Musical Ritual

All children like rituals.


Birthdays Christmas and Recitals
Think of birthdays, every child anticipates their own and their friends birthday parties! Another big one for children here in Tacoma is Christmas and Hanukah (which has just come and gone,) and then the excitement and desire to perform in the Seasonal music recitals. These are rituals separated by large spaces of time and children love to dream about these events, they get excited for these events long before they come around! I wonder at times how to build an environment that will synchronize with a child’s natural love of ritual.

Bored observing in Japan
When I studied in Matsumoto and observed the teachers work with many different children it struck me how boring the process was for me as a non active observer, and I justified that as my lack of understanding of the language, perhaps I would get more excited about watching lessons for 6 hours in a row if I could only better understand the conversations! But after teaching for 7 years in Tacoma I have come to realize that I was bored not from any lack of understanding, but because there is a certain ritual to lessons that is repeated over and over. And this is how children learn best.

Explaining what is a Ritual?
Perhaps I should explain what a musical ritual is. Dictionary.com describes ritual as “any practice or pattern of behavior regularly performed in a set manner” through my several years of teaching children and coaching parents on how to practice creatively and productively at home this secret of having and maintaining a specifically musical ritual is one of the most important to! Some people have the wrong idea that creativity can not be taught or directed and that children should be left free to develop this most enriching human trait. Dr. Suzuki never taught this. His message to us teachers and parents is that it is up to us to create nurturing environments where children’s creativity can develop and flourish. It is my sincere hope that more and more parents and educators will embrace this profound belief of Dr. Suzuki’s.

Creative Parents
Over the last 7 years many highly intelligent and creative parents have participated in creating truly beautiful daily musical rituals for their children in my Suzuki Piano Studio, they have done this after learning of the importance of shaping the child’s environment and out of a desire to nurture their children’s creativity in the realm of classical piano playing. I would like to share some of the ideas that they have told me they are doing because I believe that their desire to nurture their children as parents is so powerful that they have in turn become highly creative individuals in creating beautiful environments for their children to flourish in.

The Candle
One parent has a special piano candle that she and her child light together as they start their daily practice, it is a candle that they have picked out together and one that has a pleasing aroma that brings out feelings of peacefulness and something that the child is interested in. - one note on the safety of this practice - as an avid candle user myself, I would recommend using soy based candles as they are from a renewable source. Also please look for naturally scented candles as the synthetic fragrances can effect children and adults negatively.

Piano Games
Another mom has found a set of fun games that her child loves to play and these are designated as “piano games” only to be played after the daily practice session! What a creative idea! All children love games and linking a fun game to a specific daily activity reinforces a love of that activity and motivation to accomplish the work before.

Hugs and Tickling
A Third Parent has taken the time to devise a certain physical ritual where she and her child always play a ticking game and hug after their daily practice! How wonderful for the child to know that whatever the practice was like that there will always be some fun and unconditional love expressed at the end of the practice!

Fun and Loving
So a musical ritual is about creating a pleasing, fun and loving time together with your child on a daily basis! Rituals help that process by setting up expectations for certain beneficial and pleasing activities for the child and the parent and these are linking into the practice.

Practical Notes for parents
Some practical notes on musical ritual. I have noticed that the parents who consistently have motivated children and are excited about learning have tailored their musical ritual to their child and themselves, what works for one parent and child may not for another. These parents also stick to the ritual as long as it is age appropriate and appeals to the child’s sense of self worth and fun! When a child grows and matures their rituals may change and shift but the habit of building consistently pleasing and fun aspects into the daily practice of classical music is maintained!

Tomorrow's topic
Tomorrow I will be talking about “scheduling peace” in your musical practice.

With Joy, Hope and Love,
Ben