Dear Marshall,
Of the many things I hope for you, a love of music is one of the most important. I don’t necessarily want to turn you into a Juilliard-trained instrumentalist. Not that it would be a bad thing, but it’s not for everyone, and I’m not going to push you down that road unless it’s right for you.
No, what I really want is for you to love music so that it will always be there for you as a source of joy, entertainment, healing—whatever you need from it. I want you to feel comfortable making music, too, whether with your voice or your hands, or just tapping your toes. I also hope you’ll be able to dance without being self-conscious about it.
Your musical progression so far:
- I sang to you often when you were an itty-bitty baby. It calmed you during the nights when you would cry.
- When you got a little older, we sometimes played a game in which we’d sing single notes back and forth. Well, I’d sing and you’d sort of shout, but it was cute. As you improved, the game became more complex, and we’d sing multiple notes (for example, “Nah nah nah NAH,” as in Beethoven’s “Fifth”).
- I hope I never forget that time in your father’s office when you danced like mad to “Heart of Rock and Roll” by Huey Lewis and the News.
- Last Christmas, I sang “Jingle Bells” to you over and over again because you liked it so much. Just a few weeks ago, I was changing your diaper, and you started to hum the song. You probably weren’t even aware that you were doing it. I was amazed that you remembered so much of it! So when I finished the diaper change, I sang the song to you, and you started doing a silly “dance,” running around in a circle. At the end of the song, you said, “Agan! Agan! Agan!” This quickly became a favorite game. After several rounds, you would get so dizzy you could barely walk, but you’d stumble around going, “Agan!” I caught the whole thing on video, so we’ll be able to show it to all your friends when you’re older. Mother’s prerogative. 😉
- Recently, you switched favorites. Now you request “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” You can sing the first line (“Row, row, row your boat”). You ignore the part that goes, “Gently down the stream.” Next is “Mooey, mooey” for “Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.” Then you say, “Agan!”
I wonder what our next musical game will be. Whatever it is, I can’t wait to play it agan and agan.
Love,
Mom