Nanny Music #30 – I want that gold

Tags

aladdin, Arts, Bowed Strings, Cello, competition, Jasmine, Lia, Music, Stringed, Violin

Even I just tell her to do her best, this was what Lia told me before the classical violin competition. Turn out she got two gold medals, a bursary and one trophy proves she is the best in the division and the other one to show she had the best quality of performance in the whole competition. And she got invited to the Honours Concert and a chance to compete in the provincial competition. It all start with a ridiculous competition which let cellist compete with violinist judged by an adjudicator knows nothing about cello. No matter how good the cellist is the violin music always sounds harder and more appealing. Lia played cello that time and lost to a violin player who seems not handle the music piece well. She didn’t gave up, and determine to do better in violin competition after that.

The mind power drive her to reach far, not only winning. When she played you can see how the determination pull her whole strength and concentration into the music. You can also see her close her eyes to put her whole mind in the beautiful world of music.

Same mind power get her the first trumpet position in school honor band and the academic honor roll and lead actress in biennial musical play. The perfection she try to reach is much more meaningful to her than all the honors she got. after she got all A’s on the report card she still work very hard on the test. I asked, don’t you get an A on that subject already. She replied,”I want to be better.” Yes, her thirst for perfection is always pushing her forward.

Nanny music #24 – Sacrifice a little earlier, gain a lot later

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Art, Cello, Classical music, competition, Fiddle, Karate, Lia, Music, Saskatchewan, winning

 

.Playing 4 instruments ( violin, cello, piano trumpet), clogging, karate, it sounds a lot to a kid. But Lia seems manage well. She won first in every fiddle contests from BC to Saskatchewan; got 100% on every tests in school, even got a lead role in her school biannual play. and a music award from jazz band. She is working on getting her brown and black belt in Karate. And she is still have to do some chore in the house.

All these achievements come with a price, she can’t go play with friends as much as she wanted to. Even occasionally she got to hangout with friends and even a sleep over, she know she have to practice every day as a commitment for her future. and the time management skill she got from her busy life is priceless too. She don’t have a “tiger mom” asked her to skip all school activity and family chore to concentrate on main school subjects. She don’t have strict musician parents only allowed classical music or one specific instrument. But all her learning somehow help each instruments and sports. Such as her strength on her fingers from cello playing and symphony practice helped her playing twin fiddle with her brother and winning fiddle contests; the karate discipline taught her working hard in school; and the dance lessons give her the feel of the beat for music.

Is it too much for her age, maybe. But Chinese said “bitter first, sweet later”, ” bear what others won’t, and you’ll gain what others can’t” simply it just “if one won’t work hard when one still young, one will be pathetic when one is old.” The sacrifice of her free time now is already paying off and her future will be limitless if she don’t give up trying.

 

Nanny Music #18 – different approach

Tags

Cello, Fiddle, Russia, Violin

Changing the kids violin teacher again because Lia really want to play violin in the orchestra but not just cello, and we think they need a little boost by the recitals, camp, exam and the bigger environment with their peers. Since their first violin teacher retired, this is the third time we are looking for a violin teacher. According to the teacher to be, they are well-trained, so we are not looking for a “better”‘ teacher. Besides, Lia is with the same cello teacher since the beginning. So why?

The second violin teacher they have is from Russia, he is a nice and experienced teacher with super playing skill. During the years with him, Kai and Lia got very solid foundation but lost interest and slow down the progress because of his strict training style a few years later. He hates fiddlers and think the bad posture some fiddlers have would ruin the kids. We found a local teacher later on who is younger and won’t mind Kai and Lia play fiddle. She get along with the kids and bring them to advanced level, but Kai and Lia lost chance to participate in the recitals because she don’t have many students.  Their learning slow down again because lack of stimulation. And Kai is even thinking of quitting. So here we go again.  In different phrase of learning we found they need different approach, either bring more interest or need more polish on detail or just a little push with recital or competition. A good teacher is not exactly the one with the best reputation but the one fit their learning phrase in the moment. Lia is lucky to have a cello teacher willing and able to bend his teaching to grow with her. All the encouragement when she is younger and long-term personalized planning really pay off. All their violin teachers also help them a step a time in different way. Change or not is not the main point but to keep them going to reach the top need both parents and teachers work together and find what the students really need.

