Michelle Duggar on the sound of family music
This post was written by Michelle Duggar. Photo credit: DCI.
All of my older children play the violin, but often if there's a special event -- whether it's political or a community event or weddings -- someone will call and ask our kids to play. Our son, Josiah, has taken up the cello, and it sounds beautiful with the violins and the viola that John David, our second oldest son, plays. When they all play together the violins and the cello and the viola sound so good together -- it's just got a really rich sound to it. My older daughters, Jana, Jill and Jinger, have learned the harp; I think people love harp music because it's so peaceful.
Our piano teacher actually schedules the kids' piano recitals at our local nursing home. I think that's such a neat idea because early on our children were always like, "I don't want to show off; that's not what I really want to do." And that's not the whole goal of a recital, but I said, "No, really what you're doing is you're encouraging others," because when they go to the nursing home that is such a ministry. I think people just light up, and they get to visit with kids, and so it really is a special outreach.
The people in the nursing home don't necessarily care what it sounds like. So the kids don't feel like they're performing; they feel like they're just really having fun and making it a special time for the residents in the nursing home.
[From the TLC Editors: Check in next week when mother of 19, Michelle Duggar, goes into detail on how she's managed to make music a priority in her children's education. Who knows? You may even pick up a few tips on how to keep your child motivated when it comes to learning an instrument.]
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