I appreciate that not everyone can participate in this but my question is...
How do your kids react to ITM? Especially if they are very young. Also what else do they like? Mine (2 girls 2 & 5) love the music, I think as they've been to lots of Sunday afternoon sessions & ceilis where familys were welcome & kids were around. It's interesting to note though that they can get emotionally overwhelmed by a big session. My 5 year old however has developed a taste for military marching bands & Western Swing & whilst we don't keep it from her at all, has no interest in Pop.
My daughter (almost 6 yrs old now) loves this music and already has her favourite tunes. She loves "Rolling in the Ryegrass" and asks for it every time she sees that I grab the flute. When our band is rehearsing at our house, she likes to rush into the room unexpectedly like a hurricane in the middle of the set and dance madly around as we play.
When I practise, she often grabs spoons and accompanies me in her funny way. Generally, she feels urge to try every single instrument loitering in the vicinity.
James Brown - sex machine
Hoagy Carmichael - Georgia (her name)
Scissor Sisters - Mamma
Nina simone - My Baby don't Care for Me
Schubert String quintet (The one with two cellos. She calls it "the scary one")
Tony Basil - Hey Mickey
Coldplay - yellow
Tony christie - Is This the Way to Amarillo
Neil Young - Harvest Moon
And anything up tempo by Liz Carroll (Liz Carroll is the only diddley music she tolerates. Ands that's pretty intelligent for only 2 1/2
It's a long time since my two were very young. But when they were we never made a distinction between childrens and adults music or food etc. (you know the sort of crap - "children's menus" in restaurants - wotthehell's that about?). No style of music was either kept from them, nor specifically fed to them - they would hear what was around them, but were never told that this was "the right sort of music". The diddley music I play was just part of the household, and they developed their own tastes as they chose. Neither of them had much interest in chart pop at any time in their lives. The girl liked Oasis for a while and the lad liked Pink Floyd for a while. Now that they are 22 and 20 the girl is studying to become a concert pianist and her special interest is Spanish and Latin American piano music. The lad plays a wide variety of Irish, Northumbrian, Scottish, English and French/French Canadian traditional stuff on whistle and on melodeon.
Michael, how does she get to hear this music unless you play the records at home? I would never have guessed you were a closet Tony Christie fan myself.
At least, she doesn't like "I hear the sound of distant drums".
I have 3 girls (7/9/11) who all love the Irish Music as well as pop. Coming from Ireland (in Wales now) both my parents were serious ITM players. My mum the piano and my dad the piano, fiddle and both the piano & button accordian. Through out our childhood my 5 brothers & sisters (typical Irish family) were constantly encouraged to pick up an instrument and learn to play it. All of us now play in Irish bands and regularly attend sessions. I have used the same rules now in our house I deliberatly leave instruments (piano, bodhran, fiddle, guitar,whistles & Mandolin) lying around and the girls will regularly pick one up play a while then try another. At the moment they are attending our session with the 7 year old playing the bodhran and the 9 year old playing the mandolin. The piano is a bit big for the 11 year old to wheel into the pub!.
Although as I say they do enjoy the current pop music they will often ask for a fast tune.... Kids & ITM they're a great mix !!!
As we first met on the way to a folk club , SO and I have always had what we think of as good music round the house, and used to take the kids to a couple of folk festivals a year regularly. So-called "kids music" could be good if you searched it out, eg "Tim Hart and Friends", etc, whilst tapes like Token Women were often popular for long car drives.
Number one son has never recovered from the year it poured half the week at Sidmouth, and has vowed never to go to such things again, although he does come out to our local sessions, mainly for the craic.
Number two daughter took up guitar, was entranced by a Battlefield Band tune to start playing the whistle, whilst also listening to stuff from Alice Cooper to the Leaveners to the Oyster Band.
We've never been only an ITM-listening or playing family, but I firmly believe that if you let them listen to the good stuff they'll get the idea. Just don't push them, let them work it out for themselves. The worst thing is when you try to live your dreams through them.
We exposed our girls (now 16 and 18) to ITM and other kinds of folk music pretty much from the beginning -- hell, we took our older daughter to a Watersons concert when she was just a few weeks old -- whether through festivals, recordings or just us two playing and singing ourselves (when they would let us, of course).
