Aunt Susie authored The ABZ’s of Musical Instruments Book 1 to remind us that music and the arts give us perfect opportunities to play together, learn from each other, feel alive and have fun together. She hopes families will make time for relaxation and play, especially with sound and vibration — otherwise known as music. She also invites you to make art, create plays, dance, read, write, and celebrate your lives together!
Let’s work together to create a world in which your children are surrounded by patience, encouragement and acceptance so they will:
- know confidence, joy, and happiness,
- grow in LOVE, and
- create lives that allows them to brings their gifts to the world.
Aunt Susie hopes we can be partners in supporting children who are proud of themselves and feel free to contribute to the larger community.
Aunt Susie’s Secret to Family Fun!
Some people, especially adults, have forgotten that they are musical. Even if you consider yourself a non-musician, you were a toddler once! All toddlers listen to the sounds of the kitchen; find the pots and pans; and make their own satisfying music!
- Hang out with a toddler! Because even the most inhibited adult can
muster the courage to follow the lead of an 18-month-old child. - Create a loving atmosphere where children and adults can explore
their own music and their own rhythm preferences! - Relax, have fun, stay open to possibilities and learn from your child.
- Play “Call and Response.”
|
Call and Response
You will find Call and Response in every form of music.
Allow the child to do the “call”. In other words, watch and listen closely to the sounds that the toddler makes. Then imitate the child. Remember imitation is the greatest form of flattery!
Do the same motion, on the same pots, and try for the same sounds. Besides the opportunity to remember something about your own music, you are supporting the child’s creativity and imaginative play. The child feels heard and seen. You can see the delight on the child’s face and a sparkle in the child’s eyes.
What a gift to give a child to know that:
What a gift to give yourself, to:
Let your musical talent and knowledge grow with your child’s through the years. Start a ritual of communication through musical improvisations that will strengthen your verbal communication as the child matures.
Tell your musician friends that: An extra bonus for musicians is that these music improvs:
SO BRING ON THE POTS AND PANS PARADE!“It’s just amazing to me that you have someone who’s trained themselves for years and years, they have scales down, they have thirds down, they know 13 modes, and if you ask them to play something, they say ‘no, I can’t, I didn’t bring any music.’ Well that’s just absurd. Music should be something that isn’t served just by the notes, it should be something that’s about the human condition of expressing oneself through notes.”
—David Darling. Reprinted from DavidDarling.com Strings #34, by Joshua Rosebaum
|
Buy our Books!
