Text | Thirteenth sister
During the May Day holiday, my son participated in a wind ensemble performance.
I watched the whole show, and it was actually the first time I saw him on stage as the lead percussion vocalist... Many friends know that my son plays the cello.
So, a baby who learned cello, how to play percussion.
This process even my own mother felt foggy. At the beginning, he entered the school's wind ensemble, he didn't know woodwind or brass and chose percussion, but he didn't learn this, I thought he would go in and mix a triangle bell and a sand hammer or something, who knows that not long after he mixed into the percussion principal, often one person had to play several instruments in a piece of music.
I often told his father: It is worthy of my son, inheriting my musical talent. His father said: Who wouldn't do this.
Hehe, your son is the chief percussion, you are the chief percussion.
As we all know, the old mother did not do it in vain, not to mention the old mother like me, who broke her head into eight petals, and I had to pick it up deeply after watching the performance.
So I put some reflections on "children learning the piano" into this video, and I recommend that you take a look first, otherwise you may not understand what I mean by what I write later.
Seriously, although I am often positioned as a parenting blogger, education blogger, parent-child blogger or something, I rarely expose my son. Because whether it is studying or living, he basically relies on himself, and I have no experience in chicken dolls.
But in the field of studying music, I really have a lot of experience and feelings to share with you.
First of all, in the comment area of my video, there are some comments that are very interesting. For example, this category:
These comments all point to the thesis that learning art is a matter of class threshold.
I admit that children in smaller places have fewer opportunities to expand their artistic horizons, and there are certainly limitations.
My son has been on stage in many professional concert halls before he was 12 years old, and he has also participated in exchange performances in Europe.
Learning art specialties must be better than small places in big cities, so children in small cities definitely need to pay more to learn art.
I also admit that from a certain point of view, this does require the blessing of "the power of money".
For myself, learning cello over the years has increased with the increase in the level of tuition, plus we have studied with master musicians, and this threshold has been selected, and if you are lucky enough to enter, you will be mentally prepared to go first.
Many parents in Shanghai know that the high-level lesson fee is 4 figures. However, we never participate in messy competitions without gold content, and we save a lot of money without biased children.
But I don't agree that "cultivating a passion for music" is a so-called "little people can't hold it" thing.
We participated in the school orchestra, so it was not difficult to get in. But the orchestra is wide in and out, once entered, learning, training, and running-in are all processes that test the quality of children.
Therefore, when I say "cultivate enthusiasm", I do not mean that only enthusiasm is not required, nor that there is no technical content and only enthusiasm, but it is precisely after hard work, a certain level and a sense of achievement, enthusiasm will follow.
It's not a matter of chicken or egg first, it's about having chickens first.
Anything, without effort, wants to get something without hard work and automatically generates enthusiasm, that is a dream.
I've never seen a student who scored just 40 on an exam enthusiastic about learning, because self-efficacy must be achieved through achievement and self-satisfaction.
That is to say, there may be many reasons for not generating enthusiasm for learning a certain instrument, but don't use "I'm just a small people" to explain, and don't use "we don't have that kind of enthusiasm for the big pattern" as an excuse, because no matter who you are, the enthusiasm for learning musical instruments is through your own efforts, and there is no half-dime relationship with identity, wealth, and family lineage.
And, most importantly, what is the purpose of learning art? If it is to improve the child's aesthetic taste, have a lifelong hobby, can be used as an outlet for emotions, bring happiness to yourself... So what do these purposes have to do with whether they are "little people"?
After reading another comment reply, I admit that this one does have a little to do with it:
Once again, the word "small people" appeared, as if there was a sense that "art is a luxury for small people".
I agree that "enthusiasm needs atmosphere", in other words, if the elders and parents in the family understand a little, it will be easier for children to learn.
First, genes come with some talent, and second, fewer detours when cultivated. This can improve the efficiency of the child's learning of art, allowing him to move from "homework" to "passion" faster.
There is also a demonstration role. I have to admit that my own insistence on practicing the piano has given the child a standard template - there are no shortcuts, I often practice the piano by myself for three or four hours, and only after someone practices hard can I show it in front of people...
There is nothing wrong with "parents are the starting line for children", but not every parent must know art and be able to play and sing... As the starting line, the role of parents is still mainly in cognition, methods, not professional standards.
Parents who do not know how to play can also lead by example, and persistence and persistence in any field have the same educational effect.
Some parents feel that learning an art specialty will seriously affect their studies. That only means:
1. Your child really has limited ability and energy (not very talented);
2. You may be overdemanding of your child in one area, causing him to spend too much time on results that he shouldn't have spent but not optimistic, and he feels frustrated, which will carry this frustration to other areas and cause other areas to decline as well.
