This fall marks the beginning of my 29th year of teaching people how to play the piano. So much in our world of has changed and all of those changes have naturally affected the world of music. But the basic elements of music are still true and the piano is still the piano.
The way we listen to music has seen a dramatic change. It’s a 21st century version of Pythagoras’s belief in the music of the spheres when we summon for the music on our cell phones and computers- it just appears out of the universe-quite remarkable actually. But are we really listening?
My childhood listening experiences ranged from church choirs, school choruses, band concerts in the parks and parades, and professional musicians who performed in school assemblies. I remember those great television variety shows of the 60’s and 70’s-always lots of music there and of course PBS-which really brought culture into the home-very important when you’re growing up in a semi -small town in the Midwest.
My favorite listening experience was with my Dad. On Sundays, after Sunday dinner, and after any chores that needed to be done, my Dad would take a break to sit in his chair, close his eyes and listen to music. This was also known as “don’t bug your father he’s taking a nap time”. But I would hang out on the couch and listen too.
When he realized that I was enjoying the music he would tell me who the performers were and the name of the composition and if there were any special stories-something like when he first heard the song or if he saw the performers in concert.
When was the last time you really listened to music? No multi-tasking, no computer, not in the car while driving, not in the shower? We learn so much when we listen intently to music and our brains truly enjoy being able to be free to following the phrasing, the rhythms, the tempos, the harmonies or no harmonies, the textures and timbres. Not only that but every time we listen to a “new” piece of music our brains carve out new pathways and that really makes it happy!
Our hearts identify with the emotions while recalling a memory or a wishful dream. Some of us see color or imagine stories. Some of us take a nap and are entertained by fanciful dreams and some of us solve the problems of the day. Some of us get so inspired by the music that we get up and get going with a new idea on a project we’ve been meaning to start or finish.
If you are a parent with a child who is studying music, imagine taking one afternoon a week-maybe an hour or a half hour-and that becomes listening time with your child. Tell the story about the music, who is performing it, what instruments are on the recording-maybe the song has a special significance in your life. Then just lay back and listen-totally uninterrupted. And when “music listening time” is over-don’t grill your children about whether they liked the music or any other questions for that matter. They’ll tell you if they want to-and besides-you’re breaking the continuous dreaming in the brain that is still processing what it just heard-and might want to keep thinking about it-just to see where that goes……
