Skip to main content

Violin Lessons

Today was Grace's first violin lesson after a few months hiatus (my fault, I got tired and let it go). She's been asking me for a long time to start them again, and as I resolved in my post last week, today was the reinstitution of her lessons.

 
She's really quite a natural. Once she gets some more stamina, she won't have any trouble learning the rhythms or the notes and fingerings. She has a naturally good bow hold and curve of her fingers along the neck.

Her biggest obstacle will be her stubbornness. She has a tendency to argue, and can get a bit mouthy sometimes. That was one reason I stopped her lessons before, she didn't want to listen to what I was trying to teach her, she thought she already knew it all.

 
She has been more cooperative lately in general, and today she didn't argue with my directions at all. So that is a big indicator to me that her interest is genuine.

Big Brother Too

 
 
I asked Zak if he would like me to teach him either the violin again or the viola, and he said he'd like to learn the viola! Yay! For now I'm just going to order a set of viola strings to put on the violin that we currently have. If he really likes it and makes decent progress, then we can look into purchasing a real viola later. If they keep up with their lessons and practice hard, they may even be able to join the volunteer orchestra that I play in. Our director encourages all to join who are willing to work hard and she very kindly provides simplified parts for our beginners.

As a result, our beginners get the benefit of playing real music with real musicians in a real concert. It helps their confidence grow and keeps them excited which is very important when you are first learning. We plan to work hard all summer so that they hopefully will be ready for next year!

A note about the purple violin that Grace is playing. This violin started out as Zak's. Back in the day when my life wasn't quite as insane, I used to teach violin and piano a couple afternoons a week. At the time Zak was about four, and he started asking me if he could learn too. After he showed persistence for a while, Vincent agreed to buying him an inexpensive violin to learn on until he grew to fit the ones I already owned. We looked online for a long time and every time we asked him, Zak always picked out the dark purple ones. He just thought it was the most beautiful violin he'd ever seen, and he knew for sure he did not want an "icky brown one". Since he was so insistent, we acquiesced, happy that he found a surefire fit for his personality, and satisfied that Grace would probably be more than happy to inherit it once Zak outgrew it. We were so right!

 
This is one of those parenting choices that I am so proud of! When you just know right away that you did the right thing. Zak LOVED his purple violin! He took such good care of it and he attentively listened at each of his lessons. He never would have stopped if I had been more disciplined after we moved that time. Who knew five years would fly by so fast!

Passing on the Passion

 
 
So instead of just continuing to be mad at myself for neglecting to give my kids the chance to find out if they share my passion for making music, I'm giving them that chance. Maybe they will decide that making music isn't their thing. I'm okay with that, as long as they have had a real chance to find it out for themselves. Even if that means they experiment with several different instruments. Even if they don't want me as their teacher. I just want them to have the opportunity to the degree that I can provide it.

This is one of those core values that I will never forgive myself for if I let it get swept under the rug while they are young. And it's so easy with all the demands on us these days to let it, but I'm determined not to.

I know how much having a passion for something, music, art, animals, can really shape the people we become. I want to encourage my children to find their passions, and never have to tell them that I let those things slide because I was too tired.

I can't live with that.

And they should never have to.








Comments

  1. I think we all berate ourselves for starting projects with our kids and not making the time to finish them. Reading your blog is encouraging. I also started teaching my girl violin and stopped! Also, I want to try to work more on different things with my son. Maybe I'll try to start all these things up again! How old are your kids, by the way?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My son is 10 1/2. And the girls are 6 almost 7 (in may, yikes!) and 18 months. I get so frustrated feeling like laundry and cooking end up using all my energy and sometimes it's so easy to tell the kids 'maybe next time'. But the truth is, the next times run out too fast! While the others are important, helping my kids become good well rounded, and skilled adults is really what's important, so they should get more of my energies! They deserve it, the laundry, not so much!

      Delete
  2. Grace holds here violin like a little pro :-)

    Music's the medicine of the mind.  ~John A. Logan

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Le Petite Chef: Mud Pie

Here it is, as promised, Grace's Mud Pie recipe! She did all the work, I helped explain terms and measurements, stirred at the very end to make sure everything was evenly coated (at her request), and helped hold the pot. She let one of her friends spread the Nutella and add the "dirt" to one of the pies while she did the other.  This is a very kid friendly recipe, I highly recommend it for ages 8 and up! The original recipe is in the book The Cooking Book, by Jane Bull. But we modified it just a bit. Here are our supplies: 3/4 c butter 1 tbsp cocoa powder 1/2 c sugar 1 c graham cracker crumbs 1/2 c dried fruit 1 chocolate bar (we used Nutella spread instead) We added: Heath chocolate and toffee bits Black Sixletts (found in the party aisle) These are the original measurements, we doubled the recipe though. Step 1: Crush graham crackers. We used a gallon size zipper bag and a coffee mug (I don't own

Saying Goodbye

For the entire month of August, I just didn't let myself think about it beyond the facts. For the last two weeks, I just focused on anything else that took my mind off of it. Over the weekend I was busy getting things ready, so I was too busy to think about it. Tuesday came. Miss V came. It was a good visit, with laughing and smiling, and questions asked and answered, and Kit played with her, and smiled and made us laugh like usual. But it was different, and we felt it. I didn't let myself go there, because I didn't want to break down, not that it would have been the first time in front of her (nor the second, or third, or even fourth probably.)  And then it was time for her to go, and we took some pictures, and all the kids hugged her, and I held Kit on my shoulder on the steps so she could wave goodbye until Miss V is out of sight like she has every week for at least five months. And then we closed the door, and Kit went on with business as usual, beca

Preschool at Home! Chalkboard Painting

Here is another treasure from the backfiles. This started as an act of desperation on my part, I just needed her to be occupied so I could finish something, but it quickly became one of her favorite activities. If you have a chalkboard (we made ours on a half wall with chalkboard paint), all you need is a paintbrush, sponge, or washcloth, and a cup of water. Dip the brush in the water and have at it! Kit LOVES how the water turns the board black. So often, she will be at this so long that by the time she gets across the board, the first area she painted will be dry and a fresh pallet once again. You can get creative with the things you use as paintbrushes, but she has been completely happy with our basic art brushes from Walmart. I love watching her do this.