Comments

Good going, Mom! that is an absolutely wonderful experience..bring smiles on my face:)

must be quite scary to be in that environment for her, with all the background noise, without the comfort of the living room acoustics, etc, but she kept her tempo, kept the tone clear and clean and almost managed to break into a smile at the end in one clip...it is getting there! :)

karen, with your prof career commitment, then your own playing and orchestra duties,,,how do you manage to have time to help her out with violin???

Al, that's a good question. Unfortunately, the answer is often, I don't. That break I gave her was as much for me as for her--the beginning of the school year is so crazy. I'm not sure how we're going to fit in the supervised daily practicing again. In the summer we did it in the morning, now we'll probably go back to the evening after dinner.

Tonight I have rehearsal myself and won't be home until after she's in bed. That's why I can't drive myself too crazy about missing a day here or there.

I really liked what you wrote on one of the other threads about how you want your kids to learn something through music. I think it's highly unlikely my daughter has the temperament or talent to become a professional musician (although she could surprise me--I won't rule it out). She has learned, however, that you do get better when you practice consistently, and that you can't just practice (or do your homework, or whatever) when you feel like it.

And she's learned that you can improve if you make an effort. Both she and some of her friends seem a little prone to getting discouraged easily. She'll try something once, it'll be horrible, and she'll want to just quit. But if you can make it through that initial stage, there are rewards on the other side.

Aww, that was just precious! Especially liked the "There's No Place Like Home" piece. Had to chuckle when the music blew off. That's what potato chip clips are for! : )

And I love the comments you made in the response above this. Great life-skill observations (that I will eternally struggle to instill in my unwilling son).

i think you are doing a great job with your kid, karen, considering the circumstances. it seems that you never give up introducing violin to her which to her will be a lesson by itself when she looks back later, like it may take some effort building a bond between the generation, not easily established, making it more precious and meaningful between the 2 of you as time goes on.

i think for some kids, esp girls, it may take a while for them to come out of the shell, so to speak. with time and exposure, the more she gets to feel comfortable with herself, with her place/role in the world, with her skills/better habits dealing with unknowns and fears, the more expressive she may become through violin. by then, she will have her techniques already in place and will have you to be thankful,,,

rock on!

Your daughter did a great job. Even though she was nervous, she played beautifully. A mother-daughter performance like that is really special. I'm glad you have videos that you will cherish.