The Theme Was....

I won't keep you waiting any longer, the piece I posted yesterday, with a few extra notes added, was the last page of Bach's 'Prelude from the 4th Lute Suite'.

We had a lot of people who appeared to be studying it, but no one identified the piece, so, I can keep the prize!
That's the beauty of being in charge - you get to make the rules.

Guitar Widow did however make a good point.
You're never too young to start learning.
This is true and many exceptional players learn from a very early age. It isn't always the case though. Some come to their chosen instrument mid to late teens and still reach excellent standards.

We've always made instruments available for our children to pick up and play with. In fact a ukelele was purchased soon after the birth of son number one and he frequently sat in his cot playing with it.
The result is that both children look, and feel, very at ease holding a guitar. It's completely natural to them.
I should point out that it was made very clear to them that Daddy's guitars were STRICTLY out of bounds....

The downside for children of professional musicians, is that they see and hear every day, the amount of practice and commitment required to reach a high standard.

For young children this can seem very daunting and I feel they can have a fear that they are expected to practice the same amount, and produce the same results, in a short space of time.
Obviously this isn't the case, and we have tried to reassure them, that a little practice every day is a good starting point.

Musicians generally mature and improve with age.
I doubt you'll ever hear a musician say they are taking early retirement. It takes years of experience to truly master any instrument.
I remember seeing Segovia play when he was well into his 90's.
So I'd better prepare myself for many more years of travel!

Meanwhile the children continue to play with ukelele/guitar/piano/drums and eventually they may settle on one they wish to pursue.
But do you give them formal lessons?
I feel that learning how to read music is as important as learning French/Spanish/German - whatever. It's a skill that will never be wasted and may well bring great pleasure at some stage of life.
So, yes, I think they should learn the basics.
But I would never force a child to take up an instrument.
It has to come from within but maybe a little gentle persuasion is required to get them started...