“Every good boy does fine.”
It has been a phrase that has been stuck in my mind for many, many years. And now, as a mother, it has a meaning that goes far beyond its initially learned one. As the parent of young boys, I can only hope that “doing fine” remains a regular occurrence in our lives. It’s no secret that parenting is a tough job but we all try our best to provide our children with every opportunity to learn and grow. And that statement right there brings me back to the aforementioned phrase.
For those of you that may not know the meaning behind that phrase, it is actually a musical one. If you look at a sheet of music, it is much more than just notes on a page to be played. Before being played, it must be read. “Every good boy does fine” is an acronym of sorts. The first letter of each word within the phrase – E, G, B, D, F – stand for the letters of the notes on the lines of a music staff. Hand-in-hand with the notes within the spaces (F, A, C, E), one can play a beautiful tune.
Music has been such an important part of my life for many years and, now as a parent, I am determined to provide my children with the same knowledge. It is so much more than just something to be listened to. It can be read, played, heard, and enjoyed until the end of time. Not only can you listen to and play music that has been previously written but you can even compose your own. In addition to allowing children to explore their own musicality, music in itself can help to further a child’s knowledge in numerous other ways. For example, keeping a beat and understanding musical timing helps with mathematical skills. Performance helps build social skills and self-esteem. Music has been proven to help children with language development not only in terms of being able to learn second languages but by helping to better understand and process their own spoken language. It is linked to having an increased IQ and a larger growth in brain activity and development. I could go on for days about how important music is, not only for children, but for people in general. As a former “band geek,” and I mean “geek” in a good way, I have made it my mission to provide my children with the benefits of music since their births.
In addition to playing music on a regular basis in our home, I’ve dedicated a portion of our home office to music. I’m slowly but surely putting together a little collection of instruments that the boys can tinker with and try out as they wish. We have a few guitars, a clarinet, some drumsticks, and I’m always on the lookout for new pieces to add. Recently, I had the opportunity to add another wonderful piece to the mix thanks to the wonderful team over at Casio.
The
Casio brand is best known for their extensive line of keyboards and, in this case, they chose to feature what has become the greatest new addition to our own music collection. The
Casio CTK-2400 Sound EFX Sampler is much more than just another keyboard. Much like my own little ones, this baby is a big sound packed into a small package. It can certainly hold its own when compared to the larger
Casio models but, with its compact size, this is one of those situations where the best gifts truly do come in the smallest packages.
While I am able to play a few hooks from a few different songs, I am in no way a pianist. When I was younger, I used to play with a family member’s keyboard as a toy. That particular one lit up so you knew which notes to play at which time. I found that it made playing easier but it never did teach me how to play. Instead, it made it more of a memory game by simply memorizing the sequence of lights as opposed to learning each individual key. Over the years, I’ve taught myself bits and pieces of different songs and at one point I even put stickers on each key so I would remember its lettered note for play. You see, music books never really did the trick for me. While I can certainly read music, I am much more of a listen-and-learn, do-it-yourself kind of person. Chances are, if I hear it, I can figure out how to play it. Of course, that can set you up for failure – especially for kids – because many children want to play the songs that they create. They want to make it their own, to put their own touch on things. Kids have an innate drive to create something and, as a parent, I want to help them fulfill that goal. That is where this particular
Casio model comes in.
The CTK-2400 offers a variety of sampling features that can capture audio and then be played back. With the Long Sampling mode, you can create one sound up to two seconds and with the Short Sampling mode, you can create up to five short sounds and tones. With a built-in sampling microphone, you can also use your voice to record samples.
By creating and piecing together various sound samples and rhythms, you can truly make a piece of music that is uniquely yours. In addition to being able to take advantage of these amazing features, you can utilize the Casio CTK-2400 Sound EFX Sampler’s 150 built-in rhythms and learn from the keyboard’s own library of more than one hundred built-in songs.
Of course, with
Casio, learning is just as much at the forefront as the product line itself. While the extensive product line is impressive on its own, I love that the
Casio brand helps to encourage children to further their musical knowledge through the one thing that children love most – play. With the
Casio Step Up Lesson system, users can learn to play songs phrase by phrase and it allows users to do so at their own individual pace.
Utilizing the LCD display, aspiring musicians can learn both music notation and correct hand positioning, while Casio’s innovative lesson system evaluates performance so users can track their progress and incremental success.
Regardless of where you are – at home or on-the-go – the
Casio CTK-2400 Sound EFX Sampler is an absolutely fantastic product. Whether you’re like me and always on the lookout for the next best addition to your musical collection, you’re looking for something a bit more compact, or you’re just starting out, this model is truly a great item for everyone. Turning each piece of music into a wondrous experience of sound, the
Casio CTK-2400 Sound EFX Sampler ensures a fun, energetic music experience for everyone from the newest learners to the master musicians of the world. Because, at the end of the day…
“Every good boy does fine.”
Buy:
You can purchase the Casio CTK-2400 Sound EFX Sampler direct from Casio at www.ShopCasio.com.
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Be sure to keep up with Casio on their social media pages to stay up to date on all of the latest news, new product releases, special promotions, sale prices, and more.
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