There's no trick to raising a child with an appreciation for classical music. You don't need Baby Einstein or Baby Mozart or some other gimmick that promises to enhance your child's neurological development through Beethoven. All you need to do is think of something fun: a song that makes you want to dance and sing and emote like an idiot in the privacy of your living room.
We are born with an innate capacity for enjoying ourselves. Nobody has to teach our children to appreciate Katy Perry — for better or for worse, her music is fun and we naturally fall into line. It's the same with classical music: give your child a chance to enjoy herself, and she'll do the rest. It may be some years before she'll appreciate Stravinsky's Rite of Spring (although a showing of Fantasia will probably take care of that), but a lot of classical music is immediately accessible to anyone.
In my daughter Hypatia's first year of life, before she could move on her own, she was danced around the house to Bach's Brandenburg Concertos and Brahms's Hungarian Dances and bounced on my knee to the William Tell Overture. By the time she could crawl, I was mercilessly tickling and chasing her to the tune of Holst's Mars, the Bringer of War and Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King. By the time she was ready to walk, she was ready to dance — her preferences being Baroque chamber music or Katy Perry.
These days, my daughter needs no encouragement or prompting to develop her own opinions on music. A month ago, I was enjoying a quiet day at home with her when Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings came on the radio. The Adagio for Strings summons many emotions, but I don't think any of them could be called "fun." Nonetheless, Hypatia closed her eyes and — with a big grin on her face — slowly spun around the room in ecstasy.
As she gets older and more sophisticated, I'll introduce her to my favorite pieces — but in the meantime, we can get by on just having fun.
Love the music?
Show your support by making a gift to YourClassical.
Each day, we’re here for you with thoughtful streams that set the tone for your day – not to mention the stories and programs that inspire you to new discovery and help you explore the music you love.
YourClassical is available for free, because we are listener-supported public media. Take a moment to make your gift today.
