"The verb for the act of making musical sounds is play. Yet too often, parents and musical professionals approach it as something else - as work, or showbiz, or obligation, or eat-your-peas self-improvement technique. Instead of being something you do for your own enjoyment, making music becomes something you do for others, because you're supposed to, not because you want to. It's a great way to discourage kids from learning music."
"At Musical Playground, kids were free to explore a variety of musical instruments, and their sounds, on their own. At a series of music stations arrayed throughout the Reser concert hall, lobby, and environs, I witnessed children eagerly strumming (and sometimes shredding) on ukuleles and guitars, banging drums, and getting hands on with pianos, cellos, violins, and more rarely seen (hereabouts anyway) instruments from cultures around the world, all supported by trained instructors."
Musical Playground provided families with children ages 10 and under opportunities for unstructured, hands-on exploration of musical instruments. Children engaged directly with ukuleles, guitars, drums, pianos, cellos, violins, and less common instruments from other cultures. Trained instructors supported informal interaction while removing the pressure of formal lessons or performance expectations. The program emphasized openness and a lack of structure to foster curiosity, personal enjoyment, and intrinsic motivation. The approach aimed to counteract common tendencies to treat music as work, obligation, or self-improvement, which can discourage young learners.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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