Introducing Kidz Eight Track

There’s pianos, guitars, noises, effects, fades, weird mixes, loops, and at least one major radio hit. Brace yourself for some cuteness/goodness.

September 17, 2008; 10:17 AM • by Matthew E. White

Kids!! We all love them, or at least most of us do – save the grumpiest of us all. They bring happiness, joy, and if you can somehow associate the sound of crying with rainbows and Country Time Donuts your life will be on a constant wax because of those little buggers. The truth is that somehow those little minds hold some magic wisdom that we all can learn from. They are without the rules of engagement that we slowly build up for ourselves; they don’t know the first thing about the pressures of history’s aesthetic preferences, and the most valuable creative commodity, curiosity, comes free with their age.

Fortunately, I work with those little guys for a living. I get paid to go to people’s houses and mold young children’s musical minds. Technically, I teach guitar and piano, but I always like to think that my lessons are more complete musical experiences than the boundaries of specific instruments allow. Because I value, above most everything else, the practical expression of personal creativity, I try to get my kids to record as much as they can. Recording can be complicated because there’s often lots of equipment and buttons and cords, etc., but with a little bit of help from me, a laptop and good ol’ Garageband, I have made some headway into making this an integral part of my teaching “strategy”.

That said, I am proud to present the first Kidz Eight Track: a selection of the finest tracks that I have ever recorded… a group of honest, skillfully composed, and masterfully played pieces of music. There’s pianos, guitars, noises, effects, fades, weird mixes, loops, and at least one major radio hit. These songs are born amongst the order and logic of young brains. They are refreshingly unique and view the musical world from distinctive angles. They have much to say in the arena of notes and tones, and certainly don’t be afraid to learn a quite a lot from their uncanny bits of wisdom.

Be proud of these kids and let them know (via comment) how special their talent is. And let me tell you, be proud of the parents that have overseen the creation of this vibrant little music community. Right alongside every kid is a parent who has had to navigate guitars on the floor, listened to amps that are most certainly turned up too loud, reprimanded banging on the piano disguised as practicing, and braved (read: paid for) some unconventional music lessons. Although currently all of these little guys and gals are culled from my own studio, I hope that this is not the case by the next time we do this. I am positive that there are thousands of young minds in the greater Richmond area that would excel at this whole business, and we here at RVANews want to hear them, encourage them, and give them a voice.

Ladies and gentleman….Kidz Eight Track I

***if you or your kid (or anyone that you know) is interested in taking some lessons and learning more about music of all kinds, don’t hesitate to contact me at matthew.e.white@gmail.com or at 804.350.6374.