon learn guitar as well. We also have a bin in the playroom stocked with tambourines, maracas, a harmonica, etc.
Tip: The majority of the instruments throughout our home were very inexpensive. Plum found her acoustic guitar at a flea market. The smaller instruments were picked up at thrift stores, or Target, and are mostly plastic knock offs. Be sure to also explore making your own handmade instruments for a fun family project!
Recently, the NY Times released a piece on the benefits of music training on developing brains. We couldn’t agree more with the research! Though the article didn’t draw the correlation of learning music to the benefits of learning a new language, we’d offer up that connection. Learning an instrument and having the ability to read music is a tremendous skill and asset for anyone.
We can’t stress enough the value of self-teaching. You and your children can explore how instruments work and learn to make your own tunes without any formal instruction. Just let yourself be free. Neither Bluey nor Plum take structured guitar lessons at this time. They’ve expressed more interest in physical activities like swim and soccer right now. But our musical instruments are out and Dad (who is self-taught) is always ready for an impromptu lesson.
Even if you don’t know how to really play an instrument, just having them around for exploration is a huge benefit. Let your inner rock out and see what songs come forth!