
What does Mom success sound like? I interviewed a mom who has two kids in university and has successfully “climbed mount music”! I wanted to share with you some of what she had to say about the values she found and challenges she had when she made learning an instrument a priority for her children’s lives.
Chantal is a Senior Project Manager in the FinTech industry and immigrated to Canada from France with her husband and two daughters more than 20 years ago.
What is your musical background?
I do not have a Musical background, besides listening to pop music and classical music from time to time. I would have liked to learn guitar but it was never my parent’s priority. I think I am tone deaf and was not even able to sing children’s songs with the proper tune!
What is your husband’s musical background?
[He] loves music, especially rock ’n roll. He listens to a lot of genres, does not play any instrument himself and is able to recognise all 70’s songs on the first note. He has a good musical ear.
What music education did your children have? How long did they play? Do they still play?
My 22 year old girl, Camille, started piano when she was 8 years old and followed the Royal Conservatory of Music program all the way to grade 10, and did the harmony level I and II as part of the program she followed with her piano teacher. She was so into it that she even took music history one summer at the University of Toronto. When she left to pursue her university degree in France, she asked us to buy her a keyboard for her 20th birthday, and we did and brought one to her. She continues playing when she has time available (but this is not too much since she is studying medicine in France) Her boyfriend plays guitar with her. She is still playing piano.
My 19th year old daughter, Julie, started to play guitar (she asked for it as well) when she was 7. The practice hurt her fingers and she did not want to continue; we proposed to her to play piano and it was much better after that. She still practices today though not as much. However, she learned guitar on her own and today plays simple songs she composed (I’ve posted some on YouTube). She plays guitar more than piano now and this helps her release stress from university .
When did you decide that you wanted your children to learn an instrument?
Camille was the one who asked to have piano lessons. So we borrow a keyboard from a friend and started with our piano teacher (right around the corner on our street) and once we realized she was taking music seriously we purchased an upright piano. Julie followed her sister and was the one who asked to play guitar as well; she then switched to piano.
Why did you decide to make it happen?
Because I always wanted to play myself and never took the time to do it seriously and since they both asked to play, the teacher was right around the corner and walking distance, so it was the perfect opportunity.
Talk about some of the challenges you had to keep it going in your house and what kept you going.
It is one thing to go to a weekly hour lesson with a piano teacher, it is another thing to practice at home. So we had to negotiate practice time. We’d suggest they play 3 times each piece, or say we will give up Sunday practice if you practice a little more Saturday.
Camille got pleasure out of mastering a piece and she practiced quite a lot without us asking too much but we had to, from time to time, not allow her to go out with friends unless the piano practice was done. Sometimes it was a quick practice but it was still better than nothing in our mind.
Julie, who got the basics quite quickly, was always playing around by rearranging the piece, so we had to ask her to play at least 2 times each piece then the 3rd or 4th time she could rearrange the melody or tempo or whatever would please her.
For both of them, the teacher would propose little pieces for Christmas to practice and sing with the family and it helped in adding some fun in the practice. The piano teacher organized duets for the sisters to practice together for the year end events, it was original and they enjoyed it. Even though we followed the Royal Conservatory of Music program, the teacher was quite open to learning other pieces, which kept their interest (Coeur de Pirate, Amelie, Sarah Bareilles, the Beatles, The Corpse Bride…). It kept their interest as they could play music they listen to on a regular basis and heard on YouTube.
In addition I learned the piano myself at the same time as my girls so we could practice together until they were way better than me. But sometimes, we would play together. I would comment on their progress and my husband and I would sit listening to them explaining how the music they were playing was touching us, how the music transported us. I would also ask the teacher a lot questions about their lessons.
We had CD of “the Maestro Family”, who were singing songs for kids based on classical pieces. The lyrics are adapted to kids so that we could listen to them all day. And we were singing with them explaining where these pieces were coming from.
Besides giving them one extra credit for university, I found that it linked them with friends who were playing instruments as well, so they could play with them at birthday parties. It also opened their minds to composers they did not know (classic or modern Canadian or not).
What advice would you give parents related to children, music and learning an instrument?
Never give up! And find what works for their children to continue practicing (positive reinforcement) or little perks here and there. Open their minds with new composers and styles. The Maestro Family already mentioned above but also not classical. Singers that incorporate classic pieces in their songs, for example, Serge Gainsbourg uses an intro by Chopin in one of his songs.
Let them play the music they like from time to time so it’s more fun than a classical piece (even if a piece is considered a masterpiece, it may not resonate with children).
Add fun wherever you can; Christmas carols etc.
Show them which classical pieces they play are in movies. Like for older kids “The Pianist” or “Amadeus” or “Immortal Beloved”.
The most important for me is sharing with them. We would go to a musical with them or even a concert at the local church.
Do you think your children are more likely to buy tickets to musical events because of their musical education?
Definitely for Camille my oldest. But I go with her too so we can discuss about the show afterward, about what we liked or not. I think it opened her mind and she appreciates the show more because of her musical background, she realized the hours of practice to come up to the perfect interpretation and became sensitive to the emotion transferred through music.
What is your fondest/funniest/most impactful memory(s) related to the music learning in your family?
For me it is more on the emotional side. Each time Camille is playing “Moonlight Sonata” from Chopin (which is played in the movie “The Pianist’) it brings tears in my eyes. For Julie it is when she decided to play a song from the “Amelie” soundtrack for one of her recitals and she was lost in the piece. I could see the joy of playing in her.
Another one was when both the girls were paying “Carmen” theme together on the piano. I have the video ….