It's very rare that someone decides to take on learning an instrument without a few stages of "I want to quit" time. And sadly, it's even more rare for someone to go straight through with their music education all the way until high school is over. Let's cut to the chase today and begin to examine "Sally's" violin experience:
*Ages 8 or below-Sally is a six-year-old girl who saw a violin player on TV and wanted to be just like that person. So, she starts violin lessons. She's extremely enthusiastic. Her parents are excited and just as, if not more, enthusiastic as Sally is. The music is all of her favorite songs. "Twinkle twinkle", "Mary had a Little Lamb", etc. All is peaches and rainbows!!!!!!!'
Ages 8-12-Sally is now 10, so she has four years of playing under her belt. The great thing is, coming and going to and from lessons is common routine for her at this point. And guess what: all of the kids at school are beginning to learn an instrument! It's the cool thing to do! Sally's best friend, Kristy, even decides to begin the violin! To top it off, Sally is four years ahead of her peers since she started early! It's safe to assume Sally was in a front seat at this point. Her teacher loves her, her parents are proud, her friends want to be as good as her, and everyone is happy.
Ages 13-17-Sally realizes the music is getting difficult and requires more practicing. She's becoming lazier at home and would much rather text, tweet, and talk on the phone. A lot of her friends at school quitting their instruments, including her best friend, Kristy. In fact, the only students who seem to not be quitting...we'll just say....are certainly not in the popular group. "Is playing an instrument nerdy?" she begins to ask herself. She observes the "cool kids" in school are cheerleaders and wished she had pursued that. (The irony of this situation-rather than people cheering for her after a performance, she'd rather be on the sideline cheering for others.) Sally also has taken an interest to boys...she develops her first crush on this boy in her science class. He gives her that "butterfly feeling" in her stomach which she's never felt before. Her violin doesn't give her that! Now, she begins to wear make-up, hang out at the mall, and the mirror is her new best friend. Sally can see she's becoming very attractive! Her violin is pretty much a headache at this point; for the parents and for Sally. Her mom is sick of reminding her to practice, because half of the time, Sally resists which ultimately causes a battle between the two. School is more demanding, and in her spare time, Sally has much more important things to do, like paint her nails. (It's cool to have good nails...it's not really cool to play the violin.) Her mom contemplates in her head if all of this trouble is worth it. After all, the lessons are an extra expense and the violin is clearly adding to the family's stress level. Maybe she should just say "screw it" and let her daughter quit like all of her friends have.
***THIS IS WHEN THE PARENTS GIVE IN AND LET THEIR CHILD QUIT OR THEY STAY FIRM. In Sally's case, her parents made her stick with it.***
Ages 18-21-At this point, Sally has a lot of great experiences to put on her resume thanks to her violin playing: community service, orchestra, etc. What college wouldn't appreciate that? Sally got into Penn State, the college of her dreams. She goes to college and decides to major in finance. While visiting home during the holidays and a few weekends, Sally picks up her violin here and there. Her private lessons are over, so now when she picks it up, it's simply for pleasure purposes. Things have also cooled down between her mom and her, and Sally actually feels bad for being so difficult.
Ages 21 and over-Sally graduates from college and her violin is home waiting for her. Every time she talks to someone about it, they are instantly impressed she has that talent. It's almost like she has a super power. "Wow, that is awesome! I used to play an instrument when I was younger...man I wish I stuck with it" is typically the response she receives. She begins to reflect back on her life and feels fortunate she never quit. "Just think, I wanted to quit basically so I had more time to paint my nails." It's actually "cool" to play violin in the real world, where people appreciate all of your hard work throughout the years to do something they never have completed. Anyone can have painted nails...but certainly not anyone can play an instrument, let alone, play it beautifully as Sally can.
Ironically enough, her old high school crush ran into her and he, too, is impressed. Who would've thought?!?! Kristy watches Sally play and regrets quitting. She's thinking of starting up again...and who better to teach her, than Sally? If only she stuck with it so she didn't have to start from square one again. Imagine how much further ahead she would've been by now.
Sally plays for her church during the holidays and she always makes sure to bring her violin for family functions. She even plays for her work parties. Everyone is so intrigued by her playing!! Other times, she plays at home after a long, hectic, day.
