Lets Rock The House....
Lets Rock The House....
Yeah, I know I havent put up the other posts yet that I have been working on but this one was more important.
As you all know, my daughter is nine years old. Last year she decided that she wanted to play the violin. Actually she wanted the drums but that wasnt happening. Even though my mom indulged me in my musical whims, we dont have a garage here. Trust me, a drumset in the livingroom is not going to happen any time soon.
Originally she wanted a guitar too. I picked one up for her for Christmas and she seemed to take right to it. She got the book and a little CD thing but she prefered to play on her own. Im the type that can usually figure out how to play an instrument and I have played quite a few. Guitar was not one of them. I took lessons in various instruments wen I was in school but I always had this one thing that held be back on it. I cant read music. I have tried and tried with various teachers to show me, but I just couldnt do it. I could play by ear very well though.
So when my kid tells me that she wants to play an instrument, Im all for it. But Im going to makie sure that she has the best teachers I can afford so that she will be able to read music. Not that I didnt have great teachers. I just couldnt read it. Anywho, last year, the strings teacher announced to the school that she applied for a grant for more string instruments and it was granted. She received 20 new violins for the school. That was so awesome.
After the assembly was over, I saw my kid go up to her and ask if she could play one of them. At this time, she was 8 and in 3rd grade. This was not allowed because instruments are to only be played from 4th grade and up. But Colleen, being the sweetheart that she is, let Cami play one and said that since she was ADHD, this would be a great tool for her to use as a structure for learning. But we cant let the principal know. Not that it wouldnt really be allowed but for the fact that she might have a problem with a 3rd grader doing this.
Well she picked up that violin and started to play somethign random on it and she was good. She really liked it and it was set in stone that she would be taking lessons. This was a little late in the year for anything serious but she would try. And try she did. She was able to play in the Spring concert last year and she did very well. She only knew one song but that was enough. I was proud. But then came the big one. All City. Would she be able to play for All City? You bet she did. My mom came up from Florida early so that she could see her little baby play at one of the most beautiful places here. I myself have never played here and to see my child on that stage was just wonderful. I cried through the whole thing.
But remember that last year was not a serious thing regarding her learning to play. But she was playing and she ended up with the older kids. The violin seems to be a true talent for her. But then there was also the issue of the guitar. Colleen also teaches guitar at her house. So every Thursday after school, Cami went to her house to learn to play the guitar. We stopped those lessons when Colleen had her daughter. I figured that it might be too much on Colleen to do alot at the time so we decided to resume the lessons in the Fall.
I am sorry to say that we havent picked up on the guitar lessons but we focused more on the violin. Grandpa bought her a violin. I got a great deal on a very very nice one for her. One that was slightly used. Actually it was used three times when the previous owner discovered that he needed a larger size. So it was traded in. We bought it for Cami for a much less price that it should have gone for. A couple hundred less to be exact. So she became the proud owner of a Palatino.
Now comes the Fall of this year and she started back up with lessons at school. She was placed again with the older kids because she was able to keep up with them and she was learning very quickly. She is now in 4th grade and she really started to advance more and more. Then I got the notice for NYSSMA. This is the New York State School Music Association. This is a big deal for kids that are serious in their performance. It may sound geeky but really, this is a big deal.
Cami told me that she wanted to go to this and I asked Colleen if she was ready. She said that she was more than ready but kids that tend to go to this are more older and have done this for a few years. But she said that she knows that Cami will do a great job and thats when I signed the papers and paid for the regristration for her to go. But it was only three months away and I was hoping she could handle it.
Cami was given the piece that she needed to learn to play. Within a week she had the first half of the song pretty much down pat. I give her credit for this because I would not have been able to do so. Especially in such a short period of time. But each week, she had her normal lesson and then a private lesson to prepare for this event. I was a little shocked that she was the only one that was going from her school. Colleen said that she had some other kids from other schools that would be going but Cami was the only one from her school. Not that there werent any kids there that couldnt do this, just none that didnt want to.
