Classical Music in Everyday Life

My first exposure to classical music occurred when I was a child, taking piano lessons. Each lesson included a brief, age-appropriate, biography of one composer. Also, upon accomplishing certain things the teacher would award a small, marble, bust of one of the composers. Just this much exposure to classical music was enough to make me kind of take it for granted that this type of music was a part of life.

Once I had grown up and had each of my babies I kept a small radio in the nursery, and I'd set it on the classical music station (with the volume on low) for each baby. As my children grew, they, too, took music lessons. When we'd be in the car I'd put different things on the radio, and classical music was one thing to which they were accustomed. Their father did the same thing. We generally had a peaceful, positive, atmosphere at home anyway; but the children were raised in an environment where classical music was just as commonly played as any other kind of music.

My three-year-old daughter had seen Itzak Perlman on Sesame Street and taken a liking to him. I bought her a video with him performing on it, and it she became a little obsessed with watching it. Later, she would ask to violin lessons, so I put her into a Suzuki program nearby.

I've made my trips out to Tanglewood, but as nice as those Tanglewood visits were, they didn't really impact my life. It was the smaller and more subtle, day-to-day, sharing of classical music that made our home a little nicer and made our children a little more tuned in all that music is, rather than just knowing what the latest rock recording is.

My husband and I and our children sat through sitcoms, like most other families do, but having classical (and other) music just as big a part of life helped my children appreciate the difference between classical and other music. More importantly, having classical music in their life was one of the things that contributed to the kind of people they are today.

All three of my children grew to have well rounded appreciation of music. All three play instruments. Just a few months ago I was incredibly proud of my daughter, who choreographed a ballet performance for her college dance group.

For me, classical music hasn't been a matter of going to the symphony every time I happen to be in the city. It has more been a matter of its being a part of the fabric of my life (and my family's life) in a way that contributed to raising children in an environment that was just a little nicer.

These days I have an excellent collection of classical music Mp3's on both my computer and Mp3 player. I may play them to change the atmosphere of a Saturday morning, or I may play them in the evening at the end of a frazzling day. Sometimes I use the headphones to blast the music into my head in an attempt to possibly lower the blood pressure that I can only imagine must at times be way too high. Also, however, classical music can change the whole feeling of a work day.

Not long ago I got on a city bus at rush hour, and I was delightfully surprised to hear that the driver was playing classical music. With just that change from talk radio or oldies to classical music, the whole experience of being on that bus had changed from being a "nothing" one to being a nice one.

These are all the ways that classical music has impacted my life (but more importantly, the people my children grew up to be).

You give a little girl a little marble bust of Mendelssohn and Mozart, and you just may change the way her children turn out.