Mama's Little Music Man

Mix Master P - March '09

My son LOVES music. He loves listening to it, he loves making it.

Well, I guess what he makes wouldn't be classified as music quite yet, but he tries! We'll just say that he loves experimenting with sound. He jibberjabbers constantly, rhyming words and changing the intonation of his voice. A lot of the time it sounds like he's singing. He loves to play with anything that makes a sound, his wooden recorder, plastic xylophone, his daddy's guitar and our family piano are among his favorites. I am genuinely impressed with his piano playing skills; he doesn't just bang on the keys, but presses them gently with one finger at a time and often will string notes together making a little tune. He will also make an instrument out of just about anything. He has been known to make his mother extremely nervous by banging different items on our glass coffee table just to hear the different sounds they make. He loves to dance and asks me to sing all the time. Lately he has been asking me to sing songs that I don't even know! For instance, the other day he asked me to sing "the strawberry song." I don't even know if there IS a song about strawberries! But I made one up, and my sweet boy told this nearly tone deaf mother that my song should be on the radio. He knows just how to melt his mama's heart. ;)

It is absolutely amazing to watch this interest and aptitude unfold. I really believe that his interest in music is innate. He certainly doesn't get it from me, I took piano lessons throughout my childhood and still only play as well as a 3rd grader. I played the saxophone for several years but totally faked my way through high school band (and it's good thing I did, cuz that's where I met my hubby!). I know I should, but I don't intentionally expose Seth to music. In fact, most of the time I listen to talk radio instead of music. Just the way I'm wired I guess.

He must get it from his father. My hubby is musical, so much so that I think of him whenever I read this Mother Goose Rhyme:

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross,
to see a fine lady upon a white horse.
Rings on her fingers
Rings on her toes.
She shall have music wherever she goes.

Nathan makes music wherever he goes. He is an absurdly good whistler. He says "practice makes perfect" when it comes to whistling, and I believe him...he whistles all the time! I've told him on several occasions that he should enter a whistling contest because I'm pretty sure he would win. He is always singing, drumming his fingers and listening to music. He can hear a song once and then sit down to play it on the guitar. He has never taken a piano lesson in his life, doesn't read music and can play by ear better than I can ever dream of playing! His musical ability is definitely one of the reasons I fell in love with him. He even sang and played his guitar as part of his marriage proposal to me. **SWOOOOOOOOON**

I feel so blessed that Seth is interested in music. I've always dreamed of being musical and I would love the opportunity to nurture that trait in my son. My hubby loves it too; one of his and Seth's favorite things to do together is jam on the guitar. ;)

And for a two year old, I think Seth has pretty eclectic taste in music. Of which I am inordinately proud. But hey, being inordinately proud of your child is one of the perks of being a mom.

Here are a some of Seth's (current) favorite songs that he requests by name:

**Brass Monkey by The Beastie Boys
**Old McDonald had a Farm
**Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard by Paul Simon
**The Science of Selling Yourself Short by Less than Jake
**The Name Game by Shirley Ellis
**Big Green Tractor by Jason Aldean
**Me and Bobby McGee by Janis Joplin

Not bad, eh?

I've been singing that last one to Seth since he was in the womb and he still loves for me to sing it to him before bed. It seems like a strange song to sing to a child, but honestly, it's one of the only "non-camp" songs I can sing without sounding too much like a frog. Nathan once said that he can't wait to teach Seth to play that song on the guitar. Truth be told, I can't either. Nathan says he'd love for Seth to play it for me on my 50th birthday. I can hardly think of a better gift. But you know, if Seth doesn't end up playing the guitar, it's no big deal. I'm enjoying the music he makes now, and that is gift is enough for me. ;)