Baby bopping back and forth!
January 8, 2011 5:15 AM Subscribe
My nephew seems to have an affinity for music, more so than expected of an eleven-month old. How can we encourage him and help him develop musically?
warning: very cute video
Yonatan is eleven months old, developing at a perfectly normal rate in every way. Musically, however, he is pretty unique. Any time someone hums or sings, any time he hears music, he starts rocking side to side, back and forth, up and down (almost perfectly in-beat, might I add).
How can we help him discover, explore, and develop? I'd love to open him up more to the world of music.
warning: very cute video
Yonatan is eleven months old, developing at a perfectly normal rate in every way. Musically, however, he is pretty unique. Any time someone hums or sings, any time he hears music, he starts rocking side to side, back and forth, up and down (almost perfectly in-beat, might I add).
How can we help him discover, explore, and develop? I'd love to open him up more to the world of music.
It's great that you want to encourage your child's musical abilities, but I would add the cynical note that many, many, many babies bounce like this and it doesn't actually like "almost perfectly in-beat" to me. A lot of new parents tend to latch on to things like this as example that their child is really gifted in one area or another. At 11 months old, it's nearly impossible to know these things.
That being said, oceano is right. If you want to raise a genius musician, dedicated practice (of a particular kind -- the kind that recognizes errors and systematically corrects them) and a LOT of it is the way to do this. Some of the talent literature is moving away from the idea that talent is genetic and towards the idea that targeted practice is at the root of it (beyond some physical characteristics). So, encourage him to listen to music, let him bang on a piano, whatever, but don't assume automatically that this will produce a Yo Yo Ma.
posted by proj at 6:32 AM on January 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
That being said, oceano is right. If you want to raise a genius musician, dedicated practice (of a particular kind -- the kind that recognizes errors and systematically corrects them) and a LOT of it is the way to do this. Some of the talent literature is moving away from the idea that talent is genetic and towards the idea that targeted practice is at the root of it (beyond some physical characteristics). So, encourage him to listen to music, let him bang on a piano, whatever, but don't assume automatically that this will produce a Yo Yo Ma.
posted by proj at 6:32 AM on January 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
Give him opportunities to experience and make music as he grows up - lessons, classes, concerts, music players and albums to listen to. Give him access to all the information he ever wants about music, and as many instruments and ways of making music as he wants.
But let him take the lead; don't push it. If he does turn out to be a prodigy, he'll be much happier if he can explore at his own rate rather than be treated like a performing monkey. And if he isn't a genius, but just a guy who loves music, then let him keep his love of it by making it truly his own "thing", not something his parents and aunts/uncles wanted.
As an aunt or uncle, you are in a great position to be the listening ear, the comforting shoulder to cry on, the occasional benefactor (e.g. providing money for lessons or buying a new instrument if his parents can't afford to), and the bad influence (introducing him to music his parents might not think is so great!) Make the most of that!
posted by lollusc at 6:38 AM on January 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
But let him take the lead; don't push it. If he does turn out to be a prodigy, he'll be much happier if he can explore at his own rate rather than be treated like a performing monkey. And if he isn't a genius, but just a guy who loves music, then let him keep his love of it by making it truly his own "thing", not something his parents and aunts/uncles wanted.
As an aunt or uncle, you are in a great position to be the listening ear, the comforting shoulder to cry on, the occasional benefactor (e.g. providing money for lessons or buying a new instrument if his parents can't afford to), and the bad influence (introducing him to music his parents might not think is so great!) Make the most of that!
posted by lollusc at 6:38 AM on January 8, 2011 [2 favorites]
It could also be that his interest lies not so much in the music, but in the movement. It's unfortunate, but boys often aren't given the same opportunities to take early dance classes as girls are - you could do your part to ensure he has the chance to explore this side of himself by suggesting as much to his parents, and finding local classes to enroll in. I've seen things like toddler dance classes where the parents join in and explore things like rhythm and movement with their child, perhaps there's something near you that would fit the bill?
posted by Mizu at 6:43 AM on January 8, 2011 [7 favorites]
posted by Mizu at 6:43 AM on January 8, 2011 [7 favorites]
Play music in front of him on instruments. I'm convinced my lead player's seven-month old son is going to be the next Mozart because he has one of those baby things where he can bounce up and down on and he does it to the beat.
Also--toy piano.
posted by Ironmouth at 7:28 AM on January 8, 2011
Also--toy piano.
posted by Ironmouth at 7:28 AM on January 8, 2011
Play a lot of good music around him, of all varieties. Classical, jazz, good pop, etc.
