My Studio Wish List

Here are a few things I’ve been eyeing for the studio room, which also serves as space for my love’s graphic design projects and a hobby room for our crafti-ness.  It’s a bit eclectic but the general color scheme features lots of sea greens with mustard, navy, and woodsy brown accents.  Some of these things I actually need (loosely defined, of course), and a few are just for fun.  The fun ones won’t be happening any time soon… it takes quite a bit of teaching to warrant purchases specifically for the studio, even more so if they aren’t necessary.  But I like to dream and plan for the future, so here I go!

1.  Nurtured by Love by Sinichi Suzuki – I had a copy of this when I took my Every Child Can class at the Ottawa Suzuki Institute, but I can’t seem to find it anywhere.  Definitely not helpful, I need to revamp my storage and organization so I quit misplacing things. It’s probably time I gave it another read to refresh my insights, and I would like to have a copy to lend to parents so they can really grasp what the Suzuki Method is all about.  I know they’d love a light reading assignment.. ha! Suzukiassociation.org, $12

2.  Berlioz the Bear by Jan Brett – A curious sound distracts this band of bears as they make their way to town to play for the gala ball.  What will happen when their donkey stubbornly decides to take a seat? And when an unexpected guest makes a welcome appearance? Will they make it there in time??  Beautiful, intricate illustrations and an entertaining story line keep children and adults enraptured while introducing members of the chamber orchestra. JanBrett.com, Barnes & Noble, or any fine local bookstore, $15

3.  M is for Melody by Kathy-Jo Wargin and Katherine Larson – I have never read this book but am eager to have it around, as any book that teaches important stuff to know in a musical way is a-ok with me.  Also Amazon thinks I will like it based on past purchases, which I believe to be an accurate assessment.  Bravo for targeted marketing, reading my mind.  It introduces instruments, musical terms, styles, and composers.  Amazon.com, $7

4.  Classical composers poster – Grouped by era, this would be an excellent way to start the introduction to some of the major players at the helm of our great classical tradition.  I would like to have this on the wall to reference when students are learning a new song to talk about when they lived, where they lived, and what type of music they wrote.  Perhaps I would include notable physical characteristics; even the familiarity of the faces would help make the connection between what they are playing and the person who breathed it into being.  Musicmotion.com, $17

5.  Wooden table –  For parents to set their coffee, keys, whatever. But also a place for me to set up some cute trinkets (see next) and underneath storage for more books – my magazine rack is full! AmishDirectFurniture.com, no price listed but I’m pretty sure I could find something similar at a flea market.

6.  Violin playing bronze figurines – These are adorable. And expensive. To be honest I could probably whittle these out of wood (I don’t know how to whittle)  faster than I could work enough to pay for these. And by that time I’d like something else better, or have found more useful employment for my hard-earned cash.  But they are pretty cute, so I’ll let them stay on the list.  Scullyandscully.com, cat and fox, $450.

7.  Wooden clock – I need to put a clock on the wall so I can easily peek at it periodically.  I haven’t been so good at keeping track of time and tend to give people quite a bit extra during lessons.  It isn’t usually a problem and I prefer to finish my train of teaching thought instead of cutting it short, but sometimes it is a bit of problem if mom needs to pick up another kid from ballet, or someone else is waiting their turn.  I have some very courteous parents and sometimes they’ll sit in the car.  So I’ve gotten in the habit of glancing at my phone towards the end and it just feels rude.  The simplest solution would be a clock on the wall.  I thought this one was just lovely.  BobbyBerkHome.com, $84

8.  Paper cutout star lanterns – Every time I’m in the Seattle airport I see rows of these hanging in the window of this really awesome gift shop called Fireworks.  They are so bright, colorful, and cheery and I’ve always wanted to pick one up.  One problem is selection – there are so many beautiful & intricate designs – and I’m incredibly indecisive about silly, trivial things like what burger to order or what accent color I might like best.  But the main problem is that I’m inevitably overloaded with my violin, carry on bag, and all the electronics I’m too scared to put in my suitcase.  So I’ve never had an extra hand or space to shove even one. more. box.  Fireworks, lantern and hanging light bulb fixture, $35

9. Voluspa small jar candle in crane flower – Aromatic with decadent packaging, there’s a lot to love about this little luxury.  If I can overcome the guilt that accompanies such an extravagant standard of living, every now and again it’s fun to treat yo’ self! Anthropologie, $10.

“My Dad’s an Electrician!”

