Born in Russia in 1901 and recognized as a child prodigy before the end of the decade, Jascha Heifetz is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. He toured extensively throughout the United States, often encountering music-loving parents struggling with some version of the same basic question: Should they put their children through music lessons even if they show no aptitude for music?
Heifetz, being not only a musician but a father and an educator, had a definite opinion: “No child, regardless of how little talent he may seem to show, should be deprived of the privilege of learning to play an instrument,” he wrote in the March 7, 1953, issue of the Post. What’s more, in “How to Teach Your Kids to Like Music,” Heifetz not only presents his argument for compulsory music education, but he also offers advice on how to do it right, from letting a child sit at the piano and “whack away as loudly as he pleases” to tips on finding a good private teacher.
Though many of the references in the original story are out of date (few readers will recognize the name of U.S. socialite and Luxembourg ambassador Perle Mesta, for example), Heifetz’s arguments in favor of music education are still surprisingly relevant.
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When you have a parent who loves music, the children will in all likelihood will too. I remember as a young lad my mother who was a high school teacher in a rural area of TN regularly purchased 45 RPM records where I played on my record player. My first records were Freddie & the Dreamers’ “I’m Telling You Now,” Gary Lewis & the Playboys’ “Count Me In,” (and I liked their B Side “Little Miss Go Go,”) and the Beatles’ “Help,” (but I preferred the B Side “I’m Down.”) In later years I turned my son onto Dr. Hook, KISS, and the Steve Miller Band.