Random thoughts

Back in the Lou

I drove home late Friday night because I had a couple of weddings yesterday. May I just say how thankful I was that all the weddings yesterday were inside, as it was 95 degrees outside. That air conditioning is a wonderful thing!

Today is a day off for me, so I’ve been organizing my binder with my materials from the week…wow, so much wonderful information to digest! I also have a long suggested reading list to get through–many suggestions on how children learn and motivation. I’ll be busy reading for the next few months! First on my list is a new book by Ed Kreitman that I picked up at the institute: Teaching With an Open Heart. He’s the author of Teaching from the Balance Point, which is a brilliant book on how to teach.

The Suzuki Triangle:  Parent, Child, Teacher

My home away from home!

Food, Teaching

Guy and Mae’s Tavern

Tonight we went out for dinner with the whole Book Four class.  We decided to go to a nearby “town” for barbecue ribs, to Guy and Mae’s Tavern.  We split some ribs, and had potato salad, baked beans, and spicy pickles.  It was all very delicious!  The restaurant is in a tiny town called Williamsburg.  I am continually (I don’t know why, but I am) surprised by how far apart towns in the western half of the US are, and how those towns might not contain much.  But that was some excellent “barbecue.”  Of course, it’s not barbecue as I know it from South Carolina, but that is another story entirely.

Lesson from dinner:  students should chew gum during lessons to keep their jaws relaxed.

Main lesson of the day:  Lighten left hand fingers.  You don’t want to press down too hard.  Try to slide a business card between the fingers and the fingerboard.  You should be able to touch the fingernail and feel it vibrating.

Performing, Teaching

Technique first

It’s been a long two and half days so far here in Ottawa.  Here’s the main thing I have learned with Susan Kempter (who is just WONDERFUL and brilliant!).  Teach technique first–the songs are merely a means to an end.  We want to be able to teach the music, but without what she refers to as the “basic six,” the child is not going to be able to progress properly.

Basic six:

1. Feet

2. Trunk

3. Neck

4. Right Hand

5. Left Hand

6. Eyes

I would expand upon those more, but I’m exhausted after a 14 hour day!  I will try to do so later, but mainly that those aspects of the body must be in alignment and free of tension.

14 hour day you say?  Well, breakfast, 2 1/2 hours of teacher trainer class, followed by 1 hour observation, 1 hour lecture, lunch, 1 hour recital, 2 hours observation, 1 hour of an enrichment class about how to motivate various personality types (by Ruth Meints of Omaha, NE), dinner, evening concert…wow!  I also tried to get in a bit of a walk so the day wasn’t totally sedentary, though today I only managed 30 minutes.  I’ve got my alarm set for up so I can get that out of the way first tomorrow.

Three more long days to go.  Much more scribbling on note paper ahead of me.  Must sleep.

Teaching

Day one complete!

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I drove to Ottawa, Kansas this morning. The drive took about five hours and was very easy. I found Ottawa University with no problem, and waited a bit to check in for my teacher training. My teacher trainer, Susan Kempter, seems terrific so far–she has a lot of new and different ideas from previous teachers I’ve had, but I think that’s good! One of the reasons I’ve become such a teacher training addict lately is that I have become obsessed with having more ideas for teaching. So far she is very interested in setting the left hand up to the detriment of the right hand if necessary, and more emphasis on scales and then arpeggios rather than tonalization. We did an overview of Books 1-3 today, and tomorrow will dive into the first Seitz Concerto.

We had three hours of class and then had to wait in line to get our keys/cards for the dorm and the cafeteria. The dorm is very nice. Two rooms share a bathroom, and I’m sharing with another woman from my class, Amy. All of the other women in the class (yes, all women, it’s almost always women!) seem very nice and friendly. The dorm is next to the track, which I spent awhile on this evening after dinner. The cafeteria is about what I expected, which is just fine, to be expected for mass feeding.

Tomorrow is an early start and a busy day! 8 am Teacher trainer class followed by various lectures and observations. I better get some rest 🙂

Teaching

Week off (ish!)

I finished my last wedding of the weekend, and tomorrow drive to Kansas for Suzuki Institute…a whole week of no teaching, only watching others teach…so it’s sort of a week off. Also a week off from cooking, cleaning, being yelled at by my cat…you get the picture…

I have acquired a few new students over the summer–some are completely new to violin, some just new to me. Transfer students can be tough at first (mine actually aren’t, but I have experienced this in the past.) The main problems can be either that the student has poor technique and needs help, or that you are just too different from their old teacher and they have trouble adjusting. It’s easier, in a way, to start a student fresh, without any bad habits or preconceived notions. Of course, I enjoy teaching all students, beginners and up, and often to get that “and up” I need students who have started elsewhere. (Or I need many years in one place!).

I’ll try to update with what I learn in Ottawa. I am not sure how hectic the schedule will be compared to Columbus last summer, but I’m sure it will be similarly busy. I can’t wait!

Weddings

Wedding Music thoughts

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I think Panis Angelicus by Franck is really beautiful. When I get married I want it to be played at my wedding. My favorite arrangement is the one I have for quartet…just SO beautiful. Of course, I also love Pachelbel’s Canon, but played in a romantic way, not baroque.

Why do I mention this? Clients often ask me for ideas. It’s tough to decide something so important as wedding processional music for somebody else, but I always have lots of ideas. For recent processionals we’ve played Pachelbel Canon (of course), Wagner’s Wedding March, Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring, but also Moonlight Serenade, Clocks by Coldplay, and “Mooshabum” by Feist. So that’s a pretty wide range! Remember, for YOUR wedding, you should pick something you love or at least that you find absolutely beautiful. Or pick something you hate, so you won’t cry! (A friend did this–well, not something she hated, but something ridiculous that made her giggle instead.)

thoughts about violin, teaching, running, life.