Sudden Student Death Syndrome

April 26, 2007 at 7:46 PM

I played through eight lessons from my Violin book that I got from a friend for my teacher to show her the organization and format of what I was practicing when I ran out of fundamentals that she had asked that I practice.

She agreed that all students should fight boredom with some extra treats and liked the structure of the new book. She then played with me on counting, which I was horrible with and encouraged me to count out loud to practice my whole, half, etc. notes. She said if I did it in my head I would end up making the count in my head equal what my arms and hands were doing when they really were not.

In all, we came to an understanding. Unofficially I am pushing myself harder than she realized and was running out of stuff to do and had taught myself how to read music. Officially, I had not covered the basics well enough and had introduced mistakes into the new material which I now have to correct.

She said I was re-enforcing bad habits.

Sudden Student Death Syndrome is what happens to those that have absolutely no talent and to those that do and let someone else squash it. I think each one of us must keep our balance with our lessons. Keep them interesting but realize some constraints were put on us for good reasons. She is now correcting all the things I did wrong while I was concentrating on learning to read and play my music and yo-yo'ed my wrist and elbows, bow hold etc.

She saw my new violin wood and got real excited over me going out and purchasing it on my own and asked how much I paid for it and where I got it. Remember she has made five violins. I told her about $150. She said, "I will have to start shopping for wood with you, I paid over $400 for the wood for my first violin." I got mine from a fellow up in Canada by Quebec and he and I met on E-Bay. He had better wood, but I went middle of the line because this was to be my first violin and could have a ton of mistakes in it.

I am going to drive to Salt Lake and visit the Prier Violin Making School. Annual tuition is $10,500 as I recall and it is a three year course. I will stay the night by the Cracker Barrel and eat my head off going an coming. When we go the the Golden Spike Event center in Ogdon we do the same thing.

This school brings in about a dozen Strad's and most of the top violinists in the world have visited this school while playing in the area.

From Karen Allendoerfer
Posted on April 26, 2007 at 8:58 PM

I'm not sure I get who is suddenly dying. You're plenty alive.

It sounds like you and your teacher are both motivated teachers and learners (you of violin playing, she of violin making), and you make a good team.

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on April 27, 2007 at 7:31 AM

You sound like most of my adult beginning students. They rush ahead too much. I keep telling them to slow down, do more repetition, and do step 1 reasonably well before you try step 2. Learning to play correctly is much more important than learning to play a lot of things quickly but not well. I think your teacher is veering you back to the right track, and you'll be a much better player because of it.

From Robert Berentz
Posted on April 27, 2007 at 2:11 PM

I have heard various statements, some from my teacher who told me during my first lesson - If you can get past the first three months of practice without quitting you will probably make it.

I have been at this for five weekly lessons and I was loosing it. I was not having enough put on my plate, nor did I see any structure which said, you are here and we are going to take these steps to take you to here. I felt like I was running in one big boring circle. I was not being introduced to timing, notes and practice that had me changing strings and nailing my finger positions. I was coming up with my own practice patterns and had to learn reading notes by myself and was bored silly.

If you are a teacher and group an adult into your children's play pen you are going to loose a client.

My Mother started teaching special ed and I was glad I was away at college because when I came home she started treating me like I was brain injured to some extent. It's like "teacher freeze up" and how do we as students get our teacher to shift gears, get down the road at our speed, turn their radar on and see what our course and speed is (military language and if you have not sat at a radar scope and plotted air craft and ships you will have to imagine what I'm saying). The "one size fits all" type of thinking is where the ho-hum teachers get separated from the bright, alert teachers.

The biggest part of adult student "break down" comes from the teacher not putting enough on on the students plate.

Example: My grand daughter at seven was a total horse nut. By the time she was twelve, we had bred mares and she had broken two fillies and one stud colt so she could show them in 4-H. She never came close to being hurt. That is "putting it on their plate and seeing if they can eat it." Every person and age group has vague parameters, but it is the teacher that plots your course and speed that are/produce the winners, and my hat is off to them. I love teachers.

From Robert Berentz
Posted on April 29, 2007 at 10:40 AM

God's Little Round Pen

His little heart without a clue; filled with Toys and Baby Blue.

Mom and Dad go rattling on, and then one day "He's" on the phone.

He hears this voice from within, God's assembling his "little round pen."

Tis the day, instruction can start; the day he hears 'em in his heart. CR

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