Throughout my many experiences with children and music, none
quite measure up to this particular instance.
I was working as a fill-in nanny over the summer for a very
good colleague and mentor of mine. She has two daughters, a 9 month old and a 4
year old. Both girls are just absolutely the most precious gifts to God’s green
earth. The oldest daughter has the bounciest blonde curls I have ever seen, and
the baby never stops giggling, smiling, and babbling. They are a very musical
family, since mom is a choir director and piano teacher. They have a baby grand
piano in their home, so the house is always filled with music. Even the baby
has her own little xylophone that she often tinkers with.
Mind you, this was all in the summer, and of course what do
all children want to do in the summer? “Let’s play outside”, “let’s go swimming”,
“can I spray my baby brother with the hose?”, “ooooo water balloons!!!!!”, “lets
re-paint the house with finger paint”. These activities are all good and well,
except when it comes to nap time. For those of you that don’t babysit, nap time
is the second worse time of the day next to bed time. It is astounding to me how
many creative ideas kids can come up with to avoid nap time. You have to get
them water so they’re not thirsty, check for monsters under the bed, make sure
that the stuffed pig is sleeping next to the stuffed elephant because the pig
and chicken don’t get along. So instead of calling it “nap time”, I resort to “quite
time”. The manipulation of the name makes it seem as though they don’t have to
go to sleep. I give the kiddos a choice of a story, movie, or music they can
listen to, and inevitably they fall asleep without the fuss. Magical!!!!!!!!
So on this particular day, it was time for “goldy locks”
quiet time. I asked her what she would like to do, and she said “watch ‘Little Einstein’s’”
. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the current trendy children’s
television shows, “Little Einstein’s” is a show where the characters go on a
mission, and the entire episode is centered around one famous musical idea or
motif. For the record, goldy-locks watched the same episode of this show every
day during her quiet time. For the sake of my own sanity, I decided to play a
different episode for her. Her nap pallet was all set, and she was just about
to settle down, when Beethoven’s 5th symphony theme came on the
television show. Click the link below to hear it.
Goldy-locks whipped the covers over her head and started
screaming and crying. “Please turn it off, it’s scary, I don’t like it!!!!!!”,
she yelled. I was completely taken aback. This little 4 year old girl was so deeply
effected by this music, and completely scared, that she could not watch the
show. How crazy is that!
Has something like this every happened to you? Have you seen
or experienced music in such a profound way that it instantly changed your
mood? Think about the movies you’ve seen that scare you. Is there one in particular
you can remember where the music just absolutely freaks you out? Please share!
-Rosey
I love the fun font and background of your blog; it matches your mood perfectly! I like hearing your stories, and as a music lover I love your contemplations as to how music can affect us. I remember listening to Beethoven's 5th in elementary choir; no one in the class would believe that it hadn't been written for a horror movie. Speaking of movies, I'm always amazed at the effect the music has on my emotions. Even if I know how the story ends, I find that the music raises my excitement and tells me how I should react to each moment.
ReplyDeleteI love how your blog can relate to everyone and that it's full of entertaining stories. I look forward to reading more!
It really is amazing how music in films can completely change the dynamic of the film. I find that movies like "Paranormal Activity" that don't have any music tend to scare me more than movies that do have film scores because it's so quiet. When I watch TV shows or movies that I haven't seen before I try and gage the plot line based on the music I hear in the background. It's really nerdy I know, but also very entertaining. Thanks for reading!
DeleteI find it interesting how music can affect our moods. I often listen to music in order to supplement the mood I'm already in. If I'm feeling upbeat, I'll listen to something like "Footloose". If I feel cool and confident, I might listen to "Why Should I Worry?" However, there are times when music can change my mood almost completely. Listening to creepy music can make me feel all mysterious and shifty, while mellow music helps me just chill out and maybe go on an emotional high. Sometime music triggers certain memories, or rather, how you felt during those memories. I'm not sure I've ever had an experience like this poor little girl, at least not in a while, but I can certainly understand it.
ReplyDeleteFor music appreciation I had to learn names of composers, the title of the song, and the year it was written for multiple pieces of music. In order to learn them all I decided to find a trait about it that would help me remember which song fit what cluster of information. I quickly noticed that each song created a different mood. So, when I would study the music I would freak people out (on campus) with my headphones and ipod saying things like "That's the forest and be one with nature one! That's so and so's ______! 1785!". So believe me when I say I agree with you in everything you've just said.
ReplyDelete