I had a chance to teach music to a couple of scientists from ISRO. On observing the substandard level of their music grasping sense, I learnt a big lesson that day that “ Fine Arts aren’t a cup of tea for everybody no matter if the learner is from ISRO or NASA” .
A person who is able to grasp and reproduce singing up to even 60% perfection is a gifted learner
What does this indicate ?
It indicates that there is a good scope for imparting singing skills to this category of people who are a good graspers for even up to 60% perfection
How to initiate?
Exposure is the mother of abilities in any art or sport. A human gets a singer in him/her if he/she gets exposed to music. Example: Exposure through listening regularly or attending concerts. Making the kids listen to music from an early age as part of their daily routine reaps rich results.
Knowledge through hearing, popularly known as “Kelvi Gnyaanam” in Tamil is extremely powerful
Create space for the kids to get inclined with the art. Forcing them to learn by comparing with peers does not help. As a parent, do all sorts of efforts to get them interested with the art of music.
How to find if your kid is ready to learn music ?
Nodding the head , body movements , humming along with the music are good signs of kids showing interest in music. Watch them carefully and look for continuous patterns like these. These signals should suffice even if they do not ask you to put them in classes for learning music
Best Age to start Singing Lessons
Start observing the focussing abilities and instructions following traits of the kids once they turn 6 years. If they are good at it and any time after that will be good to go
General Tips
Be it online learning or offline , one-on-one or group learning , it is always advisable to develop the exposure, interest and passion (if the student is an adult) before starting to learn.
On doing so , the process of learning becomes easier, effective, and fruitful in a longer run.
Learning with a passion to take art as a career will be very effective.
There are many categories in singing like Carnatic Classical , Hindustani Classical , Devotional , Ghazal , Film Music. Try to observe the kid’s interest and “in-born” skills against the courses. Apply for appropriate courses based on this assessment of yours.
Mapping your kid to an in-appropriate category will not only spoil the learning process but also dent the kid’s interest with the art.
Learning without an ambition and a proper direction happens with many learners nowadays. A lot of times, effort and money are spent on learning and the process suddenly halts when the kids enters high school education or graduation.
This has to be watched carefully and parents should foresee this and understand the fact that learning an art could never be a hindrance for education. Rather , it will enhance the learning skills and make the learners to realise the purpose of learning by showing a road map to consider the skills as a fruitful career
As long as there is a desire to learn, there is no age limit for learning.
Ability to appreciate music is good. Naturally grasping the music is luck. Working with it and mastering the art is a success. Converting the acquired skills to a career is an accomplishment. Exhibiting the art to spread happiness and peace is true destiny.
Best wishes to reach your true destiny. Happy Learning!
Musically yours,
B Gopalakrishnan (BG sings here)
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