Mike Smith:
With me today is Dr. Ian Hodge. Dr. Hodge is a professional musician and a homeschool father who hails from Australia. Thank you for joining me on the program this week, Dr. Hodge! I’m excited to talk about music.

Dr. Ian Hodge:
Thank you for the invitation. I enjoy the opportunity to share with you at this time and with other homeschoolers.

Mike:
Dr. Hodge, any tips on beginning music education with a student who has never picked up an instrument?

Dr. Hodge:
Well, I think it’s often a good idea to take students so that they can hear different instruments. Some children take an immediate liking to a particular instrument. You know, for example, I had a piano student once who only ever wanted to play the harp. And when she was old enough, her parents purchased that harp for her, and she just loved it—took off. On the other hand, some students, it doesn’t really matter. In my own family, I was unkind to the three young boys and one day came home with a violin and a cello. Peter got the cello, and Joel and Daniel were put on the violin. And Joel since then has switched to the guitar, but the others have stayed with the instruments I selected.

There may be some other particular issues in there. I think parents need to be careful about the kind of instrument they select. Often parents don’t want to spend the money to buy a good-quality instrument because they’re not sure whether their child will take to the instrument, and I’ve seen children with a piano where the keys stick, and it’s out of tune, and it’s no wonder that the children give up. It’s not a great learning environment for them.

Mike:
Listeners, join us next time as we talk about how to discover your child’s learning style. And until then, I’m Mike Smith.