Fostering Musical Talent

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My seven year old daughter has started showing an extreme interest in writing songs. She has an old play guitar which she strums noisily but writes really elaborate and beautiful lyrics. She is a bit tone deaf (monotone) but her lyrics are just really complex and imaginative. It seems she is working out her views and frustrations through these lyrics and they are proving to be a vehicle to expressing herself in ways she otherwise cannot (or will not).

My questions is has anyone else experienced this with their kids? Should I get her guitar lessons or just get her a better guitar and let her self teach? Are there any computer programs or DVDs for teaching very young children how to play? I am not musical so I don't know the first thing about how to foster this. She asks me to write her lyrics down for her and now many times she is lost in thought on a new "song". She is constantly humming and singing now.

I really want to foster this new passion of hers I just don't know how to facilitate it for her.

Thanks.

I would definitly recomend you get a decent guitar to have around. It doesn't have to be an expensive one just one that plays decent. If its easy, she is more apt to play. If you can, have someone you know who plays go to the guitar shop (not a department store) and help you/her pick one out. You should be able to find something fine for a novice for about 100 to 200 dollar range.
You have to follow her lead on the lessons. If she's not ready or not receptive its a waste of time and money. There are good videos out there that teach the basics. You might want to keep one around.
Seven is pretty young to start playing with any kind of disipline, but if she enjoys it, keep her inspired.
This might be a little too technical, but I find that with real young kids its good to tune the guitar to an open tuning. That means if you strum all the strings without holding them down on the fretboard, it makes a nice sounding cord. It makes it so the kids make a nice sound without much effort, and you don't have to listen to a bunch of dissonance all day long. (Bonus!)
You might also get her a slide. Its just a metal (or glass) tube that you slide along the strings to change the pitch. Its hard sometimes for small hands to push down the strings. Kid always seem to like to play with my slide guitars that are set up this way.
I come from a musical family. No one really tought much in the traditional sense. It was more of a "watch and learn" kind of thing. I think genetics plays a role here also. My son is six and he seems to gravitate to the keyboard. I let him explore and learn. Its really very fascinating.
I hope I haven't hit you with too much Info. You may have guessed that music is a "special interest" of mine.

Hi i'm only new to all this have just had my 10 year old daughter diagnosed with AS. She also seems to be showing alot of musical tallent, she cant read music but plays by ear, she is amazing! i have been trying to get her to go for lessons but she refuses, nothing i say will make her change her mind, she also has a good singing voice and keeps in tune realy well... one thing i have learnt is that we should encourage the tallents that the kids have, if your daughter would love to go to lessons then i would be doing that, you never know this tallent may even open up job options for her in the future If anyone reading this can think of ways to help encourage my daughter to get lessons i would love to know!! ! Good luck with your daughter!

I'm a big fan of music education. There are numerous studies that demonstrate how good music is for the brain. Music can foster responsibility, cooperation, coordination, socialization, organization...the list goes on. There is no doubt that music is good for people in ways you could hardly imagine. And yes, as an additional form of expression, it can be a tremendous outlet for young people learning to process and express their emotions in healthy ways. I strongly suggest that you invest in a good, student-level instrument for your child, and find a good teacher. Good instruments are easy to come by. Good teachers, not so easy to come by. Suggest you interview several teachers, and then pick the best one. A good teacher should be able to adapt their teaching methods to the student's particular learning style. I have been fortunate to have found good music teachers for my son, who plays clarinet, piano, guitar, and is now learning saxophone. Good luck!

If you can find a good teacher, get her one...mind you, they must understand your child...My kiddo was in music classes and he did very well. Did NOT want to practice all the time, as he was told to, but didn't need to because he learned everything in one lesson and never forgot it...however, he had a great teacher that was patient and would allow him to stop the practice and play the drums instead of the guitar if he wanted...the teacher would just teach him drums...and if he wanted to sing, the teacher played the guitar and allowed him to sing...Unfortunately, after we moved from Puerto Rico to the US, we were never able to find such an accomodating teacher in Texas at all...sigh...

I have a Mac and there is something called Garage Band on it...There are a few lessons that are free and some you can purchase. You can even hook up a guitar or keyboard to the computer, etc...you might want to check it out. My son was mesmorized by it the other day...so we're planning on getting him a keyboard soon so that he can learn to play with the Mac instead.

Good luck...

PS - one study I read, which I posted a few years back here was about autism and musical talent...it talked about many autistics having perfect pitch, etc...which I was told by my son's teachers that he had...so definitely encourage it, especially if you can afford it

My 8 yr old daughter takes piano lessons. I think it's so great for her because she feels so proud of herself when she plays. It's a wonderful self esteem booster for her. It's very therapeutic for her, also. Definitely look into lessons if you can afford them.

I just wanted to update that I took my daughter to a piano lesson today. She really enjoyed it! Now I have to figure out the logistics of finding a piano she can practice on. What was really great is when she walked into the music store! She was amazed and wanted to touch and play every instrument she saw. It was a very exciting thing for her!

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

If it's enjoyable to her please let her continue and see how well she adapts to instructions with music. My son has drums and a piano here at home. He does well on the piano,has a sense of key but the drums are a nightmare ...