Intergenerational Outdoor Musical Play - The Key to Great Family Connections

Quality time: it’s a vital part of any friendship, relationship, or family dynamic; it’s one of the five love languages, and it’s a great way to briefly step back from the chaos and busyness of everyday life. And yet, sadly, it seems more and more difficult to come by quality time with loved ones as time goes on. For children, it is well known that quality time spent with parents, siblings, guardians, or carers is fundamental to their learning to establish healthy relations with others; it deepens connections and enables them to feel loved, valued, and special. Many of us might think that this need fades as we age, but quality time is just as crucial for adults as it is for children.

Musical engagements of all sorts are natural ways to spend quality time with loved ones. Whether dancing around at a concert or in the living room, rocking out in a recording studio, or at the park, music ignites something in us that allows us to feel connected with each other in a totally unique way. What better way to spend some good old-fashioned fun and creative quality time with the whole family than by playing music altogether?

The outdoor musical instruments that we manufacture here at Percussion Play mean that nobody is excluded from family jam sessions based on skill level, age, or natural musical talent. Many of our instruments are pentatonically tuned, meaning that there are really ‘no wrong notes’ and any combination of notes played gel naturally together in beautiful harmonies.

Some of our other instruments are diatonically tuned, making it easy to play a multitude of simple and well-known songs with which the whole family will be familiar. Really, what this all means is that your family doesn’t have to be the next ‘von Trapps’ in order to be able to create gorgeous melodies altogether. Toddlers can play with grandparents, brothers and sisters can play with their parents, and everybody gets a chance to join in and benefit from getting outside, playing music, and spending some well-needed and often neglected quality time with the family.

Research shows that not only does this help children feel loved and known by their elders, but it also hugely benefits the social and psychological wellness and happiness of family members of all ages. See our new White Paper, 'Play, Percussion and 'Post-Age' Pedagogy: The Positive Effects of Intergenerational Music-Making' for more on this. This White Paper, along with all of our others, is available to download via the Download tabs attached to each article here or via our Digital Bookshelf here.

For children, playing outdoor musical instruments with their elders can speed up the development of social skills, emotional processing, communication, self-esteem, and intelligence - due to a combination of the cognitive responses to music-making and the effects of spending time learning from/with people outside of their age group. These things are hugely important in the formative years of childhood and set children up far better to enter adolescence and adulthood as balanced, happy, socially intelligent, and well-rounded people.

Isn’t it amazing how something so simple, mindless, and fun can have such an incredibly positive impact on the development of our children - socially, emotionally, and cognitively? More than that, it can also be profoundly helpful for our relationships - children and adults alike.

The positive effects of bonding through playing music together, listening to each other, having fun, being outdoors, and being creative - cannot be underestimated. We must spend time with the people we love - and what better way to do so than by being outdoors, breathing in the fresh air, and making beautiful sounds together in an open, familiar, and non-judgemental space. It allows us to feel and express love, joy, and connection with those around us, to feel that we are a part of something bigger than just ourselves: a part of a family ensemble!