As the time ticked on, I was a little worried that she would change her mind. But she told me that she was determined to get this song done. Yesterday (Sat the 30th) was the big day. Im not sure who was more nervous, me or her. But we traveled to the location of the festival and we went inside to get the papers she needed. Mind you that we are abouat an hour from home.
We made it there at about noonish and her scheduled time to perform was at about 230pm. Its always wise to get there early to get parking and find the room. Plus time to warm up and make sure everything is ready. Like I said before, to a muscian, this is a serious thing.
We went up to the room and signed in there. I called Colleen to tell her that we were there and that we found the room. She was not in the building as she was getting coffee somewhere else. The judge said that we could have gone in then and there but Cami wanted her teacher there with her. So we opted to just stick with the original time. We then went down to the gym to practice and all that good stuff.
While in there, it was overwhelming with about a hundred others playing various instruments and songs all at once. Cami watched some of the others and then said to me that she didnt think she was as good as they were and that she wanted to go home. I told her not to go by that because those kids have been playing alot longer and that some day, she would be playing just like them and some little girl would say the same thing about her.
That sort of boosted her confidence and she picked up her violin and started to practice. Colleen came in with a few other kids that she teaches and they all sat down to warm up as well. There was another girl that sat next to Cami that was playing the same song. Cami leaned over to tell me that the girl didnt know how to play it right. I told her that she was just learning as well and that everyone doesnt play the same. So Cami continued to play and the girl said that she wasnt sure she was good enough to be there because Cami was better. I told the girl the same thing that I told Cami. This isnt a competition with other kids. Its something that you do for yourself. That boosted her up and she continued to play.
The noise was getting to be too much so we decided to go get a snack and walk around outside for a while. We had another hour to kill before we had to be back upstairs. We watched kids come and go with all their instruments and one was even carting in a full size harp. I would hate to see how that thing was getting down stairs to a gym or even upstairs to a performance room.
The hour ticked by and it was time for Cami to go upstairs to the room. We are both very nervous now and I called Colleen to meet us there. There were two kids ahead of us so we waited out in the hall for our turn. It seemed like hours went by. Actually it was only about 20 minutes. Colleen waited with us and then it was time to go in. I waited out in the hall with her dad and we were both pretty quiet so that we could try to hear through the door. Of course, we couldnt hear anything.
It seemed like an hour went by and then Colleen came out. She had a big smile on her face and said that she was doing awesome. She was amazed at how well she performed. She had a couple of little minor things that she did wrong but nothing thathad to do with the music itself. She just paused a couple of times and her bow slipped once. But she said that she did great. No one could be in the room for the sight reading part though. This is where the judge gives her a random scale to play to see that she knows how to read the music and that she is not just playing something from memory.
Cami came out of the room and said that it was too easy. She said that she was all worried for nothing and that sort of relieved me but not enough. We needed to hear what the judge had to say. Apparently he was quite pleased that a 9 year old performed the way she did as a Level 1. Being that this is the first year of her lessons, she probably couple have done a Level 2 or higher. He said she played beautifully and perfectly and he was thrilled to have heard her.
Colleen told us that she would call us to let us know about her final score. It could take a half hour to at least 4 hours before she gets the paper. She said to go on home and she would call later. So we drove all the way home and we waited. Very nervously, I might add. I called her at about 4:30 and left a message. She called back at about 5:30 with the result. They judge on a series of items. Posture, bow handling, tone, you name it. For a level one, they can get an Outstanding at 26, 27, and 28 points. Excellent are the numbers just below that. It goes down so forth. Good, Fair, Poor. You get the idea.
She said that she was amazed that Cami did so very well and that she was proud of her and knew she could do it. I knew she could as well but I wanted to hear that magic number. She scored a 24 out of 28 points!!! I was blown away. I honestly thought it would be lower considering that this was her first time. Talk about confidence. The best part was that she lost points for things like posture and pausing. Her music performance was near perfect.
