Raising Musical Kids: Great Ideas to Help Your Child Develop a Love for Music

by Patrick Kavanaugh

Written in concise, easy-to-understand language by a renowned composer and conductor, this book will help parents teach their children how to love music, and motivate them to develop their own musical interests. Includes tips for getting kids to practice.

Genres: Music, Parenting, Education, Nonfiction

236 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Rene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have four children (ages 6-16)whom I am trying to raise as musical children. This is one of the most practical, inspiring books I have read about children and music. At the end of each chapter, there is a bullet list of how to make that chapter work for you with very useful, reasonable ideas. I enjoyed his list of benefits of music: perseverance, confidence, responsibility, identity and self-esteem, discipline, a love of music, art, culture, and history, teamwork, identification of talent, using time wisely, following directions, precision and motor control, overcoming fears in public speaking and service, intellectual and social development, commitment to excellence, creativity and self-expression, spiritual nurturing. The author, Patrick Kavanaugh, spends time in the first chapter on each of these topics.

[Stefanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great read for deciding on an instrument, choosing a teacher, and how to handle wanting to quit but not enough ideas for building a love for music outside of playing an instrument.

[Catherine Gillespie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got so much out of the book, especially the incredibly helpful chapter on practicing (we’ve had some struggles with that this year), the section on how to take kids to musical performances (I had no idea you could just go meet the musicians after a concert! We’re totally doing that next time!), and the information about when and which instruments to encourage different types of kids to study. I also think the appendices on great music for kids to hear and books about music for kids are good resources.

I can see myself referring back to this book a lot as the kids grow up. While the parts I read most closely were about cultivating music appreciation in little kids and the beginning stages of learning instruments, the book also has a wealth of information on the challenges and opportunities of music for older kids.

{Read my full review here}