Fiddlin' Frenzy

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Fiddlin' Frenzy

Tag Archives: Music education

Nanny Music #32 – What do you do

09 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by Fiddlin' Frenzy in Uncategorized

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Classical music, Compact Disc, Fiddle, Lia, Music, Music education, Teacher, Violin

After the kids won the talent show, someone approach to me and asked who is their teacher. He assumed I will say the names well-known locally. Well, one of their teacher, Calvin Dyck, teaches Lia classical music is a famous musician who owned a doctor degree. But that’s not the reason I chose him for the lessons. He has a very powerful colorful style and uses a fun method to teach. And he loves fiddle music. I was amazed by the detail and expression he brought into music and surely he made a big change to the kids performance. I understands why others always want to know who is the kids’ teacher, most parents want the best for their children and if they can get the same teacher as my kids, they will give their children a jump-start.

My children might be lucky to have different teacher to help them through different stages. Their second classical teacher force them to read music instead of copy him. He also took out the tape on their violin from the previous teacher to train them get in tone by ears and it really open another chapter. Their third teacher speed up their path by introduce fun pieces. And their last teacher is like a martial art master bring them into power and style which are not on the paper. When they were 8 and 9, fiddle master Calvin Vollrath took them in his own class in the fiddle camp, a pioneer step no one else dare to do. he gave them a chance to learn in professional level at very young age.

Yes those good teachers make significant changes. Buy when my son start to teach as charity, Dr Dyck told him, he can’t just teach anyone, but only the one who want to learn. I found out later it is true. But not just about the kid but also the parents. Kai has a couple brilliant students who learn fast. We helped them get a donated violin and drove Kai to their place to teach for free. We suggested them to join the local fiddle club to get in camp free. When all sounded good, their parents kept cancelling lessons because they are busy and they never show up in the camp or club. Why they were asking help and not cooperate with the teacher?

I also heard a friend said her son got MVP but she can’t let him be in the baseball game that summer because they HAVE TO go to their share-time cabin for vacation. What? Anything special happened to my kids maybe the only chance to make a change to their life, what are those parents thinking?

It bothers me when I see kids stand like statures in a fiddle group while others perform because they only know a few songs. The first time my children join the local fiddle club they are just beginners in playing violin. I didn’t let them sit there to watch other’s play. I told them picking up their little violins and follow others’ fingers. in a half year they are winning in contest, getting paid gigs and even recorded with the club in the CD. Do you dare to let your kids try?

To find a good teacher is important but more important is your input for your children. When you complain your kids don’t practice enough, please play some music to let them fall in love with it. When you envy with other kids play better, maybe work with the music teacher a little close, not just drop the kids off for lessons and take off. My daughter heard a Beethoven piece played in the movie, she said it’s so beautiful, I want to play it. So I searched all night on-line to find the sheet music. Do you ever do that? When you kids want to play something harder than the level they are learning, do you encourage them or say you can’t do it? Do you ever let your kids holding a pretend violin to mimic the musician? Do you play music for your kids since they still in the womb? So don’t blame the kids or teacher, check how much did you do.

 

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Nanny Music #31-Recycle orchestra and music teachers

17 Sunday Mar 2013

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Arts, Asia, Education, lesson, Music, Music education, Music lesson, Teacher

One of Dryden, Ontario's Landfill's. This one ...

One of Dryden, Ontario’s Landfill’s. This one is located in Barclay. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Because of our own financial problem, I encourage my children to help other kids when they can. since they start to perform at very young age, they have being the volunteer entertainers of Child Run,an annual fundraising event for BC Children Hospital. Now they established a charity program to teach kids from low-income family for free. We always know how hard it is to pay for music lessons and buy instruments as we experienced it ourselves.

Just saw a trail of a documentary film called Landfill Harmonic, a couple of music professors and a luthier is help the poorest kids who live in a landfill city make instruments from trash and teach them to play. They took those amazing sounding young musicians on tour in Europe with their instruments made from garbage. One of the orchestra kids’ father said they make a living by resell the trash, surviving day by day. They don’t have money to buy any instrument or pay music lesson. And his daughter said she can’t live without music. I cried when I heard the outstanding music they played. My guitar teacher who is the best in Asia want to teach me for free too when I was young. I asked him why, he said, because you really want to learn. Unfortunately I couldn’t continue the lessons because of some family issue.

a few days ago a music teacher send me an article written by a music parent who is an economist talking about why music teacher should charge the missing lesson without give out make up lesson. He compare music lesson with swimming lesson, he said, you can’t ask for make up lesson for swimming or university class so you shouldn’t ask make-up music lesson if your kid is sick. he forget one thing swimming lessons and university classes are group lessons if you missed one you can ask your friend, or the instructor to give you a tip or assignment within short time. But music lessons are set for individual, private lessons. Music skill take time to progress and very detail learning in person there is nothing a friend or assignment can catch it up like a make-up lesson will do. Plus in a group lesson the instructor already spend his time with other students, of course it’s not fair for him to spend extra time with single student. But for private music lesson, the teacher won’t need to do anything if the student is not there, so make-up lesson is just move the same amount of time he spend on teaching to different spot. He doesn’t lose anything.

what a contrast, the music professors teaching for free to change lives, and a rich parent want the teacher enjoy his free time when his kid missed a lesson. My family struggle financially, even my kids have some talent and they need a good teacher I can’t afford to pay a lesson not taught. I think the professor in the movie know that and he won’t ask for money from the landfill orchestra. Music teachers need the tuition for living, but get paid even their student is sick or can’t make it to the lesson, umm. I know I want my children to be the music teachers who give to make a change.

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Nanny Music #20 – learning through teaching

25 Thursday Aug 2011

Posted by Fiddlin' Frenzy in Uncategorized

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Education, fiddle teacher, Music, Music education, Music theory, Sheet music, Teacher

Magic wand

Image via Wikipedia

Kai got his first fiddle student, a 6 years old little girl who have no music training at all. She is like a blank canvas ready to be painted. Her colourful life depends on Kai’s teaching. Will she like music as much as her first music teacher? Will her music approach go even farther? The sky is unlimited. And Kai definitely will learn how to deal with a mini musician to be, to bring her interest with his violin and bow like a magic wand. Sure the little blank paper will make Kai think and learn to not just be a better player but also a better teacher.

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