Music Buddies

Yesterday afternoon, my youngest son and I discovered that we like the same kind of music! At my son's request, I switched radio stations while waiting in the car for his older brother and sister to get out of school. The Cranberries' song Dream started playing. I asked my son if it was okay that we listened to it? Happily for me, he said yes! :)

When Dream finished, I said, "So, what do you think? Do you like that song?" My son said, "Yeah, I really like that song!" I replied, "Yay! It's one of my favorites! I wasn't sure you'd like it because it's 20 years old." (It's actually 21 years old!) The funny thing is, my son complains quite often that songs on the radio are too old after they've been out for only a few months, so that's great news he likes Dream!

He then asked, "Mom, were The Cranberries as popular as One Direction is now?" I said, "No. (The Cranberries sold 40 million albums. One Direction has already sold 45 million, and they're not even close to being done!) Plus, The Cranberries isn't a pop band, they're considered alternative music—which is what I mainly listened to in high school when this song came out." Side note: I like many other music genres, but alternative is what spoke to my heart back in the day, and does quite often today as well.

My son instantly remarked, "I listen to alternative and electronica on Grooveshark. I can play you some of the songs I like when we get home." I about died silently laughing because I never expected him to say that, ever! :)

I find this whole experience so interesting and fun! I mean, my little family has listened to so many different types of music together for years, but this is the first time my youngest son has so definitively expressed what styles of music he likes.

I'm just really grateful he doesn't like crazy dad music (that's what my kids used to call Greg's music when they were little), for my husband and I have completely different music tastes! Last night, Greg introduced me to a band from the 80s that I refuse to repeat the name of because I dislike it so much! Some people consider the band to be bad, but as someone who frequently plays the piano, sings in my ward's (church) choir, and (used to play) the cello, I simply find the band's music to be not very musical at all. I totally sound like an old lady with a shaky voice when I say, "They call that music?!" It makes my soul shiver in a yucky way...ick!

Yes, as much as Greg and I love each other, we are not music simpatico, and that's okay. :) Thus, I'm even more thrilled that I've found a music buddy in my darling son! It makes my heart happy both as a mama and as a music lover! :)

I've always wondered what music my baby boy would end up liking. When he was very young, he would stand on his tiptoes and plink the piano keys all by himself! Whenever I played the piano, he would climb on my lap and put his hands on top of mine. It was so sweet! I had my friend teach him piano lessons for a few months before we moved to Texas, but we fizzled out after that.

Today, I decided that it's time I start teaching my son piano lessons on my own, for I truly believe he is a musical boy and I need to help him bring out his talent! I was nervous about asking him what he thought of my idea, so I came prepared with a strategy: for every minute he practices the piano, or has a piano lesson, he gets to play a minute longer on the computer!

You see, my boys love playing computer games, and I get so tired of having to regulate how much time they spend on the computer. I'm a good regulator, but it wears me out. My husband is a huge help in the computer regulation area as well. Thank heaven for husbands! :) Anyway, our lessons will most likely be 30-45 minutes, which means on piano lesson days, my son will get to play an additional 30-45 minutes on the computer. Similarly, for every 20 minutes he spends practicing the piano, he'll get an additional 20 minutes to play computer games! *No judging my strategy, please. I had to find some way to get him excited about the piano, and this was it! :)

Early this morning, I presented my awesome piano plan to my little guy, and he was all for it! Yay! I believe deep down my son realizes he has musical abilities, thus, he agrees that we need to bring music to a more prominent place in his life. I'm truly beyond thrilled he agreed to playing the piano again! Let's just hope and pray we don't lose our enthusiasm and fizzle out again. I'm so happy he's willing to try! :)

I was going to share another song I like from my alternative music years, but there are way too many for me to narrow down to just one! Thus, I'll just share my new favorite Christmas song I discovered on Facebook the other day. It's so lovely! I checked out Cloverton's other songs and I really like them! Enjoy!

I love music!!!!!