I learned a few things about my daughter and the violin last night.
Ellie (age 5) had asked for several months to be enrolled in violin lessons. I was told she should learn to read music first. I was told she was too young and the violin was a difficult instrument to learn. I was told she would need to rent a violin which would of course be over and above the cost of the lessons and I would need to source the violin from an out-of-town shop that might have one very small violin available to rent to a student who would inevitably give it up prior to the rental agreement’s completion because it was too difficult and she could not yet read music.
Last school year, Ellie’s teacher suggested I engage Ellie’s curiosity and challenge her outside of school. When I giggled about Ellie wanting to play the violin, the teacher responded, “Then let her play the violin.” Hmmm. I hadn’t really given it any serious thought.
Last night at her first lesson she couldn’t stop smiling.
Really? The violin? Age five? In support of the naysayers, if you had handed me a violin at age five I could have found a number of things to use it for, frog-cage comes to mind, but learning to play it would not have been one of them.
I was invited into Ellie’s classroom for the final five minutes of instruction to review what she had learned. It was tough to hear what the teacher had to say what with the fireworks going off in Ellie’s head. Here’s what I learned.
- The violin was never actually played last night.
- Ellie caught onto the proper hand and chin position quickly.
- The instructor suggested strapping a kitchen sponge to the bottom of the violin to prevent shoulder pain. (If I had done this without the professional’s suggestion, I have no doubt I would have voided the rental agreement)
- Ellie was as excited about the first glittery sticker of a violin she was given at the end of class to affix to her instruction booklet as she was to actually be learning to play the violin.
- It is recommended to use rosin before playing the violin each time and NOT when the hair on the bow becomes dry and splintered as someone’s idiot mother had believed.
- If a young child hears anything about the optimal storage temperature for her new instrument, she will reference it melting if your thermostat changes even one degree.
- Ellie may be left handed. Who knew?
