Saturday, March 20, 2010

Music to children's ears

Over the past couple of years we've introduced our son (now 5) to quite a bit of music. Grateful Dead, Lowest of the Low (Ron Hawkins, Stephen Stanley and their various projects as well), 1980s new wave...even some classic R&B and Funk courtesy of Sirius/XM "The Groove." Music has definitely created a stronger bond between me and my son, and I'm sure the Beautiful Bride would say the same thing (even though we have failed to convince her of the worthiness of Dead tunes, as in "C'mon, Mom...the Grateful Dead are AWESOME!"). Please, please, PLEASE don't forget to introduce your children to as much music as you can...stuff you and yours enjoy, stuff you grew up with...even what your parents liked! My mom played flute professionally back in the day, so I also have a moderate affinity towards classical music. Its calming powers (at least Mozart, Bach and Beethoven, for starters) are very underrated! Even some New Age selections do the trick as well. Hey, if what they play on XM Spa can make the trek on the upper bounds of the New Jersey Turnpike a mellow experience, I'm sold...