Kids,TV and Music

I have made one of my "Aunt" duties to make sure my niece and nephew grow up with a lot of music knowledge. My 4 year old nephew used to use a pencil and a shoe to practice violin when I practiced. I also spent quite a bit of time with him on my hip while playing the violin because he liked to help (yes, I understand this probably was not the safest but how could I resist my little nephew!). Even if I didn't try to do my part to expose Micah and Eden to music, kids these days seem to have plenty of easy ways to get exposure.

I'm just going to touch on one example- TV. I have to say, I don't mind baby sitting when my sister lets the kids watch TV because the music on shows these days is fantastic! My favorite that Eden and Micah watch is The Backyardigans because they sing in four part harmony!

Then you have Sesame Street. The children who watch Sesame Street and absorb what they see are the type of future musicians I would want in a music school, especially a 21CM program. From Usher to Rihanna, Lang Lang and Itzhak Perlman to Pentatonix, children are being exposed to the diverse styles of music that we encourage in our 21CM program at DePauw.
So much of what I have been learning in Psychology this semester is about observational learning and that is why I find certain children's television to be very positive. Just something as simple as watching some TV can actually be making great future musicians.

I know this is a random, funny post but I thought I'd share a little Pentatonix (the kids version!) Because of this Micah can beatbox. I didn't even know what beatboxing was at four. Sesame Street is amazing I tell you.

I have this song memorized because its the only thing that calmed my niece down during Winter Term.