Recognizing musical talent in your kids at an early age is important so you can support them and help nurture that talent.

With all the distractions going on in the world, it’s all too easy for a genetically gifted child to lose their musical talent when that talent is not properly nurtured. As Pablo Picasso once said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”

There are plenty of nature versus nurture theories even in music. It is a commonly held belief, however, that training is vitally important, whether or not you come from a family of musicians.

That said, even if you don’t see all the signs we’ve listed below in your kid, it’s worth nurturing that ability and letting your child grow through musical or artistic training, especially if there is a clear interest.

If you’re a musician yourself, you can probably spot these signs the moment your child shows them. If you’re not, however, and you’re wondering if your child might be musically inclined, read on to find out if it’s time to sign your child up for that after school music class.

Image credit: Hacer Familia

Signs Your Child Is Musically Gifted

This is not an exhaustive list and so, when you’re in doubt, you can always see a professional who can test your child for musical talent. However, these are all good indicators of how well your child can learn music or play instruments.

Enjoys music

All children love music, but if your child is the kind who sometimes likes listening to one song over and over again, then your child is different from the average and may be gifted in music.

Does your child frequently sing or hum songs? Does it seem like he is drawn to music or does he totally love listening to music?

Pay attention and observe him when there’s music playing in the background. You can also listen together with your child on music platforms like SoundCloud. On SoundCloud, you’d be able to introduce him to different kinds of music and songs that are child-friendly.

SoundCloud is a community of artists, so you can also use it as a sounding board for your child’s musical performances. You can open an account, if you don’t have one yet, and buy SoundCloud Plays to attract a following. Bought plays will make your uploads more visible to others on the platform, and will attract real listens from real people with real opinions on your child’s performance. But keep in mind that exposing your children to random internet comments is probably not the best idea — use some discretion.

Demonstrates rhythm

When there is a song playing, does your child move his body along with the music? Does he tap his fingers on surfaces?

Musically gifted kids have rhythm in their bodies even as children. If your child has good body coordination, and his hands and feet can move independently, your kid might grow up to be an instrumentalist.

Take note that there are children who trip on their feet but demonstrate high musicality. Those kids tend to have more vocal than body rhythm.

Can identify correct pitch

Musically gifted kids can accurately detect minor pitch differences both in instruments and songs. They can often tell when somebody is singing off-pitch or if an instrument is out of tune.

Their musical memory will also be better than average. They may be able to tell you how tunes from songs sound based solely off memory, and can reproduce the same tunes correctly even if they just heard the song for the first time.

You can test your child by deliberately singing a song out of tune and then asking him if it sounded right. You can also play a song he’s never heard before and then ask him to hum or sing it after.

Can hear sounds most can't

Can your child name a song just by hearing a few notes? If so, chances are your child is musically talented to some degree. This is because musically gifted kids can differentiate one note from the next and patterns of sounds without much effort.

So not only can they memorize a tune they only heard once, they can also discriminate different sounds coming from, say, a coin rolling down the floor, or the minute nuances of a spoon falling off a table.

So, while other kids just hear the jumbled sounds of a coin or spoon, musically gifted children may hear tinkling sounds of varying pitches.

If your child is always imitating sounds from instruments as he’s singing a song and you hear him humming a tune, or he tells you instrumental parts of that song you’re sure aren’t part of it, your kid may be listening to the world in a different way, perhaps noticing sounds that you would never hear.

Is drawn to musical instruments

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Musically talented kids are naturally drawn to musical instruments, as you might expect. They may be able to play a few notes from a song they heard on TV or the internet even without anyone teaching them how to do it.

According to child music teachers, musically talented kids can learn a piece and play it correctly in anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. If your child expresses interest in learning an instrument, he may have innate talent in music.

Can play by ear

People who were born to play instruments can often play by ear, at least to some degree. Kids born with this gift can learn to play any instrument without even learning the names given to different notes. It’s like learning your first language as a kid: you don’t know the alphabet yet but you do know how to speak the language.

Indeed, some musicians never learn to read or write music. Eric Clapton, Lionel Richie, Jimi Hendrix, and The Beatles are all legends in the industry. These musicians all have one thing in common: they all can’t read or write music.

Image credit: Jefferson Westwood via YouTube

This is not to say kids who can’t play by ear don’t have a chance at succeeding in this field. They still can have ear training and develop the ability, too!

How do you know if your child can play by ear? Having relatives who can is a good indication that your kid may have the same ability, as well. The best way to find out is, of course, by handing him an instrument, and then helping and encouraging him to play.

How to Encourage and Support Your Child

Encourage and support your child by showing your appreciation for his music and teaching him to appreciate it himself. Encourage him to try many musical instruments until he finds “his own.” Encourage him to listen to all kinds of music, to never stop learning, and to always try to do better than his last performance.

Bring him to music concerts and enroll him in music writing. Urge him, too, to join school performances or even competitions, not to compete for the sake of winning but to treat it as a training ground.

Open a SoundCloud account for him, under your name and guidance. If you so choose, you can also try to grow a following for him. The easiest way to do this is by buying SoundCloud Followers or Plays. These are not real followers or plays, but they’ve been proven to attract real followers and plays by making your tracks appear more popular.

Being on SoundCloud may be advantageous for your child. He'll have the kind of exposure you'll want him to have in case he decides to pursue a career in music later on or if he’s ready to have one now.

Help Your Child Achieve His Full Musical Potential!

Once you recognized your kid’s talent in music, it is your duty, as a parent, to help him apply this talent and achieve his full potential.

Not only that, when you open music as a path your child could take, you’ll be equipping him for life with real skills and have fulfilled some big achievements as a parent.

So in fact, whether it’s in your child’s nature or not, nurture his talent and provide the right environment for him to grow as a musician. One day, the world may benefit from his music and we’ll have you to thank for it!

Image credit: ACTIVEkids

Date: September 7, 2017 / Categories: Getting Discovered, / Author: Chell