Susanna Etzel That is the question. You are at a concert. It certainly seems like the piece is over, and it was amazing, so you enthusiastically applaud . . . alone. Since recent posts have explored where to find concerts and performances which your family might enjoy, … Read more
In a previous post, I shared the thinking behind our purchase of season tickets to a symphony orchestra. Maybe you liked the idea but would rather not commit in advance for either scheduling or financial reasons. You still have lots of great options! While all … Read more
We have thought about it for years, and we’ve finally pulled the trigger: we hold season tickets to the symphony. For the kids, of course – we’re always going to take a kid! But how, in this economy, on one income, can we possibly justify … Read more
For parents attempting to link the study of music to the study of history, the period of ancient history presents an obvious difficulty: few to no recordings of music from the period. However, the list of music about ancient history is long. In a short … Read more
While it’s certainly more expensive than teaching one’s own children music lessons, hiring an outside music teacher has much to recommend it. As I mentioned in a previous post, I taught our oldest two children piano for over two years, largely because of financial necessity. … Read more
I recommend two firm boundaries for parents who teach private music lessons to their own children. (In my last post, I outlined some of the advantages teaching one’s own children music lessons.) First, fix the lesson time and stick to it. A specific time obviously … Read more
Learning to play an instrument is a great way to expose your child to music and its developmental advantages. Giving your child private music lessons is not the only way, of course. Curricula that explore the development of cultural movements and ideas, such as Discovering … Read more
My last post chronicled the bumps I weathered along the road to learning history – including a pretty noticeable bump in graduate school. During a semester at Charles University in Prague, I took course on contemporary Czech political history. In that class, I realized I’d … Read more
Growing up in northern Wisconsin, we joked about experiencing two seasons each year: winter and construction. And it wasn’t far from true. As soon as the top layer cleared, crews were busy working on the roads, filling in all the cracks, holes and craters that … Read more
For his birthday, my husband scored us ridiculously reasonable tickets, in good seats, to Beethoven’s opera Fidelio. We know that we are in the minority among those our age, taking birthday cash and heading to the opera, but we like it that way. Fidelio has … Read more
