Why do I know so much about it? My older son started playing at about age 6 1/2. He stayed in the ChildBloom program until he had gone through its curriculum, and now plays with the same teacher, Kirk Hanser, as he gets ready to start his sophomore year in High School. The material my son is playing now is the same material many students take on as college freshman guitar majors. The group of kids he performs with is a terrific group, and they constitute St. Louis Bella Corda. Kevin Taylor has a Bella Corda ensemble of advanced players in Austin, also. Go hear them if you live in the area (St. Louis or Austin or anywhere a Bella Corda can be found).
Kevin Taylor is a master motivator and an outstanding conductor. His master classes are a great thrill for the kids in the cities he visits. We have been lucky to have him visit St. Louis many times, including visits to the Mid-America Guitar Camp as a conductor and instructor. We were also lucky to visit him and his group in Austin for the 25th anniversary concerts. Those Austin rehearsals and performances led to many great freindships for my son and me.
By the way, if the idea of classical guitar makes you look cross-eyed, you might want to look again. The music played by classical guitarists encompases the whole of Western Music, including folk tunes from many countries and continents, the blues, thrilling Spanish compositions, and much more. My son's teacher is well known for his recordings of South American music as a member of the Hanser-McClellan Duo. The kids really take to the music that ChildBloom provides. Furthermore, my son moved right into the jazz big band at school, starting in 7th grade, and his ability to read music was certainly valuable. He also plays rock & roll, and plays a lot by ear, transcribing jazz solos and learning classic rock and modern rock on his own. In fact, having grown up in an era when little instructional material was available for guitar, I was excited to provide my son with lots of instructional DVDs for rock & roll, blues, slide guitar, etc. But,... my son wouldn't pay any attention to this instructional stuff... he just learned the electric guitar music he wanted to, by ear, and didn't need any help (I'm the one who needs the help.) Reading music certainly didn't interfere with his ability to learn by ear, but it does give him access to an even wider range of genres and styles.
So, if you have a child with an interest in music, the ChildBloom method is a great way to get him or her started. If you want to get your child involved in music, which I highly recommend, ChildBloom is an excellent doorway to a lifetime of music. The program specializes in kids aged 5-12 (see frequently asked questions here).
This is an uncompensated endorsement.
Copyright © 2008, James K. Bashkin
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Some of these outcomes help create the audience that will hear professional musicians play concerts in the future. Furthermore, there are many people who have very satisfying careers as music educators at all levels from K-12 and college, or outside of a school structure. Music therapy is another possible career for people who love music and have a lot of skills, but are not going to be top solo artists or studio musicians. Then, of course, there are jobs in the recording and live sound engineering fields. I have a friend and former guitar teacher who is a great guitar player, on local level, and an engineer, and who designs amplifiers for his day job.
I simply can't think of any reasons not to teach music to children, and can think of a very large number of reasons to do so. My son has played with kids who are now winning medals in international classical guitar solo competitions, but I haven't the fainest idea if he will pursue music as a profession.
I have a sister (and brother-in-law) who are both successful, professional classical musicians. It isn't an easy life, and few have the combination of talent and drive to succeed. However, I'm 50 and play the guitar almost every day, and occasionally play with bands, and have a lot of fun with it. I grew up playing the cello. For many years, I was able to play guitar with my son, which was a great pleasure (now he is too good and we only play together once in a while). My son is about to record a few tracks for a CD that will also feature some top international guitar players. We'll just have to see what he ends up choosing as a career (and what he tries along the way).
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