Having children of my own I can see how they have benefited from having access to guitars and other musical instruments as they’ve grown up. We’ve never pushed them toward learning to play an instrument like piano or violin. Instead we’ve given them the space they need to develop their own individual interests, just as I was, and we think that this approach has been very good for them.
One of my sons has no interest in making music whatsoever. He is far more interested in football and online gaming. However his older brother was bashing out rhythms on a toy drum kit from about the age of three. By the time he’d reached seven he was regularly jamming, with me on guitar, on his little child size drum kit.
My daughter has something of a rebellious nature and has always liked to challenge her mother and me. She has developed a keen interest in Drum and Bass and recently started to get into DJing and playing records at extremely high volume levels, upsetting our aged neighbours. Her interest in DJ equipment and modern dance music has led to her developing skills in music production using computers and it’s looking like she will progress to a music technology course at college.
We think that our parental influence is very significant in the interests and inclinations of our children. We’ve tried to provide very clearly defined boundaries while encouraging them to be independent. Their independence and self reliance is becoming increasingly apparent as they grow toward adulthood. We just wish that our daughter would play her dance music a little more quietly and stop upsetting our neighbours.
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