(But how do you know his talent won't be in dancing rather than music? Rhythm comes in handy in a lot of ways. And lots of babies do this. Really.)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 7:28 AM on January 8, 2011
(But how do you know his talent won't be in dancing rather than music? Rhythm comes in handy in a lot of ways. And lots of babies do this. Really.)
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 7:28 AM on January 8, 2011
Okay, looked at video.
Normal baby behavior.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 7:29 AM on January 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Normal baby behavior.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 7:29 AM on January 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Your nephew is completely adorable, but yeah, this seems like pretty commonplace behavior based on the babies I've seen.
posted by Bardolph at 8:13 AM on January 8, 2011
posted by Bardolph at 8:13 AM on January 8, 2011
Response by poster: Well, first off, thanks for the comments. I think the rhythm/movement thing could really be a lot of fun for him when he's a tiny bit older.
Second thing is, I'd just like to clarify that we're really not aiming to produce a prodigy here. Thing is, I know how beautiful and exciting and educational and thought-provoking and at the same time intuitive music can be, and I'd love for him to be exposed to all different kinds of music, instruments, movements, etc.
posted by alon at 8:32 AM on January 8, 2011
Second thing is, I'd just like to clarify that we're really not aiming to produce a prodigy here. Thing is, I know how beautiful and exciting and educational and thought-provoking and at the same time intuitive music can be, and I'd love for him to be exposed to all different kinds of music, instruments, movements, etc.
posted by alon at 8:32 AM on January 8, 2011
There are plenty of "music and movement" mommy-and-me (or daddy-and-me, or favorite-adult-and-me) classes out there; the one we do is "Music Together" and it's for 0-5 year olds. The music is quite tolerable for adults, based more on a folk music tradition than a kiddie music tradition (though there's plenty of kiddie music too).
FYI, my spawn was kicking in time to "Fly Me to the Moon" in the womb and when we'd go to hear our favorite jazz combo and they'd play it for us, he'd go BERSERK when the melody came back around after all the improv. Babies LOVE music, even before they're born! I've read that even deaf babies are rhythmic in their early imitation of sign language.
Our area also has various casual jam sessions that people can go watch if they want ... we like to go to those because he can see and hear a lot of different music but doesn't get in trouble for acting like a toddler.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:35 AM on January 8, 2011
FYI, my spawn was kicking in time to "Fly Me to the Moon" in the womb and when we'd go to hear our favorite jazz combo and they'd play it for us, he'd go BERSERK when the melody came back around after all the improv. Babies LOVE music, even before they're born! I've read that even deaf babies are rhythmic in their early imitation of sign language.
Our area also has various casual jam sessions that people can go watch if they want ... we like to go to those because he can see and hear a lot of different music but doesn't get in trouble for acting like a toddler.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 8:35 AM on January 8, 2011
Variety of music. My youngest son has always loved music and dancing, and now at 5 years old it is one of his favorite things. He is largely into current pop music (World's biggest 5 year old Lady Gaga fan), but also very into the Beatles. I was listening to a Ryan Adams song in the car the other day and he wanted to know if I could put it on his iPhone. That's right, he has his own iPhone (broken and handed down) loaded with lots of music he enjoys.
He does dance routines in the mirror, copies movements he sees in videos. He has always liked to dance, has a good sense of rhythm, and we did violin lessons for a while. It didn't hold his attention, so we encourage as we go, but never force him into it.
Babies like music, and like to move. That's what you're seeing in the video. It may or may not develop into an appreciation of music, but music in your house is never a bad thing.
posted by shinynewnick at 8:43 AM on January 8, 2011
He does dance routines in the mirror, copies movements he sees in videos. He has always liked to dance, has a good sense of rhythm, and we did violin lessons for a while. It didn't hold his attention, so we encourage as we go, but never force him into it.
Babies like music, and like to move. That's what you're seeing in the video. It may or may not develop into an appreciation of music, but music in your house is never a bad thing.
posted by shinynewnick at 8:43 AM on January 8, 2011
regardless of whether he is gifted music or not, if he likes music, then he should be encouraged with it. Kindermusic classes are great for this, because you get the music and the movement (for those suggesting dance classes). My son loves them, though they can be expensive.
posted by katers890 at 9:00 AM on January 8, 2011
posted by katers890 at 9:00 AM on January 8, 2011
If you have an iPad, there are many very simple music "making" apps out there. They are particularly stimulating (and entertaining) for toddlers because interacting with the program utilizes all senses simultaneously. It also increases hand-eye coordination. This is valuable because all of these things are skills that are naturally being developed by children at this age, gifted or not. Encouraging with play is a fun way to go about it. If your kid is above average musically, then they can advance in difficulty commensurate with their talent.