The truth is: among the piano children I have come into contact with, all those who learn the instrument well will also have good academic performance. Learning is connected, and the test is the child's ability to absorb, master and apply the coordination, which will not favor one over the other.
Others say that children don't want to practice and don't like to practice.
Every time I hear such a complaint, I want to ask a question first: How is the teacher you are looking for?
One advantage in big cities is that you can raise the starting point. Your teacher's pattern, height, cognition, and guidance determine the depth of your child's fate with this art category.
When the teacher teaches the child, it is very boring, rigid, and even has not yet understood, the child does not understand at all, just completing the task, so how happy do you expect the child to be when he practices the piano?
For children, the teacher is not only a technical transmitter, he wants to make children fall in love with what they have learned. A sentence of four or two pounds, a point of dialing immediate effect on the child, this is all different.
It is true that three points teach seven points of training, but if your three points of teaching are indiscriminate and full, do you expect that the child's seven points of training can automatically open the corner and overtake.
Some teachers come up to the examination, examination, examination, every day to put the examination on the mouth, and also take their children to participate in this competition and that exhibition all day, why? Because only a certificate of examination and a shining trophy can prove that this teacher "can teach".
The master will not stare at making you take the exam and compete, but the child's pattern, cognition and technology have advanced by leaps and bounds, with a solid level, the examination is like a passing thing, just to increase the child's self-efficacy (self-confidence) and improve his insight (look at the level of other children).
Seligman advocates a form of education called positive education.
He believes that "allowing children to gain happiness" and "allowing children to improve their academic performance" should be the purpose of education together.
The same is true for art education, a child learning music, painting, sports, no sense of happiness, no happiness, no pursuit, do not know their goals, do not know the meaning of today's hard training, he has no sense of happiness, he only realizes the wishes of his parents.
Many such children, generally in the 8th grade, 9th grade, and at most 10th grade, completely let go of their strengths.
For example, learning the piano, looking around, in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, it seems that all kindergarten and elementary school children are learning the piano. But if you take a closer look, you will find that by the time these children enter junior high school, only half of them are still learning. In high school, the word "piano" was only written in the "hobbies" column every time they filled out some insignificant resume.
Many babies took a level ten certificate and ran out to let him play the piano and said that he would not ... Why, because "those few songs for the examination have been forgotten" ... It's nothing.
It is a very heartfelt fact that learning music and painting, including sports, must definitely determine that talent is absolutely required.
You can not be highly talented, but you must never have a talent of 0 or even a negative number.
The same three years of piano learning, the same play a repertoire, some children quickly mastered, play very happy, some people just can't get over this hurdle, how can not play well, angry want to smash the piano, parents are also angry with high blood pressure. Ever wondered why this is?
It's not necessarily a matter of effort, it's a difference in talent.
Just like long-distance running, some people are born with no ability, and no matter how they practice, they are not as talented as others.
So my advice for nurturing children's musical specialties is this:
1. The teacher's starting point is as high as possible, it is expensive and expensive, if the economy does not allow, simply do not learn, but delay the child's time.
2. The family atmosphere and the guidance of parents are very important, just like you let your children practice spoken English every day, but they are all Chinese, can the English environment be compared with your environment.
3. The examination has no practical significance (it can neither add points nor wear down the child's enthusiasm), just practice three or four songs repeatedly for that certificate in a year, the child's cognition of art has also changed, and when the learning has the spare energy (ability to arrive) by the way, it is okay.
4. Not every child has artistic talent, it is too damaging to the parent-child relationship and the child really has no happiness to give up on art projects, it is not necessary to learn something to reflect that parents know how to cultivate their children, sometimes do not learn to prove that you understand.
5. Participating in an orchestra has a great impact on children. Wind, string and percussion can be tried if you have the opportunity, and children who have experience in training and performing in large orchestras are generally more patient and savvy in learning musical instruments, and through the practice of interpreting and running-in classical music, the musical taste will be greatly improved.
6. Learning art may delay schoolwork, if it appears, it proves that the child does not have the ability to learn, then grasp the big and let go of the small, not both. Unless the child is a genius in some aspect of art, it is more rational to focus on schoolwork.
7. Learning musical instruments is only a way (for non-professional route children), the purpose is to let children appreciate art, explore beauty, form a closed loop of spiritual pursuit other than material, and can form an outlet for emotions without going through the outside world, which is a lifelong wealth. Don't let children get bored because of rough and boring training and parental hegemonic intervention in the early stage, parents need to be more patient in the early stage.
8. I think that most children learn art without the so-called "learning success", and what they have learned varies from person to person, and there is only one bottom line: children really like it.
I hope these experiences and suggestions will be useful to you.