They liked the stuff more or less, but were more interested in the kid-oriented folk/acoustic stuff we got for them: Sally Rogers, Rosenshantz, Sharon Lois & Bram, the "Wee Sing" series and especially Tom Paxton -- my older daughter still likes to listen to "Balloon-a-Loon-a-Loon," "The Marvelous Toy," "Going to the Zoo," etc.
But around the latter part of elementary school we lost them to pop music for a few years, and so we endured the likes of Britney Spears, Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, Hanson and other effluvia.
Gradually, they began to expand their musical tastes, and rediscovered a taste for folk/acoustic music. My older daughter, who's been active in morris/rapper sword/contra dance, had a lot of friends and peers who reinforced her fondness for people like Kate Rusby, Dar Williams, Ani DiFranco, Fairport Convention and Solas.
Getting to know personally a number of full-time musical performers in the area also helped build their interest in trad music, especially our younger one, who's not as inclined toward it as our older one. So, our household or car often will be filled with the sounds of Laura Cortese, Hanneke Cassel, Lissa Schneckenburger, Halali, Matt & Shannon Heaton, Crooked Still and so on.
I think it's all well and good to expose the kids to the music you love, and show how much of yourself you've invested in it, but in the end they have to find their own way to it. Our musical tastes intersect just enough so that we can enjoy listening to some CDs, or attend concerts and festivals together, yet they clearly have their own world, which is highly important to them.
What I'm happiest about is they both are able to have music be part of their lives. Our younger one loves to sing, and she has the capability of being pretty damn good at it. Our older one has been teaching herself guitar, and she wants me to give her some basics in accompanying tunes so she won't "feel left out" if she's around friends at a jam session; at the same time, she's all of a sudden wanting to learn 5-string banjo so she can play bluegrass with a friend of hers. I love it.
nice moment when the kids start turning you on to new stuff you can like; and that's partly about the music and partly about the open and two way relationship with the kids; and that's an important thing.
My wife and I (especially) have always been psychotically eclectic in our listening, with a special fondness for music with deep ethnic roots, so our son grew up hearing everything from rags, ragas, reels, ballads and Bach (switched-on and otherwise) to gamelan, throat singing, Paraguayan harp, Sacred Harp and doo-wop. When he was young, he would attach himself to one or two styles for a period and then move on to something else. Now he’s likely to listen to, or play, anything under the sun.
For a while, he didn’t have any particular fondness for Irish music – probably because he heard so much of me learning to play it on the fiddle – but now he’s playing planxties and polkas on the guitar in between the wild synthesizer fantasies. Could be just humoring the old man, but I think he likes it.
our boys (4 & 6) love to break into frenzied spontaneous improvisatory dance to ITM recordings. (heh-heh, they would never say it that way). It started with our 4 year old, when he was only 3. Now, these dances happen about once a month or so, instigated by them. The most recent was just a couple nights ago, and in this latest escapade they both strongly resembled Yoda in his fight with Count Duku (Dookoo?) in Episode 2 of Star Wars.
Coincidentally, the night before their dance, when my wife and I broke out our guitars to practice for our upcoming St Pat's gig, they both set up "drum" sets, consisting of a half dozen tamborines, small hand drums and cymbals, with morracas (I bet I butchered the spelling of that word) for drumsticks..............It was an interesting practice.
The Kids are Alright
The Kids are Alright
I appreciate that not everyone can participate in this but my question is...
How do your kids react to ITM? Especially if they are very young. Also what else do they like? Mine (2 girls 2 & 5) love the music, I think as they've been to lots of Sunday afternoon sessions & ceilis where familys were welcome & kids were around. It's interesting to note though that they can get emotionally overwhelmed by a big session. My 5 year old however has developed a taste for military marching bands & Western Swing & whilst we don't keep it from her at all, has no interest in Pop.
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by Leftheris
Re: The Kids are Alright
My daughter (almost 6 yrs old now) loves this music and already has her favourite tunes. She loves "Rolling in the Ryegrass" and asks for it every time she sees that I grab the flute. When our band is rehearsing at our house, she likes to rush into the room unexpectedly like a hurricane in the middle of the set and dance madly around as we play.
When I practise, she often grabs spoons and accompanies me in her funny way. Generally, she feels urge to try every single instrument loitering in the vicinity.
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by Barfly
Re: The Kids are Alright
Spell check: That would be "families" tsk, tsk.
