Musically Inclined

Parents, especially new parents, tend to dream big for their kids. I’ve got a few friends who’s kids are pretty much going to Washington State. There are parents out there who are trying to groom the next Albert Einstein. And, there are plenty of kids out there who are getting more than a little pressure to become the next Tiger Woods or Kristi Yamaguchi.

Inasmuch as I’d love to see Finley take interest in a sport or two, my real desire for her is to discover and enjoy music. I’m not saying I want her to be a violin prodigy or have a string of sellout rock shows, I’m just hoping she can learn to understand the beauty of it and maybe even learn to make her own music.

A few weeks ago, quite on her own, she surprised Heather and me with a little solo. We didn’t even know she new any songs, but sure enough she was, in her baby language, singing a little tune. Heather thought it sounded a bit like “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and we started singing it to her.

Immediately, her eyes turned to saucers and she began clapping. We had connected with her on the musical level. And we’ve continued to connect in the time sense.

It’s not hard to deduce that she’s probably getting a ton of musical exposure at daycare, but as I began to think about it, I realized there’s a little more going on at our house than you might expect.

We really noticed her ability to sing while we were in Pennsylvania. She would walk around Mama and Bompa’s house singing the tune to “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star” (which also happens to be the tune to the ABC song). It’s definitely her favorite tune of the moment and she sings it whenever she remembers.

It started to dawn on me that her ability to know this song made a ton of sense. Because of all of her musical toys, I would say a good 90% have that tune playing on them. She has an “Aquarium” that hangs on the side of her crib – it’s a lit-up music box – and the first song that plays to her at night is Twinkle Twinkle. Her piano, her musical frog, one of her pull cars – all Twinkle Twinkle. She’s just figured out how to copy it.

But it’s much more than basic recognition. She really enjoys music. Especially when we sing to her. It’s becoming the sound to soothe the savage baby. She loves it when we sing, clapping her hands and grinning a big toothy smile.

In fact, the Finley top three is “Twinkle/ABC,” “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “The Wheels on the Bus.”

I’m just glad her recognition of the songs comes with a big smile. And if the song ends before she wants it to… she’ll let you know. She’s a big fan of repetition, but at that age, they all are.

So, maybe this is just the beginning of a very musical life and maybe she’s just happy that Momma and Poppa know the songs she knows. Either way, music makes her smile, which is what it’s supposed to do. And that’s all I can ask.