CALEB MAKES HIS MUSICAL DEBUT

It seems lately Caleb has been wanting to join his sister and dad in all the musical fun. He runs and gets Laci's "first violin" every time they get their instruments out to play. So I asked him was he ready to start taking lessons and he replied "yes." So I told him when he turned 4 that he could start taking lessons, but that he would have to practice too. He said "okay." And so when he turned 4, we signed him up.


He's been at it for a month now, and catching on a little faster than his sister did. But he's heard it all his life. He had his first recital last night. He couldn't wait to get up there with all the other kids. He was so excited. But it seems the song lasted longer than his attention span. Another 4-year-old playing around in the back of the room caught his attention. Watch as his teacher and Laci try to steer him back into the game ...


Some people would wonder why in the world we would start a child so young playing a musical instrument. Some have asked me how I knew whether or not Laci would be any good at it or not. I didn't! But I had a couple of friends whose children played violin and invited me to a recital. They urged me to start Laci, citing that it was so much fun. Violin is actually one of the few instruments that a child as young as two can learn to play.

In the beginning it's much like a music appreciation class. Their teacher plays an assortment of games with them that's teaching them to hold their bow properly, hold their violin properly, finger exercises, singing songs, and they don't even realize that they're learning.




Fabrice is a wonderful teacher. He plays for the Winston-Salem Symphony and is certified in teaching the Suzuki method of learning, which is learning to play by ear. But he also teaches music reading as well. I never took music when I was young, but as I have found out, music has many benefits, all of which I cannot name in this post because it would take too long. Laci started when she was 3, and in no time was counting forward, backward, memorizing, honing in on her listening skills (which is still a work in progress - hee-hee). But it also gives them great confidence in knowing you have worked really hard on a song and finally, after many hours of practice, you've finally mastered it. Laci gets so excited when she finally gets something that has seemed really hard at first. And I'm telling you, classical music is not easy to play. As a matter of fact, the farther you go with it, the harder it gets. But she likes classical, and she moonlights with traditional music on the side. She loves both, although traditional music is more upbeat and much more fun to play, and easier too.

I have been amazed by the Suzuki method. If you have some time, and are interested in music lessons for your children, or yourself, you should read about Shinichi Suzuki's method of learning online. He believed that all children possess the ability to play music and that this ability can be developed and enhanced through a nurturing environment, whether or not the parents have any musical ability or not. And it's true. I've seen it.

I love the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. They say he was a genius, a prodigy, in his own time. His father taught him how to play the harpsicord and the violin at the age of 3, and by the age of 5 he was composing his own music. Hmmm, maybe he was a genius, but I think his success was in part due to the fact that he started so young. His sister also played as well as he did, but he was the one that was well known because of the music he composed throughout the years.

But I think I am more in the camp of Shinichi Suzuki. I believe the early ages are the ages where so much is soaked into those little sponges. And who knows what the imagination can bring. Laci started when she was 3 and has composed her first song at the age of 5. She's named it "The High Bridges," and she's even put a story behind it. It's a war song, she says.

If that didn't look like an infommercial, I don't know what does! She's just recently started a new song called "Home Again," inspired by us coming home one day :) She's even wrote down the strings to it on paper.

But the point is, who knows where the imagination can take you. It's a joy to see my family have fun with their imaginations, and using what they have learned and turning it into something of their own.