Music Room Snapshots

I’ve been meaning to do this for a while… so here are a few photos of this little space. This is where I teach lessons, muse, doodle, and dream. We both play our instruments and get crafty in here. Currently my love is learning to make a kilt and I’m trying my hand at a few mousey cat toys.

I adore the color on the walls and pretty much built the room around that dark and soothing sea foam green. It has a very calming effect and I was drawn to it immediately. That amazing drafting table is something Aaron picked up before I met him. It’s the perfect height for us tall folks and has plenty of storage for all our bits and bobs. Most of the other furniture is thrifted, like the chairs, red table, and the mirror I freshened up with a quick strip of teal. The sea port ink drawing and the thermometer/barometer/hydrometer were his grandfather’s.

This is the bagpipe and whistle section, along with my treasured music bag from childhood. I also keep the mandolin and electric violin tucked away here – close at hand and not in the closet where I can’t see them!

The Tolkien quote print is from Society 6 and was a gift from my mother. The Einstein quote I got at one of those discount home goods stores years ago and the rainbow lights are from Target. My love got those curtains from Urban Outfitters when I mentioned how they tied in the blues, greens, with pops of yellow. He also ordered the jazz cat print on Etsy from Catherine Hiley. Animals playing instruments are adorable to me.

This is where I keep books, games, and colored pencils for siblings and Suzuki Journals for parents to peruse if they wish. The bin underneath is where I stash sheet music and books for my own practice.

There is a rather long list of things I’d like to add, change, hang on the walls, or make for this room. I have a plethora of ideas for a gallery wall.  I feel like a lot of things sit on the floor (things I didn’t need to photograph like my note card collection and another cork board I haven’t hung). I would like bamboo blinds to match the woodsy vibes and I keep meaning to go to the nursery the next time I have a few bucks I want to spend on more plants. Also, find some sort of tall lamp or different light fixture. It could go on and on. But I won’t be getting to any of them because of a very exciting reason that I will be writing more about so soon…We’re moving!!!

Violin Music by Women Composers

After I pined for Stories of Women Composers by Catherine Wolff Kendall in this wishlist, I was excited to come across an entire site devoted to violin music by women on the world wide web today! Cora Cooper is a music professor at Kansas State University and has devoted nine years to her research on female composers of violin music.  She has carefully curated an anthology of works in a variety of styles for all levels of playing, most of which weren’t already available. What a gal! I will definitely be adding these volumes to my lesson library. What are some of your favorite pieces by female composers? I’d love to know!

Beginning Vocabulary for Strings

Probably the most important vocabulary words for any music student to learn at first are the names of the parts on his or her instrument.  For the violin these include: bow, horse hair, frog, screw, scroll, pegs, fingerboard, bridge, fine tuners, names of strings, and the list goes on. I encourage parents to make flash cards to use at home as they can make learning a bit more fun!  These terms can be divided into several weeks depending on the student’s age and ability to memorize.  Some of the more nuanced terms can be saved for later, say purfling or sound post.

Aside from instrument terminology, here are ten vocabulary words for stringed instruments I believe are good ones to start weaving into your teaching as soon as possible.  Of course these can and should be modified to be age appropriate. If a student is very young the memorization part can wait a while until they are able to handle some of the trickier words, but you can still use them during lessons and while speaking to parents to increase the child’s awareness of vocabulary terms. Exposure is key!   You can introduce these words during the lesson, make a list with definitions for students to take home, use flash cards, whatever you feel will be most effective.

bow – how to thank an audience for listening to what has been played.  Start in rest position, bend forward from the hip for three seconds, and return to standing rest position. With a smile!

bow hold – the correct way to place fingers on top of the frog, thumb around the bottom, and pinky resting on top of the screw.

focus – concentration and attention to what is happening during the lesson. Shows mutual respect between the student, teacher, and parent.  The Suzuki Triangle!

intonation – proper placement of fingers on the fingerboard, so the note sounded is exactly in tune.

playing position – violin up on the shoulder, left hand extended and fingers ready to play, bow set between the bridge and top of the fingerboard with a solid bow hold.

posture – standing up tall with a straight spine, feet firmly planted about shoulder width apart, no slouching.

practice – devotion to musical studies by accurate repetition of exercises, new songs, and review. Practicing should happen daily, until assignments come naturally and new ones are given.

rest position – violin tucked to the side under right arm, bow in right hand and hanging straight down. Feet are together, facing forward.

rhythm – organized movement of music through time, can be sounds or silence.

scale – sequence of notes ascending or descending at least one octave.

These are some words I find myself using and explaining on a regular basis.  As my beginning students practice and mature we will definitely be adding to this list!

Fiddlehead Fashion: Leather and Lace Trim

There were a couple of events to play for this past weekend, and I wore this outfit to both a garden party with The Eskimo Girls and a celebration of St. George’s Day at London Calling, a local classic English pasty food truck. The Celtic Crew played at that event though if I’m not mistaken the Irish and the English are basically loathsome enemies. At any rate Ireland was at one time part of the British Isles and people love the music!  I have zero issues with wearing the same thing more than once, so this was an easy go-to for the weekend.

There’s no reason put up pretenses about this – I’m not a fashion plate by any means! Though at times I make a more valiant effort than others to look put together, depending on the occasion. One of my favorite designers – to look longingly at his clothes but never buy – said this and it quite resonated with me. So I at least halfway try if it’s anything other than schlepping my way out to get groceries or coffee or go to yoga. “Dressing well is a form of good manners” – Tom Ford

So while I’m definitely not in designer duds, I am all about comfort and ease of movement when I play – I can’t have clothes that are too fussy or get in my way. Last summer I loved a particular draping sweater and wore it a number of times at shows before I finally got the point that it wasn’t working out. It was super fun with flower crocheted designs and fringe hanging down, but I kept getting bracelets caught in the holes or the fringe would wrap around my cords on stage. Only a bit distracting.. so it got relegated to the ‘no show’ portion of my wardrobe.

Also worth noting: I am a total novice when it comes to photoshop.  All the ways it can make pictures just a bit prettier seem quite complicated and time consuming, but I’ve been giving it a try.  Thank goodness for the new actions from A Beautiful Mess! I’m particularly fond of “Norma” and have been using variations of it for these photos. Hopefully my skills will improve as I go along, but this mostly one-click editing thing is pretty rad.

As a whole I like this outfit. The peeking lace adds an element of interest to what could otherwise be a rather typical sundress. I adore florals and wear them often, but if the print is too loud it can drape in a not so flattering manner over curves and edges. Since I’m not too sickly sweet of a person, the jacket and booties edge it up enough so I feel comfortable.

Photo credit: My love!
Kitty Meow also made an appearance, being her usual curious kitty self!