MUSIC FIELD TRIPS by Rachel Buchman, © 2005
Take your children to concerts, restaurants and outdoor festivals to hear live music. It is an essential part of a child's music education. It's also enlightening and fun to go on field trips that explore other aspects of the music world. Here are a few local suggestions for the Houston area. For any of you living elsewhere, this list will give you a good idea for field trips no matter what city or town you live in. Remember, going on a music field trip is a bit like going to the zoo! Remind your child that you aren't going shopping, you’re just looking and listening.
Amati Violin Shop
Be prepared to behave very well in this shop filled with violins of all sizes. There's a repair room where the luthier works. A luthier is a violin maker. Ask about taking a look at what the luthier is doing. If not's busy, someone might show you how a particular instrument sounds or tell you a story about it.
2315 University Blvd
Houston , Texas 77005
713-666-6461
Brown Fine Arts Library in Fondren Library, Rice University
You can sit and listen to recordings - CD's, cassettes and records - on high quality equipment. If you're not associated with Rice you can't take them out, but it's a great way to explore music and find out which pieces you like. There is a vast collection of all kinds of music, not just classical. And you can find some quite delightful recorded works for children that are difficult to find these days, such as Poulenc's The Story of Babar the Elephant.
6100 Main Street
Houston, Texas 77251
713-348-4832
H & H Music
This store has everything from tubas to ukeleles. It's great fun to look at all the instruments. The store clerks will let you try some of them, too. Ask to see a tuba mouthpiece and a trumpet mouthpiece. You can't play them yourself, but the clerk might treat you to a quack. You can buy harmonicas and slide whistles as well as child-friendly percussion instruments there.
8715 West Loop South
Houston, Texas 77096
713-666-2090
11522 Old Katy Road
Houston , Texas 77043
281-531-9222
Lisle Violin Shop
The folks at Lisle are used to having children around the store, as it is one of the major resources for violin rentals in the city. The luthiers are very friendly. They'll probably be willing to show you a broken cello, or a double bass bridge. Ask to see a set of double bass strings! There's also a Lisle shop in Pasadena. I believe it has a wider range of instruments (banjos, guitars, penny whistles).
2450 Bissonnet
Houston , Texas 77005
713-526-4005
Museum Exhibits
Many fine arts museums have instrument collections. When you're traveling visit the musical instrument collections with your children. It's a way to get them into a fine arts museum and you might even catch a glimpse of a few paintings as well. Have a museum hunt: Look for paintings that have instruments in them. How many can you find?
Pawn Shops
Sleazy as they can be, for older kids a trip to a pawnshop can be very interesting. They often carry instruments. You might want to call before you make the trip. Don't forget to explain to your child what a pawnshop is and why some people might have to use one.
Public Library
Your public library is a superb resource for recorded music. Remember you can get almost anything from almost anywhere with inter-library loan. And of course there are many wonderful books about music, instruments, and composers. Take out books about instruments from all over the world. Take out books about acoustics. There are books that teach you how to make simple instruments. Just as you would introduce your child to the world of wild animals, or cars, introduce him to the world of instruments and music.
Rockin' Robin
This is the home of the true rocker dudes of Houston. Don't be put off by the dark door and the pony-tailed males. The guys in there are friendly and helpful. There are guitars of every shape and description hanging from the ceiling and the walls. There's a special room for acoustic guitars (non-electric) as well as a percussion room. If you ask, they'll probably let you try some percussion instruments. Rockin' Robin usually carries a small set of percussion instruments for children. I like the quality of these instruments. You can also buy adult percussion instruments if they're appropriate for children. They also sell harmonicas, great for children to play and not annoying for parents to listen to. Buy one for yourself, too!
3619 South Shepherd
Houston , Texas 77098
713-529-5442
The Robin Guitar Factory
There's a tour of this electric guitar factory the first Wednesday of every month from noon - 1 p.m. You need a reservation. This is a great field trip! When you call let them know you're bringing a young child.
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