Colourful Keys is primarily a blog for music teachers. However, this article is part of a series for PARENTS of music students. If you’re a music parent, read on to learn how you can instill a sense of music appreciation in your family. If you’re a teacher, feel free to pass the link to this article on to parents in your studio.
How often do you listen to music? More specifically, how often do you listen to music with your children?
Are you a family who always has music playing in the car while travelling, or at home while doing chores? Or are you a bit embarrassed by your taste in music, and think your preferences don’t count as “real music”?
If your child is learning an instrument, I bet you’re someone who wants your kids to develop a love of music – and here’s the great news: You have more control over this than you might think.
Luckily, in this modern age, fitting music appreciation into your daily life has never been easier, cheaper or more accessible.
Let’s dive in! 🤿
Level 1: Start With What You Know
A good beginning to assimilate music appreciation into your family values is to start with what you know. Listen to your favourite songs (of any genre!) without shame – blast them out loud and sing along! 🎤
Showing your kids that music is a fun and important part of your life will encourage them to make music a vital part of their lives, too.
Whether you play your favourite tracks in the car, load up a YouTube playlist whilst doing chores or listen to the radio on your way to school, putting music on in the background and singing or dancing along is a fantastic way to start your family on a music appreciation journey.
Music that’s in the ambience will be internalised, creating a foundation for music lessons to become a gateway into the magical world of music.
Once you’ve laid this groundwork, you can start experimenting with new music from the playlists below. 👇
Level 2: Explore With These Listening Lists
If you’re feeling a little lost on where to start your pathway to music appreciation, begin with curated lists from the experts.
Rolling Stone Magazine
Last updated in 2023, Rolling Stone’s list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time has the classics and the moderns. Work your way up from album 500 and try to listen to at least one song on each album. If it’s not vibing, then feel free to move on to the next album.
Spotify
If you don’t already have one, get yourself a free account with Spotify and start listening to your favourites, or use the account to access the albums from the Rolling Stone list above. 👆
Each week, Spotify curates a “Discovery” playlist just for you with new listening recommendations based on your current favourites. It’s a great way to broaden your catalogue of listening options.
Songlines
In your effort to expand your appreciation of music, don’t forget to test out world music. The ‘Songlines’ website is a great resource for exploring music from a variety of cultures.
Check out their Best New Albums for free, or subscribe to the magazine for more in-depth curations.
Level 3: Discover Music Events in Your Area
Now that you’re on the road to developing your family’s love of music, it’s time to seek out local concerts and live events.
Tapping into local music concerts and gigs is a stellar way to support artists and spark a core memory in your kids. Finding these events isn’t too difficult, but will require a bit of legwork on your part.
Try some of the ideas below so you’ll be “in the know” on concerts and other musical opportunities in your area.
Newsletters and Networking Groups
Sign up for your favourite music artists’ newsletters through their website and social media. This is a great way to discover new venues and see your favourite musicians. In addition, you just might unearth fresh favourites.
Seek out local community groups online to find live music opportunities by searching for groups or feeds on sites like Facebook and Nextdoor. This is a particularly good way to find smaller, amateur gigs like a local musical theatre troupe or outdoor family music nights in the park.
Scout Out “Non-Music” Venues
Libraries, restaurants and cafes often have live music, so why not make a monthly family date-night to venture out and enjoy music from local musicians?
And even if these venues don’t have live music events on site, they often hold a great wealth of information about local orchestra events, musicians and other little gigs. Just take a few moments to check out all those flyers pasted on the walls and bulletin boards the next time you’re in the library or Starbucks.
Talk to Your Music Teachers
Your studio’s music teachers are often the best source of information for music events, and will almost certainly have colleagues who have regular performances that your family can attend. Let them know what you’re looking for, and they can usually point you in the right direction.
Don’t limit yourself to your music studio teacher; also talk to your child’s music teachers in school. Attending an orchestra concert at the nearby secondary school, cheering on the marching band at a football game halftime show or enjoying a children’s choir concert are all great ways to inspire a love of music for the whole family.
Travel
Use travel as an opportunity to expand your musical horizons. Choose vacation locations that have interesting museums and music venues, and book a tour or buy tickets.
Do some detective work ahead of time to find folk events that your holiday destination might have, then add that to your vacation “must do” list.
Do you enjoy music together as a family?
How do you actively seek out ways to develop music appreciation in your family? Feel free to leave your questions in the comments, and we’ll do our best to help.
For more like this, check out other articles from our “music parent” series:
- How involved should you be in your child’s music practice?
- Why NOT to Teach Your Child Music Staff Mnemonics
- Help Your Child Develop a Solid Music Practice Habit
- Is your child’s piano practice “right”?
- Why is my child’s piano teacher playing games in lessons?
- Why does my child have piano listening assignments?
- Is your child ready for a piano exam?
- Music Appreciation for the Family
- What Your Child Will Learn in ‘Mini Musicians’
- What Your Child Will Learn in ‘Piano Launchpad’