We’ve
all heard of them. Child prodigies who begin composing
music at some ridiculously young age. For instance,
history reports that Mozart was writing minuets by
the time he was five years old. Amazing. At five years
of age, I’m not sure that I knew the difference
between my finger and my thumb and I certainly wasn’t
composing music.
Now
there is no doubt that the fact that Mozart was composing
music by the age of five does not prove that any of
the rest of us ever could compose music, but a number
of studies conducted over the past fifty or so years
indicates that most children can begin composing music
as long as they are given both guidance and opportunity.
True,
in the vast majority of the cases the end product
is not going to rival anything that Mozart put out,
but just because you (or your child) may not be the
best there ever was at composing music doesn’t
mean the attempt is not worth the effort. If we follow
that reasoning why would a child learn to walk or
run when he or she knows he could never walk or run
as well as, say, Michael Jordan? Why would they learn
to talk if they knew they could never speak as well
as Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan?
Similarly,
imagine if Mozart’s parents had not given him
the opportunity to be exposed to music and then the
formal training that gave him the tools to begin composing
music. The world would be a poorer place without the
input of this musical genius.
In
Mozart’s situation, he began formal training
on the keyboard at the age of four and within a year
he was composing music – though I’m sure
that it wasn’t of the caliber of his later works.
In the case of the average child, however studies
have shown that if given the opportunity and the education
(i.e. instruction on an instrument, a little bit of
music theory, etc) average children can begin composing
music somewhere around the age of nine.
Give
your child the opportunity and training he or she
needs to begin composing music. In most cases it will
develop their mind, round out their education, and
give them a creative outlet. Eventually, however,
of all the children composing music who might not
have otherwise, the next Mozart will spring and if
it’s your child, the world will thank you. And
if not, at least your child has been exposed to some
good music and had his or her mind stretched a bit.
I am
extremely thankful that my parents had the good sense
to expose me to music by way of piano lessons starting
when I was about 7. And even though it didn't "take"
until I was an early teenager, when it did I had the
background in music theory and technique to where
I could progress rapidly from then on. And while I'm
a country mile from Mozart's class, I do well enough
to enjoy my self and make a living in music.
Duane Shinn is the author of over
500 music books and music educational materials
such as DVD's, CD's, musical games for kids, chord
charts, musical software, and piano lesson instructional
courses for both children & adults. His book
& DVD course entitled "Classical
Piano For Adult Beginners!" is used by
adults around the world. He holds advanced degrees
from Southern Oregon University and was the founder
of Piano University in Southern Oregon. He is the
author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail
newsletter titled
"Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords &
Sizzling Chord Progressions" with over
58,800 current subscribers.
(Source: http://EzineArticles.com/)
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