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by Leftheris
Re: The Kids are Alright
My two and a half year old likes:
James Brown - sex machine
Hoagy Carmichael - Georgia (her name)
Scissor Sisters - Mamma
Nina simone - My Baby don't Care for Me
Schubert String quintet (The one with two cellos. She calls it "the scary one")
Tony Basil - Hey Mickey
Coldplay - yellow
Tony christie - Is This the Way to Amarillo
Neil Young - Harvest Moon
And anything up tempo by Liz Carroll (Liz Carroll is the only diddley music she tolerates. Ands that's pretty intelligent for only 2 1/2
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by llig leahcim
Re: The Kids are Alright
It's a long time since my two were very young. But when they were we never made a distinction between childrens and adults music or food etc. (you know the sort of crap - "children's menus" in restaurants - wotthehell's that about?). No style of music was either kept from them, nor specifically fed to them - they would hear what was around them, but were never told that this was "the right sort of music". The diddley music I play was just part of the household, and they developed their own tastes as they chose. Neither of them had much interest in chart pop at any time in their lives. The girl liked Oasis for a while and the lad liked Pink Floyd for a while. Now that they are 22 and 20 the girl is studying to become a concert pianist and her special interest is Spanish and Latin American piano music. The lad plays a wide variety of Irish, Northumbrian, Scottish, English and French/French Canadian traditional stuff on whistle and on melodeon.
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by showaddydadito
Re: The Kids are Alright
Michael, how does she get to hear this music unless you play the records at home? I would never have guessed you were a closet Tony Christie fan myself.
At least, she doesn't like "I hear the sound of distant drums".
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by Johannes J
Re: The Kids are Alright
It's really the video with Peter Kay she likes
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by llig leahcim
Re: The Kids are Alright
Don't tell me you bought the video as well!
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by Johannes J
Re: The Kids are Alright
I have 3 girls (7/9/11) who all love the Irish Music as well as pop. Coming from Ireland (in Wales now) both my parents were serious ITM players. My mum the piano and my dad the piano, fiddle and both the piano & button accordian. Through out our childhood my 5 brothers & sisters (typical Irish family) were constantly encouraged to pick up an instrument and learn to play it. All of us now play in Irish bands and regularly attend sessions. I have used the same rules now in our house I deliberatly leave instruments (piano, bodhran, fiddle, guitar,whistles & Mandolin) lying around and the girls will regularly pick one up play a while then try another. At the moment they are attending our session with the 7 year old playing the bodhran and the 9 year old playing the mandolin. The piano is a bit big for the 11 year old to wheel into the pub!.
Although as I say they do enjoy the current pop music they will often ask for a fast tune.... Kids & ITM they're a great mix !!!
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by weebag
Re: The Kids are Alright
As we first met on the way to a folk club , SO and I have always had what we think of as good music round the house, and used to take the kids to a couple of folk festivals a year regularly. So-called "kids music" could be good if you searched it out, eg "Tim Hart and Friends", etc, whilst tapes like Token Women were often popular for long car drives.
Number one son has never recovered from the year it poured half the week at Sidmouth, and has vowed never to go to such things again, although he does come out to our local sessions, mainly for the craic.
Number two daughter took up guitar, was entranced by a Battlefield Band tune to start playing the whistle, whilst also listening to stuff from Alice Cooper to the Leaveners to the Oyster Band.
We've never been only an ITM-listening or playing family, but I firmly believe that if you let them listen to the good stuff they'll get the idea. Just don't push them, let them work it out for themselves. The worst thing is when you try to live your dreams through them.
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: The Kids are Alright, but not in Pete Townsend's company
pervie porn for research ??? I bet thts what they all say when they get busted
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by Ripthecalico
Re: The Kids are Alright
We exposed our girls (now 16 and 18) to ITM and other kinds of folk music pretty much from the beginning -- hell, we took our older daughter to a Watersons concert when she was just a few weeks old -- whether through festivals, recordings or just us two playing and singing ourselves (when they would let us, of course).
They liked the stuff more or less, but were more interested in the kid-oriented folk/acoustic stuff we got for them: Sally Rogers, Rosenshantz, Sharon Lois & Bram, the "Wee Sing" series and especially Tom Paxton -- my older daughter still likes to listen to "Balloon-a-Loon-a-Loon," "The Marvelous Toy," "Going to the Zoo," etc.
