Music is beautiful regardless of its style or genre. It is a powerful form of expression, a means of entertainment and even a lifestyle for many. One of the things some of you may already know is how learning to play a musical instrument at a young age boosts psychological development.
If you’re someone interested in teaching young people how to play music either as a parent, mentor or instructor, there are a few things that might help.
Things that Help Teach Young People Music
Most of the members in our band started playing their respective instruments from a young age. Many even play multiple instruments, specializing in one or two. In any case, here are a few things that in our experience could help teach young people music.
Audio Exposure
If you want to help young people learn to play music, the first thing that helps is exposure. Exposing them to different sounds, artists and composition styles educates them and gives them room to figure out what they may gravitate to.
The more music young people listen to, the richer their knowledge of the same and the deeper their understanding of what it is they are passionate about! It is discovering this passion which helps motivate them through the ups and down associated with learning to play an instrument!
Solo Practice
The next thing that really helps when it comes to learning to play an instrument is solo practice. Before going out and playing publically, it helps to pull back and get a bit of a handle on your instrument of choice.
Solo practice gives you the room to experiment, research and best of all, mess up without worrying about being embarrassed! When it comes to learning music, if you haven’t practiced solo, you probably haven’t practiced at all!
Jamming
Jamming or playing music with other musicians is just as important as practicing solo. Apart from giving young people perspective on where they stand musically, jamming teaches them about musical coordination, harmony and collective improvisation among other things.
If you’re looking to teach music to a young person, jamming is instrumental and necessary.
Encouragement
Learning an instrument is tough and there will be times when young people may want to simply give up. It is important to keep encouraging the young people you are working with throughout the learning process.
Offer constructive criticism but also offer praise and reassurance when needed! Encouragement is what will keep those young people consistent even on the days where they feel learning an instrument isn’t easy!
Live Exposure
Finally, we have exposure to live performance. This is different from simply listening to recorded music. Watching a band perform live gives young people a sense of how skilled and professional musicians do things.
In many cases, live performances can also be inspirational, teaching music students and young learners things they might not have learned through solo practice or even jamming. In a sense, witnessing a live performance is icing on the cake with regard to teaching music!
Winding Down
These five pointers in combination with consistency will likely help your children or students blossom into fine and talented musicians. If you’re located Dallas – TX or anywhere else in the US and want us to come and perform live for your music students, we’d be happy to!
Feel free to connect with us for anything relating to original jazz such as ragtime, Dixieland and swing because that’s what we specialize in. We hope that the young people you’re working with evolve and grow into brilliant artists and musicians!