We are open tonight, though we expect a bunch of you might be trick-or-treating. Don’t be afraid to sing your favorite Halloween songs while you’re out, or create your own from well-known tunes.
Speaking of Halloween music, we’ve been having a war at my house. One of my kids is obsessed with Spooky, Scary Skeletons and my other kid is obsessed with the Witch Doctor. It’s a good time to enjoy the music and the holiday.
There’s a convincing body of research that states the best time to immerse your child in music is from birth to age 9. That doesn’t necessarily mean your newborn should be learning guitar, but that parents and communities can improve a child’s musicality.
The goal of lessons at different ages becomes important. Your newborn may want to be swayed in arms and just listen to ambient music. Toddlers are ready for learning rhymes and rhythms, for interacting in groups for both singing and dancing, as well as playing beginning instruments. Given tambourines or clackers, they learn motor skills as well as musical ones.
When they approach ages for lessons, one of the best things a parent or caregiver can do is allow access to music, instruments, and often a child will be ready between ages six and nine to start private lessons. Note: Some kids are ready earlier, and we support that!
How do you know your specific kid is ready to start here? One way is to bring the kid into our school and try a sampler. A more detailed list includes showing interest in an instrument, the child can focus for a period of time appropriate for their age, they know their letters A through G and can count to 10, the child fits the instrument, you can access an instrument and a teacher (chat with us!!), and finally – that the parent or caregiver is ready to give the support to the child for practice and transportation. Ultimately, the children get so much out of their music – it’s time to start now!
Please sign up for a spot. We’re very excited about sharing our progress at MTMS. Learning music is great for your brain, learning to practice is a great tool for discipline as well, and performing also gives you benefits.
Increase your processing ability: Musicians have superior working memory to non-musicians. Scientists have studied the positive impact on fine motor skills, learning, verbal and nonverbal reasoning, and learning.
Enhance self-discipline and focus: While we practice at home, giving that performance with an ensemble or to an audience requires a lot more attention. Partly this is because you must focus on the task at hand while blocking out distractions.
Performance also strengthens bonds between people who play in ensembles. It can give us cohesion and social connectivity. This is also true on a larger scale of playing music together in communities or larger groups. Please don’t stop the music- it’s amazing for people at all levels.
For today, Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day – we are open as usual. Please come prepared for lessons and all the other fun of a regular day at MTMS.
Halloween is coming! During Halloween weekend (Oct 28-30) MTMS will have so many fun activities. Friday is Gahanna’s adult-only recital, followed by Saturday Polaris recital, and Sunday Gahanna recital. Other activities include trick-or-treating from lesson room to lesson room, selfie station, a snack, and a craft. Rumor has it the lab may also be haunted for the weekend.
As adults, we say age is just a number. When we have babies, often adults are looking at them to be sure they’re normal, or something, by checking milestones that happen at certain ages. Music lessons are not one of those checkbox milestones, but there are ways to see if your child might be inclined to start formal lessons.
Toddlers are able to identify rhythms and clap along, sing or dance. Having instruments around the house to play may be a sign that the child is interested. Does she want to play? Has he expressed interest in learning to play? Your school-age children may be learning to play in ensembles and need individual lessons. Check out our Preschool Music Class if you have a small child who loves music.
Every instrument can be noisy, so be ready for practice time. Regular practice teaches your kid discipline and perseverance. Your child needs to love the instrument, or at least have a great reason to learn it. Everyone involved should figure out how much space the instrument will take in the home, what time is available for practice and lessons as well as how far the lessons are from home.
My daughter tried drum lessons when she was 6, and she had exactly 4 when she wanted to switch to the banjo for the next 3 lessons. She wasn’t ready to stick to an instrument until she was a little older and started violin in 4th grade. My son, on the other hand, has always wanted to do drums, and took piano for two years as his entryway because the school district required it. We moved, he’s still in private lessons with MTMS for drums, and he loves it.
At MTMS, we’re ready to teach your kid about music. We start piano, drums, and violin as early as age four. We’re ready when you are. Can’t wait to be there for your musical journey.
