Our DS4 seems to like music a lot. Like baseball, it has always been related to numbers. Just before his 2nd birthday we noticed that he recognized songs on his favorite CDs by their track number. "Jailhouse Rock" was his favorite, and whenever it came on he would run around the bedroom shouting "Five, five, five!" For a while we didn't know what he was talking about. But then we noticed that the very cheap CD player we had put in his room had an LED readout for the track number and "Jailhouse Rock" was, indeed, the fifth song on the CD. It turned out he recognized all the songs on that CD, and others, by their track number. We were astonished to discover he had been making this connection.
In addition to listening to music, I have been taking him to Saturday morning music classes for children since he was about 12 months old, and he has always liked them a lot. We have lots of instruments around the house - piano, guitars, and a variety of small instruments for him - that he enjoys fooling around with.
Fast forward to the present. The music school where he takes his Saturday morning lessons offers a Suzuki strings program that starts at age 4. I spoke with the director of the program the other night and she thinks that DS would be very good for it. But it is a big commitment. They expect you to practice every day - even if at the start that means for only 5 minutes. I do think DS would enjoy being able to produce music, but I am not certain that he will enjoy making such a commitment. I am very nervous about over-scheduling him. Have others had any experience with Suzuki strings programs? DS says he wants to learn the cello "because it has a deeper voice than the violin".
BB
