Are our children musically deprived?

Isn’t it sad that most of today’s children are musically deprived? Over the last few months, I have been able to visit many schools and conduct presentations on music and music as a career. As I like to make my presentations interactive, one of the simplest exercises that I invite children to participate in is to sing a few nursery rhymes with me. Now, I know that I don’t have a great voice; I don’t even have a good voice. In fact, my son and my students tell me that frogs sound better and I cannot dispute their claim. Nevertheless, I can sing simple tunes!

I would like to think that most of us know simple songs such as the ABC song; Frere Jacques; Mary had a Little lamb; Three Blind Mice; Old MacDonald Had a Farm, and more of this ilk. They certainly formed the basis of my earliest musical memories.

So, to my absolute shock and terrified amazement, at many schools and daycares, very few of the JK – Grade 3 children knew the melody or words to these simple songs. I though perhaps that they were shy, so we tried many different ways to encourage them sing or say the words. Nothing worked! They really did not know these songs.

This led me to ask about their musical experiences. Did they listen to children CD’s – a few did but not regularly; did they watch any musical shows on TV or did they have videos based on music such as “Bear in the Big Blue House” or even the old Muppet musicals – very few had ever been exposed to these programs; what about the radio – what kind of music did their parents listen to – most didn’t know or their parents listened to MP3’s and IPods on headphones. Music, unfortunately, was an incidental or non-starter in their life.

Music is known to be one of the best ways to learn and remember. For example, if you ask most adults to say the alphabet, they inevitably tag it to the ABC Song and either sing or say it to the rhythm of the song. Music soothes us when we are tense; it energizes us when we are down; it can make troubles seem less; it can help us to focus and heal ourselves.

Music is one of the most powerful motivators. The simple drum beat was used to help synchronize rowers on boats; the chanted word can break down barriers (remember the effect of the simple chanted or sung phrase, We Shall Overcome); simple humming at a vigil is more potent than any spoken word and connects all within its circle; choirs have been know to bring people to tears or to their collective feet; musicals like the Phantom, Sound of Music, West Side Story or Chicago use the music to help us understand the characters and to build empathy with them and to relate it to our own lives.

A day without music is a day without joy a day without colour and vibrancy.

How sad that as parents, friends, mentors, we are not taking the time to introduce our children to the beauty of music in all its infinite variety. What music will they have to tag to memories? For me, it was the summer of “Wild Thing” – anytime I hear that song, I am back in that truly awesome summer with my friends all singing and jammin’ around the campfire. Ever heard a massed male voice choir – it brings tears to the eyes. Orchestral music under the stars, rock music with thousands packed into a stadium or marching bands in parades, all have their unique emotion and place in our lives. Music is all around us – nature has its own symphonies and soloists to complement the human created sounds.

Let us ensure that this newest generation of children is able to reap the benefits of interacting with music the way we have been able to enjoy! Sing, dance, yodel, play a musical instrument, listen to the radio, hum, create your own method, get involved! Get our children involved! They may be the next U2, Beatles or even Bruce Springsteen. What about the next Beethoven, Pavarotti or Bernstein!

It’s all about the doing! Start today! Invite a child to share your musical passion with you. You’ll be glad you did and they will have awesome memories to live now and relive later.