Recital

Sal played in her first real recital yesterday (on a stage, playing an actual song.) I think I had more stage fright than she did- my heart was pumping, hands shaking. But Sal skipped up, played Go Tell Aunt Rhody like she could do it in her sleep, and then skipped away. I was so proud of her.

Here is Sal with her teacher, Ingrid. We have this great trade- I teach her daughter and she teaches mine. That way we have a lesson to prepare for and can say things like, "Ms. Ingrid says you have to do it this way." It has been so great. Ingrid is a supremely patient teacher. She is silly and fun and Sal loves her. The added bonus is that I get to see some new ideas in action and often use them right away with my own students. It inspires me to get more teacher training. I love getting a new perspective. Wish I could be a fly on the wall in so many studios!

Sal and I practice together every day. I struggle with not being to hard on her. I have more patience with my own students when they misbehave, although I will end a lesson if the student doesn't come around. Sal plays very well when she is focused and happy, and very badly when she is distracted or unhappy. She has a tendency to be very silly. Sal is very good at placing her violin in the right place and is a very enthusiastic player (I have to remind her to not move too much while she plays.) She gets sloppy with her bow hold, but is quick to fix it when I remind her. She doesn't have the best ear in the world, but we're working on it. Most of all, Sal is a very happy, enthusiastic girl and I hope to preserve that in her violin playing. I need to strike a balance between working hard and doing things right with helping her feeling the pleasure of being able to play well. We'll see. We are seriously considering getting her a banjo that she can work on with Scott. She says she wants to, but I know she won't always want to practice. I guess that's how it goes.