But around the latter part of elementary school we lost them to pop music for a few years, and so we endured the likes of Britney Spears, Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys, Hanson and other effluvia.
Gradually, they began to expand their musical tastes, and rediscovered a taste for folk/acoustic music. My older daughter, who's been active in morris/rapper sword/contra dance, had a lot of friends and peers who reinforced her fondness for people like Kate Rusby, Dar Williams, Ani DiFranco, Fairport Convention and Solas.
Getting to know personally a number of full-time musical performers in the area also helped build their interest in trad music, especially our younger one, who's not as inclined toward it as our older one. So, our household or car often will be filled with the sounds of Laura Cortese, Hanneke Cassel, Lissa Schneckenburger, Halali, Matt & Shannon Heaton, Crooked Still and so on.
I think it's all well and good to expose the kids to the music you love, and show how much of yourself you've invested in it, but in the end they have to find their own way to it. Our musical tastes intersect just enough so that we can enjoy listening to some CDs, or attend concerts and festivals together, yet they clearly have their own world, which is highly important to them.
What I'm happiest about is they both are able to have music be part of their lives. Our younger one loves to sing, and she has the capability of being pretty damn good at it. Our older one has been teaching herself guitar, and she wants me to give her some basics in accompanying tunes so she won't "feel left out" if she's around friends at a jam session; at the same time, she's all of a sudden wanting to learn 5-string banjo so she can play bluegrass with a friend of hers. I love it.
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by sts
Re: The Kids are Alright
nice moment when the kids start turning you on to new stuff you can like; and that's partly about the music and partly about the open and two way relationship with the kids; and that's an important thing.
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by full measure
Re: The Kids are Alright
anyway, easy for me to say, as mine like diddle as well as other fine stuff. and some i don't like, but a lot that i do.
# Posted on February 27th 2006 by full measure
Re: The Kids are Alright
My wife and I (especially) have always been psychotically eclectic in our listening, with a special fondness for music with deep ethnic roots, so our son grew up hearing everything from rags, ragas, reels, ballads and Bach (switched-on and otherwise) to gamelan, throat singing, Paraguayan harp, Sacred Harp and doo-wop. When he was young, he would attach himself to one or two styles for a period and then move on to something else. Now he’s likely to listen to, or play, anything under the sun.
For a while, he didn’t have any particular fondness for Irish music – probably because he heard so much of me learning to play it on the fiddle – but now he’s playing planxties and polkas on the guitar in between the wild synthesizer fantasies. Could be just humoring the old man, but I think he likes it.
# Posted on February 28th 2006 by Bob himself
Re: The Kids are Alright
Even though I am almost legaly an adult in my counrty (17). I have to agree with monkeyos. I will take trad over anything on the radio.
# Posted on February 28th 2006 by Unseen122
Re: The Kids are Alright
The kids are definitely alright.
# Posted on February 28th 2006 by Leftheris
Re: The Kids are Alright
good thing too, since it will all belong to them in a little while, signed,
old fart
# Posted on February 28th 2006 by full measure
Re: The Kids are Alright
Aye aye, I'll third that [I'm 17], I wish this music had been exposed to me earlier! There's nothing else like it!
Cheers,
Armand
# Posted on February 28th 2006 by fiddlinviolinin
Re: The Kids are Alright
Gotta agree on wishing I had known about it earlier. If someone had handed me my favorite Flute 5 years ago, it would have saved me a lot of trouble.
# Posted on February 28th 2006 by Unseen122
Re: The Kids are Alright
our boys (4 & 6) love to break into frenzied spontaneous improvisatory dance to ITM recordings. (heh-heh, they would never say it that way). It started with our 4 year old, when he was only 3. Now, these dances happen about once a month or so, instigated by them. The most recent was just a couple nights ago, and in this latest escapade they both strongly resembled Yoda in his fight with Count Duku (Dookoo?) in Episode 2 of Star Wars.
Coincidentally, the night before their dance, when my wife and I broke out our guitars to practice for our upcoming St Pat's gig, they both set up "drum" sets, consisting of a half dozen tamborines, small hand drums and cymbals, with morracas (I bet I butchered the spelling of that word) for drumsticks..............It was an interesting practice.
# Posted on March 1st 2006 by ceciltguitar