A Christmas Morning Warning
WARNING: If your brother, is your neighbor, and a musician, you should be very nice to him all year. Otherwise, this is what your child will see Christmas Morning. Of course, if you're very clever, like my sister, you'll see that and immediately tell the child, "You can leave that set up here at Uncle Stevie's house and practice drums when you come over to play the piano."
(curses, foiled again!)
3B's
posted by The Minstrel Boy at 12:02 PM
4 Comments:
I got exactly the same set for my son for his sixth birthday! It's in our living room. And, truthfully, I think that the adults that have visited me over the past 2 years have played it more than he ever has. Something about a tiny kit with real heads (I replaced them) makes people who normally would be too shy to jam to want to sit in with the "band."
i have a full set of ludwigs (the wooden body ones) already, so that someone coming over to play drums doesn't have to do all that lugging and setting up. but it's large and my niece isn't. she saw the movie "drumline" and has a cousin who is in the drumline at ASU. she is very musical and wanted this badly. she comes over every day after school to practice piano on my parlor grand (she like the way it sounds and feels better than the piano they have at home) anyway. i figure why bother having kids around if you're not going to spoil and indulge them? it's one of my main enjoyments. we try to have a musical open zone here. i only ask for my time to practice in peace (which i can do off in my sound proof recording room while she bangs away merrily). these were a cheap find at a yard sale a few months ago and with a little furniture polish, some rubbing compound and a new set of skins they look and sound brand new. she was a little worried about them at first and i told her "honey, those are drums, they're designed to be hit with sticks and stepped on. go ahead and just let it rip."
We unfortunately don't know any drummers. Everyone in our circle plays stringed instruments, a woodwind or a brass. We're not professionals or anything but as homeschoolers I want to expose my son to as much spontaneous free form musical expression as possible. Maybe when he's a bit older formal lessons but right now its just bang on this, blow in here, see what happens when you press this pedal and push the keys. And play along with the crowd. Its fun and noisy.
if there's music in the house, if there's music being made in the house, you're going to be OK. one of the better places to take a kid for percussion stuff would be a bluegrass festival. there's always something happening in the parking lot where somebody sets up a "kit" with plastic buckets, hubcap cymbals and an ice chest bass drum. you will always find one of the old grits who can make magical beat sounds with spoons, washboards or any number of "found" items. those old hillbillies can make music out of thin air.
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