In older kids, music = math without them knowing it. Kids naturally learn sound-based "double time" and "half time" in music long before they learn multiplication or division in school.
posted by nickjadlowe at 9:49 AM on January 8, 2011
In older kids, music = math without them knowing it. Kids naturally learn sound-based "double time" and "half time" in music long before they learn multiplication or division in school.
posted by nickjadlowe at 9:49 AM on January 8, 2011
Music's about the best things humans do, so it shouldn't surprise us that babies respond to it with an almost magical intuition. Extrapolate further and it's arguable that we're all potential Mozarts at birth, but then experience enters the picture, and distraction, and all the other myriad complexities of a life lived.
Some of my earliest memories are of being alone in my room (nap time, no doubt) humming softly to myself epic and intensely complex musical structures. Seriously, I could almost see them as architectural forms that spontaneously came to life, one growing out of another. It was like being in love.
But my family was not a musical family. We didn't even a harmonica in the house. We had maybe ten record albums, all of them Walt Disney soundtracks. Because both my parents had had piano lessons rammed down their throats at an early age and had HATED it. So my passion (for which I had no words, no means to really express) was not nurtured in any way. By the time I hit kindergarten, the first time I had ready access to music, I was a jock if I was anything, because I was encouraged to pursue sport.
And so on. Eventually, among other things, I became a DJ, because I always did love music. It just took me a decade or two to figure out that I was allowed to actually take it seriously. And from being a DJ (more radio than club-style) I met other DJs, got into all kinds of wonderful arguments. As a pure music guy (someone who tended to like anything that was beautiful, that was pure and heartfelt, that was innovative, that was GOOD) I found two of these other DJs particularly hard to ignore. They were the NOISE GUYS. They were the ones whose idea of a perfect hour of radio was grinding feedback or a tape loop of Jack Nicholson saying, "Here's Johnny!", preferably both playing at the same time.
On getting to know these guys better, I was surprised to discover that the one thing they had in common was that, an early age, their parents had decided they were musical prodigies and as such, they'd had serious instruction and training more or less rammed down their throats. And yes, both had eventually rebelled more or less absolutely. They came to HATE music; certainly so-called nice music (the classics, the kind of stuff most nice folk think of when the topic of music comes up), because they clearly still had a serious connection to "organized sound", or they wouldn't have been DJs, pushing the envelope, desperate to provoke and eviscerate.
Anyway, this is all just my long-winded way of saying I couldn't agree with the following more:
Give him opportunities to experience and make music as he grows up - lessons, classes, concerts, music players and albums to listen to. Give him access to all the information he ever wants about music, and as many instruments and ways of making music as he wants.
But let him take the lead; don't push it. If he does turn out to be a prodigy, he'll be much happier if he can explore at his own rate rather than be treated like a performing monkey. And if he isn't a genius, but just a guy who loves music, then let him keep his love of it by making it truly his own "thing", not something his parents and aunts/uncles wanted.
Well put, lollusc. Because if I'd had the early experience to explore my natural fascination with music, who knows where I may have taken it? And likewise, if the NOISE GUYS hadn't had it rammed down their throats, where might they have gone? Every child is an ongoing experiment. They key is to let the child lead it.
posted by philip-random at 10:03 AM on January 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
Some of my earliest memories are of being alone in my room (nap time, no doubt) humming softly to myself epic and intensely complex musical structures. Seriously, I could almost see them as architectural forms that spontaneously came to life, one growing out of another. It was like being in love.
But my family was not a musical family. We didn't even a harmonica in the house. We had maybe ten record albums, all of them Walt Disney soundtracks. Because both my parents had had piano lessons rammed down their throats at an early age and had HATED it. So my passion (for which I had no words, no means to really express) was not nurtured in any way. By the time I hit kindergarten, the first time I had ready access to music, I was a jock if I was anything, because I was encouraged to pursue sport.
