Posted by Amanda :) on October 31, 1999 at 12:17:45:
In Reply to: Thank you, for the advice and encouragement posted by Karen on October 31, 1999 at 11:33:03:
Hi Karen :)
Glad to be of help.
In my experience, self-consciousness is something that everyone struggles with sooner or later....and, as I mentioned in my previous post, singing is a very personal expression - and so lends itself to a certain sensitivity to possible criticism - it's a vulnerable place to be! Positive reactions and further encouragement usually help in overcoming this.
As for her listening to pop music - I see nothing wrong with this. Different music appeals to different people and she's found something she likes. Her friends are probably into it too - and it's important for her to feel a connection with her peers. Having said that, I can only stress that exposing her to a wide variety of music (pop included) will do her immeasurable good and help her to widen her tastes. Banning a particular genre of music usually only makes them want it all the more - and worse still, they begin to actively hate what they ARE allowed to listen to. It only forces them to 'choose sides'.
I am not wildly excited by some of the music my 17 son is into - but HE is. He has also introduced me to some music that I would otherwise have missed - and enjoyed. Unlike many of his friends, who refuse to listen to anything but heavy metal or thrash (two of the genre's he likes - he's heavily into Rage Against The Machine (ugh!) at present) his C.D. collection includes traditional jazz (he favours the 'big band' era - ala Glenn Miller), baroque (most notably Vivaldi), soul (he's a HUGE Tower Of Power fan like his mum!), r&b (Incognito et al), rap....the list goes on. But what does he spend MOST of his time doing? Playing the guitar or piano and composing his OWN music - and it's very good too! (Am I sounding like the proud mum yet?)
Studying an instrument like the piano has been proved to help in other areas of learning too. It's both a right-brain activity (creative, expressive) AND a left-brain activity (logic) - something that no other area of study achieves in quite the same way.
Anyway, as I said at the beginning....I'm glad it helped.
smiles
Amanda :)
: Thank you so much for your thoughtful answer.
: Right now we live in a tiny apartment without room for a piano, but I hope that when we move again I can find one. She has a small keyboard at present. I talked to her last night; I think she's a little nervous about lessons- not sure why, maybe fear of unknown. She said she wants me to teach her everything I know first (won't take long) and then she would like to take lessons. I have an ancient intro. note speller and finger exercise book we can start with... I didn't realize that the piano generalized like that- I guess that's why so many start with it?
: I had heard that little ones shouldn't take Voice, but didn't know when they could start- thanks.
: I've noticed that since she turned seven and made all sorts of logical leaps, she seems more reticent to perform. Do you think self-consciousness develops with the logic? Coincidence? Any theory?
: I'll make a conscious effort to be more consistent about having music playing. She listens to alot of Pop music on her own, but I'm not sure how good that is for her. She wants to be a teenager, and I'd like her to stay a little girl for awhile longer (she *is* a little girl). I tend to choose classical and ambient, and my 10 year old Five is a big jazz fan. I'm sure we'll play *your* album lots when it's released :-)
: Thank you again. I know what to do for my science-and-math son, but don't have such an understanding of what to do for my daughter. This has helped.
: Karen