Will and his violin

“Music exists for the purpose of growing an admirable heart.”
---Shinichi Suzuki

Violin Tragedy.

Gulp. Cry. Sigh. Broken neck (on the itty bitty 1/16 violin that is). Devastated little boy. Heartbroken mother.

Beautiful violin. We were lucky to find it and at a good price. Teacher even said he wanted to buy it from us when we were done with it - or that we would probably even be able to sell it for more as it is a somewhat rare violin (Made in Japan vs. China).

I'll make some phone calls tomorrow to see what attempt of repair can be made, but it will never be the same. : (

The right kind of Suzuki mom

Today I told our violin teacher I was not being a good Suzuki mom. I've felt guilty about how fast time flies and that I don't ever get in the practice time every day. I mean, good grief, he's just asking us to spend 4 minutes a day playing games with the violin. He, as he always does, said just the right thing to get me back on track and let go of the guilt. After our lesson, I chatted a bit with the next mother, who has been taking lessons with her 12 year old son for a year and a half. I really want to get to know her better. She has great energy about her. I told her we really enjoyed her recital last week and found it very inspring (she has great stage presence and kind of reminds me of Natalie Merchant). After a bit more talk she told me her son had started Suzuki lessons at age 5 but dropped after 6 months and that the teacher they were with at the time just wasn't the right fit. She told me they are unschoolers and Mr. Cook has been really understanding and flexible with their style and that has made all the difference. I see that as our opportunity as well. I hope to get to know her better.

So I relaxed on myself because I know that I want Will to find his own love of the violin (or not) and for music. I want to expose him to it, not force it. I know that. So what if he doesn't want to practice every day. I will play the Twinkle CD, and practice myself. He will absorb it. He is.

Tonight he showed Grandma and Grandpa Voss his violin, and stood, rest position, bowed, zipped and stepped and placed the violin to jaw, with A PERFECT BOW HOLD (we were not seeing this) and played Mississipi Hot Dog on strings A and E. I could not believe it. He did not learn this because I had been telling him over and over how to hold the bow (he kept holding it wrong and it was a bit maddening to me). He just absorbs it. He's been feeling pressure from me, even though I jump to my defense and say I am not pressuring him (but there is that nagging in my head saying he NEEDS to learn the importance of practice and feels this I am sure.)

I am not doing this to teach my child violin.

"I just want to create loving, sensitive human beings with beautiful hearts." ----Shinichi Suzuki

Suzuki Love

Shinichi Suzuki, famed violin teacher that brought the love of music to millions of preschoolers, was preparing to enter a class full of his young students. Upon entering, he meditated.... another teacher asked what he was doing. He said...

“I am mentally preparing myself for the five-year-old mind. I want to come down to their physical limitations and up to their sense of wonder and awe."

It is this belief that pulls together my interest of Waldorf/Enki method and Suzuki.

A great parenting book that everyone should read:

Nurtured By Love


More Suzuki quotes here.