Is it possible to introduce my kid to NYC's musicians?

March 12, 2009 11:46 AM

NYC music filter: How can I find musicians who would be willing to let my kid hang with them?

I’ve got a musical eight year old on my hands. I’m in Manhattan, which is an awesome place to raise a musical kid, and I feel like there’s this whole city of possible mentors for him that I just don’t know how to tap into. Other kids his age can’t keep up, and since he’s only 8 years old it’s not like he can go to open mic night. Nothing motivates him like playing with or being around musicians…but where to find them? I think he’d even be happy just sitting in on a rehearsal or something.

Before you file me under “crazy stage mother”, I’m really just looking for opportunities for him to be encouraged and for him to pursue his love of music (plays drums/piano, and composes/writes lyrics). We have a few resources that currently work and some we’ve tapped out, e.g. his school, our church, music camps, and of course his instructors.

I’m looking less for structured lessons (which he does take) and more for inclusion in that atmosphere with people who get him and he can really, really learn from just by being around them. Obviously safety is an issue so random Craigslist postings are completely out of the question.

posted by agentwills to media & arts (11 comments total)

About to send you a MefeMail.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 11:56 AM on March 12

Why not contact somewhere with a large music department, or indeed a conservatory? Off the top of my head in Manhattan you have Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, NYU, Columbia, and a whole bunch of smaller colleges. All these places have rehearsals going on all the time. These should run the gamut from symphony orchestra rehearsals to popular music study rehearsals etc., and I'm sure that if you contacted departments they wouldn't mind having you and your son sit in on these. It would probably also be possible once you've made a contact with one of these places to ask their advice on this.
posted by ob at 11:56 AM on March 12

Is there any sort of music camp you can send him to this summer? My daughter went to one in DC last summer, and it was lousy with local music celebrities--performers, sure, but also sound techs and booking agents and such. My daughter's guitar teacher was Amanda MacKaye (Ian's sister), and Eddie Vedder came to the closing concert.
posted by MrMoonPie at 12:03 PM on March 12

I'm sure there are places that have open jam sessions that aren't late at night. This place in the Bronx has a traditional Irish music session every Sunday from 4pm-7pm. There are sure to be others, and not just this kind of music, either.
posted by ocherdraco at 12:12 PM on March 12

Before you file me under “crazy stage mother”, I’m really just looking for opportunities for him to be encouraged and for him to pursue his love of music (plays drums/piano, and composes/writes lyrics). We have a few resources that currently work and some we’ve tapped out, e.g. his school, our church, music camps, and of course his instructors.

I suggest two things: (1) be more musical yourself. Learn as many instruments as you can and make sure that you are doing the most you can to be as musical as possible. It is in the home where he's gonna get these chances. If you don't play music, have your son teach you how. Teaching is the best way to get better at something. (2) set up your own meetups/organizations for this sort of thing.
posted by Ironmouth at 12:27 PM on March 12

That's really funny. I was just going to recommend the session at An Beal Bocht. I would call ahead and make sure that it's kid-friendly, but I would be very surprised if it weren't. I haven't been to that place in years, but I really liked it when I lived in New York in the late '90s.

If he's at all interested in Irish traditional music, it seems like that kind of music would be perfect for him. Inter-generational transmission is a pretty important part of that culture, so kids are often welcome at open sessions. If he decides to learn an appropriate instrument, he can start playing in sessions as soon as he's good enough. If you can keep up, nobody much cares whether you're 8 or 80. You should try to get some sense of the general skill level, though, because some sessions are officially open but really only appropriate for very good musicians.
posted by craichead at 12:28 PM on March 12

Note that Girls Rock! excludes boys, so you'll be out of luck there.
posted by Ironmouth at 12:29 PM on March 12

Sometimes it seems all my friends' kids are in School of Rock. At 8 or 10, they are playing gigs with guys like ACDC and Zeppelin.
posted by CunningLinguist at 12:53 PM on March 12

Thanks so far, everyone!

For future answers: My question is more about what is available outside of instruction. Believe me, the guys that run camps and classes are done with these kids when the lesson is over!

CunningLinguist: perhaps we have already met? Or at least can be connected through NYC's 2 degrees of separation rule...
posted by agentwills at 1:06 PM on March 12

Maybe not quite yet, but in a couple of years he can hang out at the stores. The music stores on 30th & 47th Street, or the Guitar Center on 14th always seem to have people hanging around and playing and shooting the breeze. Having worked in some of these places, I can tell you sometimes this goes on for hours and there is definitely a social element. The Drummer's Collective has lessons, but I believe it's sort of a hang as well, or at least it used to be quite awhile ago.
posted by Wylie Kyoto at 1:46 PM on March 12

Boys Club of Ny
www.bcny.org

321 E 111th St
New York, NY 10029
[phone]

They have a SMOKIN' kids band and a great music program.
The teachers are first class musicians/teachers and the musical bar is set high.
I have personal friends that teach there.

Good Luck*
posted by StUdIoGeEk at 3:41 PM on March 12