I had a new thing happen to me today.  I broke a student’s string while tuning her up for her lesson.  It kind of took me by surprise since I have tuned so many violins and can usually feel when the string is getting tight and about to give in to the pressure.  It broke right where the metal ball coils around the rest of the string and sets into the tailpiece. I guess it was time to be changed but I have never had one break on me from there before. It’s hard to tell if this could have been prevented in hindsight but I was worried it was my fault. It was the A, which is pretty much the most important one, being where we start most songs and all… So I was feeling like a bit of a failure but I took it as an opportunity to talk about the importance of having an extra set of strings on hand for such occasions.

I had pretty much given up the idea of continuing with the lesson I envisioned and had already started ticking off a mental list of other things to focus on.  Fingers still wander on her bow hold. We could do some bow races and recite the bow poem. Using long full bows on G, D & E to work on counting and bow management would be another good thing. She’s working on Allegro, and her stop bows could be a bit crisper, and the first line is all on E anyway.  Basically, lots to do with the right hand.  As that was playing out in my mind her dad picked up the violin and asked if I had any pliers.

I went out to the garage to rummage through the toolbox. I found a pair and rushed back to the music room. By the time I got there he was bent over, twisting & tying, very intent. I waited a few seconds, then continued the lesson with a few bow-only exercises. After only a minute or two he had rigged the string so that it was woven through the hole in the tailpiece, around several times and tied up with itself in a little snake-looking knot. Strings are metal and slippery and finicky.. I was impressed!  It seemed to be fairly secure so I cautiously tuned it up to A and that was that, we were moving right along.  After I made a light-hearted comment “good thing your dad knows what he’s doing, I thought that string was a goner” she looked up at me and beamed “yep, my dad’s an electrician!” and a big smile spread across his face.

No time like Now to learn something New

My first adult student has reached his first big Suzuki milestone – playing through all the Twinkle variations! Quite the arduous task for any new player, with everything being so, well… new. These 5 rhythmic variations on the Twinkle Twinkle Little Star theme are the foundation on which so many basic concepts are layered and often take many months to learn and play even decently. We are progressing nicely into Book 1 and while that isn’t the only goal, I am pleased. And inspired! He has wanted to learn for many years now and is ready to put in the time he knows it will take to become at least a proficient player. So it’s been just the slightest bit of a struggle as he’s been eager to move along as quickly as possible and I have been making him take his time to learn things quite properly the first time around. We talked at the start of lessons and decided this is obviously the best way to do things rather than finding the need for some things to be fixed later on when they become inhibitors to his playing. And surely they would. Maybe not tomorrow or even in a few years, but inevitably as the repertoire got more technical any cracks in his foundation would start to show. Rome wasn’t built in a day by cutting corners. I’m pretty sure that’s how the old adage goes.

Bearing all that in mind, there are SO many things to remember when first learning any new activity and I have found it to be particularly true with those that require any small amount of physical coordination, i.e. sports, dance, acting, music etc. Not only are arms moving about in different directions performing different functions, but there’s posture and bow hold, angles and contact points, then tone and tuning and timing just to rattle off a few. Playing the violin requires considerable hand-eye coordination, muscle memory and control, digital dexterity and relaxation, surprisingly. The point is to make beautiful music after all.

And that doesn’t just come naturally, you know. It takes a lot of work. Hard work like active listening and intentional practicing, dedication and persistence. All things that adults have to do a lot of already at work and at home so sometimes it’s difficult to get us to do them again during our leisure time. But how rewarding it can be, whatever the activity, not just music. To tackle a long-awaited project or dust off a familiar hobby is a fresh kind of excitement, and the childlike wonder can often get us through the tough times.

In this season of goal-setting, resolutions, and re-aligned priorities, I would encourage us (if anybody, ever, is to see this and make it an “us” ) to look into ourselves and find something that will bring a significant amount of personal satisfaction and pleasure. Something to stimulate intellectually, socially, physically, and emotionally; something that can really be enjoyed for years to come that can’t be taken away from us. I’m very proud of my new student; for taking the first steps, meeting the first mile marker, and walking down a winding path to eventually realize a dream. Nothing can be quite so invigorating as setting a personal, meaningful goal and then going about the slow steady work it takes to achieve it. It doesn’t have to be musically-minded of course.. though that does seem to fit the bill!

Happy music making!

 

Promo in Purple

I’ve been making a few of these lately, and am particularly fond of this one. I’m quite close to assembling all the tools I will need for lessons so I started practicing these promos.