[Making Music] With My Son

I possess the smallest amount of musical talent that a human could possibly have while still maintaining the ability to walk a straight line. I'm tone deaf, have no sense of rhythm and I probably couldn't play "Chopsticks" on a piano if it was pre-programmed to automatically run.

My wife began playing the piano at age 6. When she was 10, she tested the pants off the musical aptitude test and was recommended to play the obscenely complicated oboe. The art of percussion took hold when she joined the high school band and was prominently featured playing, among other instruments, the quads and snare drum. To make this comparison even more drastically one-sided, my wife grew up in Michigan where school marching bands vastly overshadowed the football teams they represented.

So... where do you think Deacon acquired his knack for all things music?

As I write this, he's in the other room singing a medley of songs that we have introduced to him and that he's heard on the radio in accordance to the proper pitch, tone, beat or whatever (sorry, I know nothing about music in the technical sense). It sounds like it should. That's what I'm saying. Deke has progressed from tapping his foot to the simple beat of a song to playing his Fisher-Price drums with intensity while singing along and directing me on guitar. In his own words, he loves to "rock out".

Conversely, ever since he chose the ivories of a beautiful grand piano over the plastic buttons of the iteration of an instrument from a dying fad, Wolfgang Amadeus Deacon has been begging us to enroll him in piano lessons. Until he's old enough for that he can continue to immerse himself in amazing pieces such as Danny Elfman's "Ice Dance", one that you may know from the classic Tim Burton film Edward Scissorhands, along with works from Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi and a plethora of others.

Being exposed to music at an early age can help with a child's language development and ability to hear, understand and distinguish sounds. Learning an instrument and playing music helps sharpen the ability to concentrate on a task. Dancing (a future topic here, most certainly) aids and enhances motor skills.





Deacon is going to be way more talented than his parents.


- Nicholas A. Marsico

Other sources:
Music and Child Development
Importance of Music in Early Childhood (Associated Content)
Importance of Music in Early Childhood (Music Together)
Importance of Exposing Your Children to Art, Dance and Music