When asked what song he would like to learn, Jacob said, “Taxman” by the Beatles. He was a little guy at the time (about 8) and just starting out on guitar. How did Jacob know that song? It’s not one of the common Beatles tunes one would hear on the radio. Turns out that Jacob’s dad is a Beatles fan! Marco wanted to learn “Patience” by Guns and Roses – his mom is a big fan. Brenna wanted to play, “Greensleeves” – it’s her gramma’s favorite song.
Parents often ask me how they can expose their young children to a variety of music. They inquire about classes or workshops. But, in reality, parents are the first and best teachers. Your kids are always watching, learning, and absorbing everything you say and do.
There is an easy way to expose your child to great music: Create a playlist for the car and home sound system. And, these days, it’s easy to ask “Alexa” or “Google” to play a tune.
Here are three steps to help you line up great tunes on a playlist:
1. Use the Sesame Street format:
- Years ago, I attended a concert by a 10-string classical guitarist, Perf de Castro. Before playing “Adagio” from Vivaldi’s Concerto in D, he spoke of how he first heard the piece as a child and it inspired him to one day play the piece. It was on Sesame Street – played to a feature video of flowers blooming in time lapse
- Sesame Street does a wonderful job of exposing children to a variety of topics through short segments. These meet the need of a child’s shorter attention span.
- When creating your playlist, mix it up with a variety of genres and keep the segments short. For example, rather than choose the entire Mozart piano concerto, pick out one of the movements. Place that between a song by James Taylor and Nat King Cole. Then line up a bit of Chet Atkins, followed by Elvis, a prelude from a Bach Suite, a Beatles tune, etc.
2. Here is an over-view of many different types of music:
- Period Music – Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern
- Sacred
- Broadway
- Jazz
- Country
- Blues
- Classic Rock
- Folk
- Pop
- World Music
3. And here is a list of tunes to help you get started. Pick out a few you know and a few you’ve never heard. Start with about 10 tunes. Add in your favorites, and let me know those so I can add to my list:
Adagio for Strings – Barber
Air On a G String – Bach
Annie – The Broadway Show by Charnin/Strouse
Appalachian Spring – Copeland
Asturias (on guitar) – Albeniz
Blue Moon of Kentucky – Monroe
Bolero – Ravel
Brandenberg Concertos (1-6) – Bach
Canon in D – Pachelbel
Carmina Burana – Orff
Carnival of the Animals – Saint-Saëns
Cello Suite #1 Prelude – Bach (also can be heard on guitar)
Clare de Lune – Debussy
Conceirto de Aranjuez – Rodrigo (2nd movement is the most famous)
Come Fly with Me – Sinatra
Fantasia – Disney Film
Fiddler on the Roof (Musical) – Stein
Foggy Mountain Breakdown – Scruggs
Four Seasons – Vivaldi (“Spring” is the most popular one)
God Bless the Child – Billie Holliday
Grand Canyon Suite – Grofé
Greensleeves – Anonymous
Hard Day’s Night – Beatles
Hound Dog – Elvis Presley
I’m So Lonesome I could Cry – Williams
In the Mood – Glen Miller Orchestra
Mother Goose – Prokofiev
Music of Eastern Europe – Various Composers (American Folklife Center)
Music of Southeast Asia – Various Composers (American Folklife Center)
Music of the Middle East – Various Composers (American Folklife Center)
Night on Bald Mountain – Mussorgsky
Nutcracker Suite – Tchaikovsky
The Entertainer – Joplin
Piano Concerto #23 in A Major – Mozart
People – Barbara Streisand
Peter and the Wolf – Prokofiev
Recuerdos De La Alhambra – Francisco Tarrega
Rhapsody in Blue – Gershwin
Rite of Spring – Ravel
Piano Concerto #23 in A Major – Mozart
Route 66 – Nat King Cole
Summertime – Ella Fitzgerald
Take Five – David Brubeck
Take Me Home Country Roads – John Denver
This Land Is Your Land– Guthrie
Water Music – Handel
West Side Story – Bernstein/Sondheim
What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong
Donna Zitzelberger is passionate about giving kids a lifelong love of music and has been doing just that for 16 years. She teaches guitar and ukulele both in private lessons and online courses at www.kidsguitarcorner.com
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