What a Gift!

- April 14, 2008

hit TV show “Desperate Housewives”. I am a piano teacher. I have the dedicated and distinct privilege of working one-on-one with your children in a unique relationship that can last longer than some marriages.

The typical teacher-student ‘team’ often forms as early as age 3 and continues through the teenage years. The most interesting students to teach, from the standpoint of their placement at the onset of life’s learning curve, are the 3-4 year olds. Since everything at this time in their lives is a learning experience, everything is simply learned, as a matter of fact.  Experts agree that “early is easy” when it comes to learning skills such as language. Children have an innate ability to listen and learn. They can hear, for example, accent nuances in the spoken word, or subtle differences in sounds. They also do not tire of repetition. Don’t most children love to have the same story read to them over and over again? ( to a parent’s ‘delight’…)

According to the famous Japanese educator Sinichi Suzuki, just as all children have the ability to learn to speak their mother tongue and other languages, so children can, if properly trained, develop musical ability. Musical ability is not an inborn talent but an ability that can be developed, the sooner the better. Children are like sponges – they can absorb all that is around them. What could be better for them to absorb than music?

The benefits of learning music are too numerous to recount. They range from enhancing brain function to reducing chronic pain and depression. I have been fortunate to witness the countless positive effects that result from practicing, playing and performing first hand. Practicing teaches discipline, which can be useful in all aspects of life, whether studying for exams or training for a marathon. Playing produces creativity and enjoyment, as skills polished through practice open the doors to imagination and a higher level of understanding. Performing, which often requires memorization, itself a useful mind skill, enhances self-esteem and self-confidence, and can give a person ‘the edge’ required to succeed in today’s sometimes uncompromising world. I have seen how a shy child, too timid to speak, can express him or herself so effortlessly when music is allowed to do the talking.

Unfortunately, in present-day schools, music and the creative arts are not a basic part of the curriculum but rather are peripheral subjects at most. It has become the parents’ responsibility to seek out music lessons for their children at a considerable cost, and for many the cost is, literally, too high a price to pay. However, many famous musicians, including native Vancouver pianist Jon Kimura Parker, have said that the best gift a parent can give a child is the gift of music. It is a gift that will last a lifetime, and it is a gift that will keep on giving.

In the words of 6-year old Audrey Tsai “I can’t wait to be like my older sister Laura so I can have a 1-hour lesson too!” … Isn’t music priceless?

Submitted by Jean Lyons School of Music, Vancouver, http://www.jeanlyonsmusic.com/