And so on. Eventually, among other things, I became a DJ, because I always did love music. It just took me a decade or two to figure out that I was allowed to actually take it seriously. And from being a DJ (more radio than club-style) I met other DJs, got into all kinds of wonderful arguments. As a pure music guy (someone who tended to like anything that was beautiful, that was pure and heartfelt, that was innovative, that was GOOD) I found two of these other DJs particularly hard to ignore. They were the NOISE GUYS. They were the ones whose idea of a perfect hour of radio was grinding feedback or a tape loop of Jack Nicholson saying, "Here's Johnny!", preferably both playing at the same time.
On getting to know these guys better, I was surprised to discover that the one thing they had in common was that, an early age, their parents had decided they were musical prodigies and as such, they'd had serious instruction and training more or less rammed down their throats. And yes, both had eventually rebelled more or less absolutely. They came to HATE music; certainly so-called nice music (the classics, the kind of stuff most nice folk think of when the topic of music comes up), because they clearly still had a serious connection to "organized sound", or they wouldn't have been DJs, pushing the envelope, desperate to provoke and eviscerate.
Anyway, this is all just my long-winded way of saying I couldn't agree with the following more:
Give him opportunities to experience and make music as he grows up - lessons, classes, concerts, music players and albums to listen to. Give him access to all the information he ever wants about music, and as many instruments and ways of making music as he wants.
But let him take the lead; don't push it. If he does turn out to be a prodigy, he'll be much happier if he can explore at his own rate rather than be treated like a performing monkey. And if he isn't a genius, but just a guy who loves music, then let him keep his love of it by making it truly his own "thing", not something his parents and aunts/uncles wanted.
Well put, lollusc. Because if I'd had the early experience to explore my natural fascination with music, who knows where I may have taken it? And likewise, if the NOISE GUYS hadn't had it rammed down their throats, where might they have gone? Every child is an ongoing experiment. They key is to let the child lead it.
posted by philip-random at 10:03 AM on January 8, 2011 [1 favorite]
My husband got this band in a bucket for our music-loving toddler and she is just simply bananas for it. Her favorite thing is to bang on the tambourine while one of us plays the kazoo.
That said, we also play music for her - all kinds - all the time. Sometimes I play music while I'm making dinner and she will dance on the floor; other times we play relaxed, gentle music for her to fall asleep to or at least quietly play to. She loves everything from the They Might Be Giants' "Here Come the ABCs" to Sesame Street songs to the Beatles to OK GO to Air to Daft Punk to Mozart.... etc. etc.
I sing to her constantly, even though my voice is pretty bad. At 21 months she is trying to sing along, which is just painfully cute.
Honestly, I think the most important thing to do is just be a musical household, where music is enjoyed. Play music, sing, dance, maybe get the kid a little keyboard, but make it something to be enjoyed, not endured.
posted by sutel at 10:23 AM on January 8, 2011
That said, we also play music for her - all kinds - all the time. Sometimes I play music while I'm making dinner and she will dance on the floor; other times we play relaxed, gentle music for her to fall asleep to or at least quietly play to. She loves everything from the They Might Be Giants' "Here Come the ABCs" to Sesame Street songs to the Beatles to OK GO to Air to Daft Punk to Mozart.... etc. etc.
I sing to her constantly, even though my voice is pretty bad. At 21 months she is trying to sing along, which is just painfully cute.
Honestly, I think the most important thing to do is just be a musical household, where music is enjoyed. Play music, sing, dance, maybe get the kid a little keyboard, but make it something to be enjoyed, not endured.
posted by sutel at 10:23 AM on January 8, 2011
As other's have said, I don't see anything unusual there but hey, the kid clearly likes a beat so do what my parents did with me... expose him to all sorts of music. Get him things to play - drums, glockenspiel, kiddie pianos, horns, anything that makes a noise. Maybe he'll go on to be seriously into music, maybe not. But you might as well give him musical exposure.
posted by Decani at 3:09 PM on January 8, 2011
posted by Decani at 3:09 PM on January 8, 2011
I'm only aware of one academic study on musical development - and that puts practice way ahead (and, way in advance of Outliers, came up with that 10,000 hours figure...). The second or third highest factor, though, was informal access to music in childhood. Have stuff lying around - instruments and other sound sources. Sing for fun, regularly. Let him choose the music, and fiddle around with the player (have something cheap and robust for this). Don't even think about formal development at this stage.
posted by monkey closet at 1:41 AM on January 10, 2011
posted by monkey closet at 1:41 AM on January 10, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by oceano at 6:25 AM on January 8, 2011 [1 favorite]