homeschooling and music?

Question

is it possible to teach my 10 yr old music, or should i just get a private tutor for this particular subject

Answer 1

First of all, teaching music to ANYONE does not require a "professional" unless you define a professional as someone that has a desire to teach others and get paid for it.

My point is that it does not require someone that has a degree or has made a living as a professional musician, or someone that is able to list "Musician" on a resume.

If you know how to play an instrument, OF COURSE you can teach your child how to do the same.

There is NOTHING stopping you from sharing something you love like that with your child except narrow minded viewpoints.

Now, if you are like me, and you do not play an instrument, then it is very easy to find someone that conducts lessons. Most people that have music lessons in their homes love homeschool families because of their flexibility in scheduling. Most homeschool groups will have tons of contacts in this department. At our first teacher's meeting of each year, we have parents bring business cards to share for music lessons, scouts, all kinds of things like that.

Sometimes larger churches will have different types of music classes open as a community outreach. My daughter took three years of handbell classes for free and we were not even members of that particular church. Those type of opportunities are hard to find, but they're out there.

Even if you do not play an instrument, you can still teach music appreciation classes, and really get in to different types of music with your child. I do that, and there are lots of resources on the web and in the homeschool bookstores to help you with that.
My kids enjoy those types of classes and it has really expanded our CD collection and varieties of music. I find a lot of CD's to help with our appreciation classes at Half Price Books.

I just don't understand how this country has become so brainwashed in to thinking that for the most part people are stupid and not capable of doing the simplest things for themselves.
It does not take a "professional" to say, "ok this is called baroque. Here's some composers, here's some examples of their music."

Simply blows me away.

Answer 2

If you know music, you can teach him. Otherwise, get a tutor. I purchased Christian music for teens that had the book with the music in it and we had music class. I used it to teach them to read music and we had a lot of fun working on the songs too. Oh, they come with background tracks as well. Another thought is to join a homeschool group if there is one and see if other families are interested. You could form a children's choir and perhaps perform for the homeschool group periodically and/or churches in the area.

Best Wishes,
Sue

Answer 3

My husband is a self-learned guitarist, he started when he was 16 years old and my gosh, he is awesome though he has never had a lesson in his entire life. Our 12yo ds now plays guitar and is both self-learned and has lessons from dh but it is his choice. DD also is a music lover and wants to learn the flute, thankfully that was my instrument of choice and so I'm happy to help her if she likes. She also plays on the guitar and piano but doesn't want more than occassional help from dad.

A professional is not needed UNLESS the child wants someone to teach them and you cannot (that is pretty much how I feel about any and all learning). If they love music and just even love to piddle around in a way that is fun for them and do not want to have lessons, do not fret, it is amazing what they pick up on their own and how their ears begin to be trained and also how they start making their own unique music.

If your child wants to be taught your local paper will probably have people offering lessons. Also, check with your local home school support group, perhaps they have a home school band. Our area does offer a home school band but they do not play rock and roll which is a favorite here in our household. (Smile)

Answer 4

If you don't have any musical knowledge, then I would say get a tutor. You could also get a computer game that teaches music. Or you could even let your child pick out an insterment and get private lessons.

Answer 5

Well, with my 8 yr old, we talk about music theory and musicians, past and present. We listen to all kinds of music and talk about that. Now, when it comes to actually learning to play music, if you are talented in something, go for it. I'm not, so I send him to a guitar class.

Answer 6

I was just looking into this! Alpha Omega Publishing has some courses on music. "Music Made Easy: Guitar!"($19.95) Ages 5 and up and "Music Games"($9.95) Ages 7 and up. Both are CD-Rom programs. I may try this for next year.

Answer 7

Hey,
This course is even better than a personal guitar teacher http://www.goobypls.com/r/rd.asp?gid=554

the site has thousands of videos and well explained lessons, everything is explained step by step and it's easy to follow. I haven't found any better online training course elsewhere.

Answer 8

It depends on your abilities and what you want to specifically teach him. If you know how to play a recorder and can read basic music, you could teach him that. Also keep in mind teaching music appreciation: knowing about composers, being able to identify songs, etc.

Answer 9

The local community college probably has classes you could enroll in. Does your district allow home schoolers to take classes? If so, take music at the local high school.

Answer 10

ofcourse it is possible to teach ur 10 yr old music bcoz music always comes from heart n not by age just the thing is that the person must have a little intrest in it.