Education is one of the best things about life. There is always something to learn. Once I had kids, I learned (see what I mean?!) that 99.99% of parenting is teaching – how to crawl and then walk, eat healthy and when to splurge, share and in general not be a jerk, say please and thank you, etc., etc., etc.
So I began to develop my own curriculum, which I want to share with you. I am (probably a little too) proud to present my first course.
Course: Music 101
Prerequisite: Be born
Required Materials: Compact Discs (CDs) in a binder + CD player
Optional: CDs do not have to be alphabetized, but if you’re a Virgo like me, you probably can’t help it
The course begins by placing the CD binder in front of the child and asking the child to flip through the pages to choose a CD.
As they flip through, hold up a CD and explain to the child, “This round object is a magical disc that contains music. You see this shiny side? Once you put it in this machine [make a grand gesture towards CD player], the machine has a laser that plays the music that is encoded on the shiny side of the CD.”
If you feel your child is advanced, you can add: “As the disc rotates, the laser beam measures differences in the way light is reflected off the polycarbonate layer on the bottom of the disc, converting it to sound.” (Thank you, http://www.techtarget.com, but also how crazy is it that someone figured that out?)
You can give a brief explanation about album artwork, and if the child doesn’t flip too fast, you can point out your favorites. The child will most likely not inquire on why they are your favorites but you can tell them anyway (unless the child is in the “Why?” stage of life, in which case they will ask you “Why?” so often, you will wish you had never pointed out your favorites).
My little girl was a toddler when she began this course. At that time, if you asked her what her favorite color was she would tell you, “Rainbow!” So it is no surprise that the first CD she chose was Mariah Carey’s album of the same name. We started with the first track “Heartbreaker,” which led to an important conversation about heartbreakers and how to avoid them. It was also a moment for me to shine during Jay-Z’s rap when I remembered all the words, impressing both myself and my daughter.
Now my little boy was much younger, just a baby, when Music 101 came into his life. To my great delight, his chubby little baby hand reached for Aerosmith’s Get a Grip album, and I began to expound on my great love for this band. As we made our way through…
“Eat the Rich”…”Livin’ on the Edge”…”Cryin'”…”Crazy”…”Amazing”
…he seemed to lose focus as I yelled over the music, “CAN YOU BELIEVE ALL OF THESE PHENOMENAL SONGS WERE ON ONE ALBUM?!” Then I realized the only reason my breastfeeding baby picked this CD was because he wanted the nipples.
- Important Notes:
- This can be a daily or weekly course.
- If your CD binder is in alphabetical order, the child will need further guidance to keep it that way.
- Do not let the child use the CD player, especially if it holds multiple discs. It’s way too much to process and will be covered in a future course. Also, the weird sound it makes when rotating the CDs might scare the baby.
- At this time, do not mention how CDs can be scratched nor should you show the child a streaming service like Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, etc. They must first develop an appreciation for the magical disc!
Bonus: Hands-on learning experience
Step 1: Zip the binder so that it’s closed for easy transport (like when you were headed to your car back in olden times and wanted your music with you…or current times if you’re like me).
Step 2: Place the binder in front of the child and have the child drag the CD binder a distance of ten feet so that they may appreciate the burden they no longer carry.
- Important Notes:
- Child should be able to crawl before trying this hands-on learning experience.
- My CD binder holds 200 CDs, so my baby boy could not move it. At first I thought he was being a lazy baby, but then I realized it was just too heavy. So find a smaller CD binder, if necessary, or give the baby some slack.
- Dragging distance should be increased as the child ages.
I have to face the fact that, in some ways, the digital age has brought easier access to music even if it means the downfall of the magical disc. But to really drive the point home, I like to conclude Music 101 with a lecture on what it was like to go buy a CD:
~ feeling the excitement as you drove to Sam Goody, the day of the CD release was especially cool because you might see other fans (and maybe you even pre-ordered your copy so you knew it was safely waiting for you)
~ examining the album artwork (and hoping lyrics would be printed inside)
~ listening to the album in the order the artist intended from start to finish (and choosing early favorites)…you can still do this on a streaming service but it seems like our attention spans have shrunk and we just jump to the next thing too quickly
~ finding a place for it on your CD tower (if alphabetized, then you would need a good 20 minutes to move each CD row by row unless you just bought The Wallflowers, which wouldn’t be so bad)
Unfortunately, missing out on this experience is a burden they will have to carry.
coming full circle 