Sally gets married, and her husband loves to listen to her play. They get blessed with a baby boy.
......The rest is history.
Til next time,
~Givi Girl
*Ages 8 or below-Sally is a six-year-old girl who saw a violin player on TV and wanted to be just like that person. So, she starts violin lessons. She's extremely enthusiastic. Her parents are excited and just as, if not more, enthusiastic as Sally is. The music is all of her favorite songs. "Twinkle twinkle", "Mary had a Little Lamb", etc. All is peaches and rainbows!!!!!!!'Ages 8-12-Sally is now 10, so she has four years of playing under her belt. The great thing is, coming and going to and from lessons is common routine for her at this point. And guess what: all of the kids at school are beginning to learn an instrument! It's the cool thing to do! Sally's best friend, Kristy, even decides to begin the violin! To top it off, Sally is four years ahead of her peers since she started early! It's safe to assume Sally was in a front seat at this point. Her teacher loves her, her parents are proud, her friends want to be as good as her, and everyone is happy.
Ages 13-17-Sally realizes the music is getting difficult and requires more practicing. She's becoming lazier at home and would much rather text, tweet, and talk on the phone. A lot of her friends at school quitting their instruments, including her best friend, Kristy. In fact, the only students who seem to not be quitting...we'll just say....are certainly not in the popular group. "Is playing an instrument nerdy?" she begins to ask herself. She observes the "cool kids" in school are cheerleaders and wished she had pursued that. (The irony of this situation-rather than people cheering for her after a performance, she'd rather be on the sideline cheering for others.) Sally also has taken an interest to boys...she develops her first crush on this boy in her science class. He gives her that "butterfly feeling" in her stomach which she's never felt before. Her violin doesn't give her that! Now, she begins to wear make-up, hang out at the mall, and the mirror is her new best friend. Sally can see she's becoming very attractive! Her violin is pretty much a headache at this point; for the parents and for Sally. Her mom is sick of reminding her to practice, because half of the time, Sally resists which ultimately causes a battle between the two. School is more demanding, and in her spare time, Sally has much more important things to do, like paint her nails. (It's cool to have good nails...it's not really cool to play the violin.) Her mom contemplates in her head if all of this trouble is worth it. After all, the lessons are an extra expense and the violin is clearly adding to the family's stress level. Maybe she should just say "screw it" and let her daughter quit like all of her friends have.
***THIS IS WHEN THE PARENTS GIVE IN AND LET THEIR CHILD QUIT OR THEY STAY FIRM. In Sally's case, her parents made her stick with it.***
Ages 18-21-At this point, Sally has a lot of great experiences to put on her resume thanks to her violin playing: community service, orchestra, etc. What college wouldn't appreciate that? Sally got into Penn State, the college of her dreams. She goes to college and decides to major in finance. While visiting home during the holidays and a few weekends, Sally picks up her violin here and there. Her private lessons are over, so now when she picks it up, it's simply for pleasure purposes. Things have also cooled down between her mom and her, and Sally actually feels bad for being so difficult.
Ages 21 and over-Sally graduates from college and her violin is home waiting for her. Every time she talks to someone about it, they are instantly impressed she has that talent. It's almost like she has a super power. "Wow, that is awesome! I used to play an instrument when I was younger...man I wish I stuck with it" is typically the response she receives. She begins to reflect back on her life and feels fortunate she never quit. "Just think, I wanted to quit basically so I had more time to paint my nails." It's actually "cool" to play violin in the real world, where people appreciate all of your hard work throughout the years to do something they never have completed. Anyone can have painted nails...but certainly not anyone can play an instrument, let alone, play it beautifully as Sally can. Ironically enough, her old high school crush ran into her and he, too, is impressed. Who would've thought?!?! Kristy watches Sally play and regrets quitting. She's thinking of starting up again...and who better to teach her, than Sally? If only she stuck with it so she didn't have to start from square one again. Imagine how much further ahead she would've been by now.
Sally plays for her church during the holidays and she always makes sure to bring her violin for family functions. She even plays for her work parties. Everyone is so intrigued by her playing!! Other times, she plays at home after a long, hectic, day.
Sally gets married, and her husband loves to listen to her play. They get blessed with a baby boy.
......The rest is history.
Til next time,
~Givi Girl
No comments:
Post a Comment