Nanny Music # 17 – the kid’s view

Tags

Arts, Cello, Education, Educators, K through 12, Lia, Star War, Star Wars, Teacher, United States, Violin

When we drive by piles of logs, Lia show her sympathy, “poor dead trees” I reminded her, “Your violin and cello are made of dead trees.” She replied, “That’s different, my instruments can be used many times. Making papers is waste.” “So we need to recycle them.”

Her cello teacher usually good at teaching kids in kids words, he would pretend using the sword from Star Wars ‘zoom, zoom’ cutting the thumb stick out the cello neck so she won’t choke the cello. Or tell her don’t ruin Mrs. Smith’s garden when she put her bow too close to the finger board. Her violin teacher would tell her and Kai, it’s just like the Canucks always go to the gym when they don’t have games, practice scales is violinists’ work out.

Doesn’t matter how good the teachers can play or teach, if they talk in the kid’s language, the youngster usually accept better and show more interest what they are learning. That usually the way we choose their teacher. They might not have most famous teachers. But a teacher fit their taste and able to fix their problems in a kid friendly way is the best for them. And we are lucky to find some around.

Nanny Music #16- double blast

Tags

Art, Arts, Au pair, Cello, Childcare, Daniel Lapp, Family, Fiddle, Lia, Music, Nanny, Stringed, Violin

Image via Wikipedia

Lia‘s teacher email us an exciting email said, “Lia is really starting to blossom on the cello! She looks like a little pro, which means she is starting to sound like a little pro.” And there is a famous fiddler Daniel Lapp comment on her score sheet in a fiddle contest with one word, ‘Wow!’ Sometime people think she should concentrate learning one instrument, but why? If she can handle both violin and cello and do both in the pro level, why not continue both. quit anyone will be a lost for her. There is time we need to be forced to make choice but do you really want to if you don’t need to?

Even violin and cello are quite different in playing method, the two instruments have some similarities. And Lia is not just manage the differences well, she is also able to take advantage from each instrument to make both sound better. While playing cello make her fingers stronger to play on violin, the lilt style she got from fiddling make her cello playing really stand out. So have double skills isn’t a bad thing, is it?

Nanny Music #10- secret weapon

Tags

Antonio Vivaldi, Arts, Bruce Lee, Cello, Fiddle, Lia, Music, Piano, Sonata, Violin, Vivaldi

Image via Wikipedia

When the piano adjudicator Murray Nichol asked Lia if she like the piece she played because she got the rhythm well, and how amazing she can manage her chords with her little hands. Or the violin master Robert Skelton said, when listened her cello playing, that she has lilt in the allegro of Vivaldi‘s Sonata and how she has flexible wrist on the bow arm to make beautiful sound. I want to tell them badly that those feeling all come from fiddle training. Yes, fiddle music give her the sense of expression, lilt, danceable style, etc. When other music players concentrate the intonation, technique stuff, her music went flying with her feeling. I am not saying the technique stuff is not important, they are essential. But what is the real music, does it come from what you feel in your heart, and not just the notes in the paper? No matter how good a robot has been programed, it is far from to be a good musician. The crazy excitement bursts out from a musician’s brain is what music touches us. Lia’s teacher is right, fiddle is her secret weapon. I would say the cello and piano training also bolder her fiddle playing. It just like Bruce Lee combined and adjusted all the best elements from different martial Arts to be his own style. All she learned help her enriches her music, maybe one day she will narrow down and concentrate on one kind of music or create a new style. I am happy gave her chance to explore.