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For posterity...or blackmail

March 8, 2006 at 12:47 AM

My parents were visiting last weekend, and my father, always eager to try out his new toys, took an 8-minute video of my daughter Kiera's violin practice session, which I supervised. It's pretty hilarious. We have all these tricks to keep the lesson fun and to keep her interested, but she is and acts like, well, a 3-year-old. Excerpts:

"Kiera, HEY! Don't eat your violin!"

"Let's name the parts of the violin."
"No!"
"C'mon, you can show Kyla [her 1-year-old sister] where they are. Scroll..."
(Grabs Kyla's hand and places it on the scroll.)
"Kiera, you don't need her to touch the parts, just show her where they are. Bridge..."
(Pulls Kyla's arm so her hand touches the bridge, and yanks a little too hard)
Kyla: "Waaahh!"

"Ok, let's try some long bows." (She starts bowing crazily, all over the fingerboard, so I grab the stick and start guiding it.)
"MOMMY, DON'T HELP ME!"
"If you bow straight, I won't help you."
(Starts bowing straight)

Despite what appears to be a chaotic practice session with a spunky, free-spirited (I prefer this term to "undisciplined" :) ) toddler, she's made amazing progress. Her bow hold and posture are far better than mine ever were when I was twice her age, and she's definitely got her father's musical ear. But most important is her enthusiasm; she still clearly loves the violin even when she doesn't want to practice, and that is what I aim to preserve.

I can't help but wonder if the great child prodigies also put their parents through this kind of thing. Or were they all perfect students who practiced diligently and did everything they were told? In any case, no matter what kind of violinist Kiera turns out to be, I think this video will become one of the great family treasures.

The video really does sound like a great treasure. Maybe you could post it here, with your daughter's permission, of course.
Pauline, it's 250 MB. :) When I get around to it, I'll convert it to a compressed format, but it'll probably still be too big.
What's wrong with eating your violin? :)