Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Music.

My kids love music. Curtis, I think, has the largest ipod ever created. If he was a child of the eighties, he would've filled an entire warehouse, with all the vinyl records he'd own. His music ranges from intense, orchestral pieces to Disney soundtracks and one off's from bands he's heard at a local coffee shop. There is no discrimination, if he likes it, he plays it and he sings it loudly. He has an incredible voice and yet has saved it for car rides and the odd Karaoke night. It has been fun and frustrating to travel with him, as no sooner is the engine of your car on, his hand comes forward with a wire to plug in, so that he can DJ our journey. It started, with a snippet of this and that but evolved into asking what we were in the mood for and playing full songs. Jordan on the other hand, knows what he likes and that's all he plays, sometimes the same songs over and over. He likes his country, usually the tunes that talk about a drunk cowboy or a dog and telling your girl what to do, which is the complete opposite of his real life, or else he's listening to gangsta rap. Yep, I confess he got that from me, although these days I leave it for when I am on my own in the car (very rarely)and not like him, for while he's working in the garage and playing it loudly for my neighbors to hear when they get home from church (I apologize regularly. My true love is for R&B and if I could get a better tan I would easily have made it in the African American community, what with my ghetto booty and wicked dance moves. Ronan is my latest music junkie, he loves all things techno, if you can call that music, and his favorite tracks are, when they take a random song that I might like to sing along too and make a chunck of it sound like it just got caught in the tape deck, you know what I'm talking about and you quickly eject and get your bic pen out and hope to salvage your favorite mix tape but this is intentional and known as deadmouse. Non of the boys have pursued an instrument although 2 have taken piano lessons, 2 guitar, 1 trumpet, 1 cello and 1 euphonium. All of which died a death after constant nagging to practice and eventual weakness by me and allowing the quit. The two oldest at least have since told me, they wished I had made them continue but Ronan keeps his mouth shut, since he knows he's still in my grasp, if I wish to force the issue hah ha (eveil laugh...) So this leads me to Asha. She is taking electric guitar lessons from a cool, rocker dude slash Dad. I like his method of teaching as it is less about scales and note reading and more about power chords and jamming to your favorite tune. I know the true musicians would cringe and say this teaches bad habits that are hard to break but with my past experiences, I have decided that if a child enjoys and has fun as they learn, maybe they will continue and then learn the repetitive boring (essential)stuff later. So here's our dilemma. The teacher asks her for songs she likes and her exposure has been limited to Disney movies which are mostly orchestral or our latest love, inspirational and uplifting songs on K-love. They aren't as easy to find and download on I-tunes. So I have sat at my computer, trying to think of songs she might like and managed to come up with a list, thanks to camp rock and high school musical. So here's my question, what's the most played tune on your ipod? what's your go to songs of choice? Do your kids have favorites? Do please share.

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