A Few of My Favorite Things: Music at Home

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

Two years ago, my daughter came in and pronounced that she wanted to take violin lessons. I was a little shocked: was this a deep seated passion or was she just exploring! But we didn't want to shell out the thousands of dollars necessary for private or even group lessons. So we went to e-bay and bought a new violin for $30 and went to Ebaru Publishing Co. and bought curriculum to teach her violin. All in all, it was an investment of less than $100.

Did she keep it up? No, but that's o.k. She learned tons of music theory, how to read music, discipline in practicing an instrument (that I must say has carried over to other subjects), and an appreciation for orchestral music. And more importantly to us, we allowed her some freedom in exploring music without paying the heavy price for it.

Can you teach your child music at home? You would be surprised. Just like there are textbooks and curriculums that make it possible to teach advanced mathematics, the same is true for music. Should you teach your child music at home? That depends in my opinion. If your goal is for your child to spend time learning one instrument, if your child is especially stuck on the idea of learning one instrument, or if you really do want your child to attain a certain amount of proficiency. . .the answer is probably not.

If on the other hand, you are like us, and afraid to spend thousands of dollars only to discover that your child is tone deaf, hates music or getting him to practice is about equivalent to draining blood from a turnip. . .then music lessons at home could be the way to go. It also allows young children the opportunity to explore while gaining musical knowledge. You can rent many instruments cheaply, or buy them off eBay like we did. So if you're ready to embark on a musical journey with your child consider looking into these resources:

Ebaru Publishing This is a complete curriculum for string instruments. Curriculum comes with a video so your child can "teach himself" with minimal knowledge necessary from the parents.

Bob Jones Music This would be equivalent to music instruction in a school. It's more of a music appreciation class rather than teaching an instrument.

Progressive Music Courses for Young Beginners This Series includes, piano, guitar, violin, theory and others.

Basix Music Instruction Another series of easy to follow instruction to play specific instruments.

Teach Yourself to Play _______ Series As the name implies, an easy to follow series for teaching yourself to play a particular instrument.

Alfred's Music Courses Whenever I talk about wanting to learn piano, I hear this name over and over again.

A few general resources that you can look to for further information: A to Z Homeschooling CBD Rainbow Resource Center

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Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

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