Classical Kids

By Alison Moore Smith

The first PDQ Bach concert I attended made me feel so intelligent! The fact that I was musically literate enough to "get" at least a decent percentage of the ongoing musical jokes was a thrill to me.

My parents are to thank for that. Not only for their good example and years (and years and years) of formal music lessons for which they paid, chauffeured, accompanied, and encouraged, but also for making our home one that was filled with music. How well I remember waking up early before school each morning, along with all my siblings, to practice our various instruments: violin, piano, trumpet, and clarinet. They loved listening to us play or sing.

One of my favorite childhood memories is that of standing in the living room, practicing a piece with the world's best accompanist on the planet, my mother. While singing my heart out, facing away from the entry, my dad would sneak in and quietly sit on the loveseat to observe. If he was anywhere in the house when I began, he was on the loveseat when I finished. It always made me feel so wonderful and talented that he would stop whatever he was doing, just to hear me sing.

Even if you're not a musician yourself, your children can still experience many of the benefits and joys of being a music lover. The key is in the environment you create. The easiest way to start is just by listening to music…all day long. Get up in the morning and pop in a CD . You don't have to make a big production out of it and you don't have to write research papers about it, just let it play as you go about your day!

Most libraries even have a selection of CDs to borrow until you know what you like and even the most remote corner of Wyoming can probably tune into at least one classical radio station.

You might want to begin with a soundtrack from a favorite movie. The kids will already be familiar with the music and will be drawn to it. Many movies are filled with great works. Fantasia, for example, has works by Tchaikovsky, Bach, Dukas, Stravinsky, Beethoven, Ponshielli, Mussorgsky, and Schubert. The more recent movie Babe has works by Saint-Saëns, Grieg, and others.

If your children are only into rock-and-roll, Tomita has lots of wonderful music in synthesized "electronic performances." And if anyone in your family has a sense of humor you should love Yo-Yo Ma's and Bobby McFerrin's combined effort in the album titled Hush! Also try the King's Singers or Take 6.

Whatever you do, just let the music play…and let the kids dance, sing, paint, read, or just lie down on the couch and let the music and the mood seep into their souls!

Here are a few of our favorite works for the younger set.

Johann Sebastian Bach:
Toccata & Fugue in D Minor

Ludwig van Beethoven:
Für Elise

Aaron Copland:
Rodeo

Paul Dukas:
Sorcerer's Apprentice

Claude Debussy:
Children's Corner

Louis Moreau Gottschalk:
Cakewalk

Edvard Grieg:
Peer Gynt Suites

Ferde Grofé:
Grand Canyon Suite

George Frideric Handel:
Messiah

Gustav Holst:
The Planets

Englebert Humperdink:
Hansel and Gretel