# Why do I torture my kids … with classical music? - My Favorite Classical Music



## barblacho (Aug 16, 2017)

http://myfavoriteclassical.com/why-do-i-torture-my-kids-with-classical-music/


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I'm a primary teacher and sometimes play classical music in the class to my 6 year olds. Mozart and Haydn have a quite a calming effect on them but if I slap on any of the Beethoven odd-number symphonies they get a bit hyper. I played the 5th the other day and there were several arguments over the plasticine. Lord knows what would happen if I played Mahler!


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I think it's great to give your kids exposure to listening to classical music. As for inducing them to learn an instrument or music theory, I say "hands off".


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Bulldog said:


> I think it's great to give your kids exposure to listening to classical music. As for inducing them to learn an instrument or music theory, I say "hands off".


I generally agree, though I think it's good to have instruments available around the house. A piano in the house will get played to some capacity and someone able to play it stimulates interest more than being sent off for lessons from scratch. It's exciting to see real instruments - shiny brass or woodwinds with all the keywork - and to hear them up close.


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## Triplets (Sep 4, 2014)

7-11 convenience stores were playing Classical to discourage teenage loitering


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

All well and good, but kids are mostly influenced by their friends and the consensus among them regarding classical music is "nyet"!


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Triplets said:


> 7-11 convenience stores were playing Classical to discourage teenage loitering


Ah yes, but this is for teens who weren't exposed to this music at a young age. If the teens want to defeat this measure they will start listening to Mozart without delay.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Triplets said:


> 7-11 convenience stores were playing Classical to discourage teenage loitering


Worked on me. I ran out.

They were playing Bruckner, Schubert and Liszt.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

eugeneonagain said:


> I generally agree, though I think it's good to have instruments available around the house.


That's a good idea, but there are plenty of families who can't afford to buy and keep instruments hanging around on the chance that they will be used.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

Bulldog said:


> That's a good idea, but there are plenty of families who can't afford to buy and keep instruments hanging around on the chance that they will be used.


That's very true and perhaps the space for anything like a piano. I imagined anything from little glockenspiels to electronic keyboards, toys really. I had both of these and it helped to stimulate my interest.


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## JJF (Aug 25, 2017)

Merl said:


> I'm a primary teacher and sometimes play classical music in the class to my 6 year olds. Mozart and Haydn have a quite a calming effect on them but if I slap on any of the Beethoven odd-number symphonies they get a bit hyper. I played the 5th the other day and there were several arguments over the plasticine. Lord knows what would happen if I played Mahler!


A certain Kubrick film jumps forth from memory...


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

Re Mozart as teen repellent: This was used for a while near the university in Cincinnati but, alas, the stoners seemed to like it.

Parents playing instruments for pleasure can inspire children to play as well. I've known parents who spawned the other half of a string quartet.


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## Daniel Atkinson (Dec 31, 2016)

Merl said:


> I'm a primary teacher and sometimes play classical music in the class to my 6 year olds. Mozart and Haydn have a quite a calming effect on them but if I slap on any of the Beethoven odd-number symphonies they get a bit hyper. I played the 5th the other day and there were several arguments over the plasticine. Lord knows what would happen if I played Mahler!


They would likely be intrigued by classical music

Daniel


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## Dan Ante (May 4, 2016)

I am curious is music appreciation no longer taught in schools, I remember from the age of 5 listening to music at school and playing the tambourine or triangle or just using sticks to hit the floor with, and at home there was a piano my parents and grand parents played instruments the radio was allays tuned in to the music station except at news time, it meant very little to me at the time but obviously some of it stuck in my mind and I am grateful for that, thanks mum and dad.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

People are always saying, "I wish I knew how to play the piano." If you have kids, don't make them say that when they're 70. Get a piano.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

We are a musical family - both like classic music - and both our kids had music lessons. My daughter is dyslexic so always had problems reading music. She does have a voice like an angel and sings. With my son we had the usual battle with practice, etc, but now he is a professional musician. He has however, made very different musical choices form his old man in the sort of music he likes. No problem with me as I'm glad he's making music.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

Dan Ante said:


> I am curious is music appreciation no longer taught in schools, I remember from the age of 5 listening to music at school and playing the tambourine or triangle or just using sticks to hit the floor with....


Music appreciation per se is not often taught as a stand-alone but incorporated into music in the National Curriculum. The onus is on teachers to now incorporate music into other areas of the curriculum but many teachers are uncomfortable with this as they don't sing well (in their opinion) or play an instrument. Music in early education is making a necessary comeback after music services were dumped by local education authorities to save money. How much a primary teacher in the UK uses music is really down to how much they can squeeze into the curriculum. My kids get double whammy of music as I torture them with my acoustic guitar playing on a regular basis. The poor sods love it.


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## Resurrexit (Apr 1, 2014)

Bulldog said:


> I think it's great to give your kids exposure to listening to classical music. As for inducing them to learn an instrument or music theory, I say "hands off".


Imagine how different the world would be if Mozart's or Beethoven's parents had taken a "hands off" approach.

I kid of course, and in general this philosophy seems reasonable enough. I don't think anyone would endorse tying their child to a chair and forcing them to slave away at the piano for hours a day. But regarding other facets of a child's growth and development -- reading for example -- parents are usually a lot more hands on. Reading to them, teaching them the alphabet, encouraging them to pick up books. It feels like children are much less often even given the exposure to music and instruments, and I too often hear adults express the regret of "I wish I had learned to play an instrument."


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

I am so glad starting the piano at young age and forever great full my parents took me to concerts at very young age.
Our house was always filled with music, now my house is.


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## Guest (Sep 1, 2017)

The best thing is a living example,your father who is playing an instrument,you see and feel his joy,waching him while he is listening to music,the art of listening in your daily surroundings.
If you can not afford a piano choose the clarinet as I did and be captivate by its beautiful sound.
If you really want there is allways a way to achieve,it is a matter of making choices.


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## Marinera (May 13, 2016)

hpowders said:


> Worked on me. I ran out.
> 
> They were playing Bruckner, Schubert and Liszt.


Too bad then, if that was Schubert or Liszt they were playing, they would've had a bigger problem on their plate. Forget about loitering I would've been camping on their premises. Bruckner for my lunch and facilities break.


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## Nereffid (Feb 6, 2013)

Children aren't blank slates, though. If they have one or two parents who like classical music then there's a reasonable chance that the children will innately be disposed towards classical music themselves, or if not classical then some other non-mainstream music or other artform. 
I think the important job is to encourage them when they find something they love, rather than push them into what the parent thinks they should love.


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## JeffD (May 8, 2017)

I think it is 10X harder to encourage your child to love something if you don't love it, and often times if you do love it, the child will need no encouraging. Kids are emulation machines.

Yelling "for crissake go play some good music for a change" is of dubious value.


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## JCLEUNG (Sep 1, 2017)

That's really great that you are exposing your students to classical music! kudos to you


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