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by Howard and Sylvia LenhoffGetting started is not difficult. Williams syndrome children at a very early age show signs of enjoying music. Though they may be able to focus on most tasks for but a few minutes, they may listen to music for extended periods of time. By the time they are four to five years old, some may have developed a repertoire of pieces which they recognize or sing. These may be simple children's songs, but some may be complex classical works. From talking with many WS parents, we understand that this ability to appreciate and perform music appears at an early age, but its development depends heavily upon parental help. So what should we do? Three things: First, let your child experience a wide variety of music. Ever since our daughter Gloria was an infant she has been exposed to music. Sometimes we simply played loud classical pieces because we could not tolerate her constant screams caused by colic pains! When she was a toddler, she had a number of musical toys including such simple instruments as a small wooden xylophone.* As she grew older, she had her own radio, tape recorder, and supply of cassettes. Later we noticed that when Gloria was alone in her room watching TV, she would often search for channels that either had music or foreign language programs. All these experiences, we believe, contributed to her love of music and her musical skills. What next? Once your child shows an interest in music, encourage the child to sing and perform for and with the family and friends. Some of the happiest moments of Gloria's childhood for all of us, once she overcame her colic and started to sleep at night, were the many times she and her younger brother performed for the family after supper. At first the cleared kitchen table became our stage as they would take turns singing. Later we, an amateur guitarist (HL) and pianist (SL), would try to accompany them. As they got older, Gloria became proficient at the accordion and we became superfluous. To this day she has retained virtually all these songs of her childhood, whereas we eventually have forgotten most of them. Do we need to purchase any musical instruments? Nothing major at first, but you should get a variety of simple rhythm instruments. For example, when Gloria performs at home for family and friends, we help motivate her and also get everyone involved by passing out simple rhythm instruments that we have collected over the years. Here are some of the things we do: shake a toy or professional tambourine; beat two wooden sticks; click toy castanets; shake maracas or a variety of rattles; ring clusters of bells; beat on a gourd or on a toy drum; shake Hawaiian bamboo sticks; rub blocks of wood with sandpaper stapled to them; and, as a last resort, strike pots and pans with wooden spoons! At a minimum, rhythmic clapping by all provides an incentive to our budding performers. *Because we raised Gloria before the modern computer age, we are not familiar with many of the new simple electronic instruments available. If you have any suggestions, please let The Music Box know. |
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Please send mail to williamssyndrome@insightbb.com with questions or comments about this web site.For additional information about Williams syndrome, please send an e-mail to hlenhoff@uci.edu.For contact with other Williams syndrome families --In the USA: please send e-mail to info@williams-syndrome.orgOutside the USA:
please visit our
International Williams Syndrome Support Groups page for
contact information.
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