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Don't you think most kids would also choose to quit maths or history or any other boring subject at school too? This article skirts around the fact that I thin

Don't you think most kids would also choose to quit maths or history or any other boring subject at school too? This article skirts around the fact that I think is the reason kids quit 90+% of the time: the kids just don't want to do it but their parents are forcing them. How many young kids actually, genuinely want to play a violin/flute/clarinet? I'd wager very, very few. I don't think it is the teaching method at fault here, it's just that probably very few kids want to play an instrument. Of course kids will quit boring/tedious stuff when they are not forced/compelled to continue. You can't just opt out of learning maths (at least in the UK you can't anyway), but music "lessons" are obviously optional (in the UK there is/was music classes that taught theory, reading music notation etc to the entire class, but not how to play a specific instrument). My kids are still too young, but when it happens I am strongly going to lobby for them learning an instrument that at least has the possibility of them seeming cool to their peers (so e.g. guitar or drums or whatever) and so something they are more likely to want to continue, rather than forcing Mozart + oboe on a 14 year old or whatever.

skywal_l 4y ago
It's not a black and white thing. They are ways to make learning maths or even the oboe a little less boring. Enough so that kids don't get outright repulsed. But that requires a particular charismatic type of teacher that are probably rare (and very pricey).
- gverrilla 4y ago
  Imo it's the same problem at the root: for hard pursuits like teaching or playing music, it's very very hard to get good at it unless you are passionate. Most jobs today are repulsive, instead of attractive, which further deepens the problem.
  - RHSman2 4y ago
    Some instruments yes, piano is really easy to play. Put your finger down, make noise. And it is actually reasonably easy to make music that makes you feel good. That part is how to get kids.
grvdrm 4y ago
I think you're making a very good point. Most of us are in school as a requirement. Music lessons aren't a forced requirement like school, at least generally speaking. It is instead parents that often push their kids into lessons. One point I don't see mentioned much here: you want your kids to be inspired, and there are lots of ways to do that. But, I think it's equally if not more important as the parent to BE INSPIRING to them re: music. I was first trained on saxophone, flipped to drums, and can dabble on guitar and piano. I don't know if I chose saxophone when I was in elementary school, but it was an option, and I chose it to some degree. But my dad was all over it in a good way. He numerous saxophone-playing friends from his own days playing the keys in bands. He helped me acquire an old and unique sax that really made care to maintain and play it. He suggested I play along with certain songs he liked. And he came to all of my recitals as well. So, I never resisted it because my parents forced me. That said, I did get bored of a more classical way of playing and tried for quite some time to flip my saxophone playing to jazz. Ultimately, I flipped to drums because I had been banging on things with some good rhythm for my entire life. It was just natural, and I knew that I had mostly found the instrument that fit me. By that point, I was old enough to start playing in bands and that was what fueled many more years of truly enjoyable performance.
nerdponx 4y ago
1. People don't usually start "math" until much, much later in life compared to music, except a small number of students who gravitate towards it on their own. They're already at a different point in their life with respect to their understanding of practice and hard work. 2. Some people do give up on technical subjects and other practice-intensive pursuits at a young age, for various reasons, all similar to music. 3. Young people are goaded into trying music much more frequently than other pursuits, and parents tend to be more persistent about it.
- mattlondon 4y ago
  At least in the UK, you cannot give up technical subjects at school until a certain age. This is because they know if you gave kids the choice to give up maths or whatever and do something fun instead then they would :)

skywal_l 4y ago

It's not a black and white thing. They are ways to make learning maths or even the oboe a little less boring. Enough so that kids don't get outright repulsed. But that requires a particular charismatic type of teacher that are probably rare (and very pricey).

gverrilla 4y ago
Imo it's the same problem at the root: for hard pursuits like teaching or playing music, it's very very hard to get good at it unless you are passionate. Most jobs today are repulsive, instead of attractive, which further deepens the problem.
- RHSman2 4y ago
  Some instruments yes, piano is really easy to play. Put your finger down, make noise. And it is actually reasonably easy to make music that makes you feel good. That part is how to get kids.

grvdrm 4y ago

I think you're making a very good point. Most of us are in school as a requirement. Music lessons aren't a forced requirement like school, at least generally speaking. It is instead parents that often push their kids into lessons. One point I don't see mentioned much here: you want your kids to be inspired, and there are lots of ways to do that. But, I think it's equally if not more important as the parent to BE INSPIRING to them re: music. I was first trained on saxophone, flipped to drums, and can dabble on guitar and piano. I don't know if I chose saxophone when I was in elementary school, but it was an option, and I chose it to some degree. But my dad was all over it in a good way. He numerous saxophone-playing friends from his own days playing the keys in bands. He helped me acquire an old and unique sax that really made care to maintain and play it. He suggested I play along with certain songs he liked. And he came to all of my recitals as well. So, I never resisted it because my parents forced me. That said, I did get bored of a more classical way of playing and tried for quite some time to flip my saxophone playing to jazz. Ultimately, I flipped to drums because I had been banging on things with some good rhythm for my entire life. It was just natural, and I knew that I had mostly found the instrument that fit me. By that point, I was old enough to start playing in bands and that was what fueled many more years of truly enjoyable performance.

nerdponx 4y ago

1. People don't usually start "math" until much, much later in life compared to music, except a small number of students who gravitate towards it on their own. They're already at a different point in their life with respect to their understanding of practice and hard work. 2. Some people do give up on technical subjects and other practice-intensive pursuits at a young age, for various reasons, all similar to music. 3. Young people are goaded into trying music much more frequently than other pursuits, and parents tend to be more persistent about it.

mattlondon 4y ago
At least in the UK, you cannot give up technical subjects at school until a certain age. This is because they know if you gave kids the choice to give up maths or whatever and do something fun instead then they would :)