I am extremely proud of her. She is extremely proud of herself. This just renews her confidence in herself. Basically that is what this is. It is a competition within yourself. Not with others. It shows you where you stand in your own performance. As you go up the levels, the judging gets tougher. Im sure she can handle this.
Yeah, I know I havent put up the other posts yet that I have been working on but this one was more important.
As you all know, my daughter is nine years old. Last year she decided that she wanted to play the violin. Actually she wanted the drums but that wasnt happening. Even though my mom indulged me in my musical whims, we dont have a garage here. Trust me, a drumset in the livingroom is not going to happen any time soon.
Originally she wanted a guitar too. I picked one up for her for Christmas and she seemed to take right to it. She got the book and a little CD thing but she prefered to play on her own. Im the type that can usually figure out how to play an instrument and I have played quite a few. Guitar was not one of them. I took lessons in various instruments wen I was in school but I always had this one thing that held be back on it. I cant read music. I have tried and tried with various teachers to show me, but I just couldnt do it. I could play by ear very well though.
So when my kid tells me that she wants to play an instrument, Im all for it. But Im going to makie sure that she has the best teachers I can afford so that she will be able to read music. Not that I didnt have great teachers. I just couldnt read it. Anywho, last year, the strings teacher announced to the school that she applied for a grant for more string instruments and it was granted. She received 20 new violins for the school. That was so awesome.
After the assembly was over, I saw my kid go up to her and ask if she could play one of them. At this time, she was 8 and in 3rd grade. This was not allowed because instruments are to only be played from 4th grade and up. But Colleen, being the sweetheart that she is, let Cami play one and said that since she was ADHD, this would be a great tool for her to use as a structure for learning. But we cant let the principal know. Not that it wouldnt really be allowed but for the fact that she might have a problem with a 3rd grader doing this.
Well she picked up that violin and started to play somethign random on it and she was good. She really liked it and it was set in stone that she would be taking lessons. This was a little late in the year for anything serious but she would try. And try she did. She was able to play in the Spring concert last year and she did very well. She only knew one song but that was enough. I was proud. But then came the big one. All City. Would she be able to play for All City? You bet she did. My mom came up from Florida early so that she could see her little baby play at one of the most beautiful places here. I myself have never played here and to see my child on that stage was just wonderful. I cried through the whole thing.
But remember that last year was not a serious thing regarding her learning to play. But she was playing and she ended up with the older kids. The violin seems to be a true talent for her. But then there was also the issue of the guitar. Colleen also teaches guitar at her house. So every Thursday after school, Cami went to her house to learn to play the guitar. We stopped those lessons when Colleen had her daughter. I figured that it might be too much on Colleen to do alot at the time so we decided to resume the lessons in the Fall.
I am sorry to say that we havent picked up on the guitar lessons but we focused more on the violin. Grandpa bought her a violin. I got a great deal on a very very nice one for her. One that was slightly used. Actually it was used three times when the previous owner discovered that he needed a larger size. So it was traded in. We bought it for Cami for a much less price that it should have gone for. A couple hundred less to be exact. So she became the proud owner of a Palatino.
Now comes the Fall of this year and she started back up with lessons at school. She was placed again with the older kids because she was able to keep up with them and she was learning very quickly. She is now in 4th grade and she really started to advance more and more. Then I got the notice for NYSSMA. This is the New York State School Music Association. This is a big deal for kids that are serious in their performance. It may sound geeky but really, this is a big deal.
Cami told me that she wanted to go to this and I asked Colleen if she was ready. She said that she was more than ready but kids that tend to go to this are more older and have done this for a few years. But she said that she knows that Cami will do a great job and thats when I signed the papers and paid for the regristration for her to go. But it was only three months away and I was hoping she could handle it.
Cami was given the piece that she needed to learn to play. Within a week she had the first half of the song pretty much down pat. I give her credit for this because I would not have been able to do so. Especially in such a short period of time. But each week, she had her normal lesson and then a private lesson to prepare for this event. I was a little shocked that she was the only one that was going from her school. Colleen said that she had some other kids from other schools that would be going but Cami was the only one from her school. Not that there werent any kids there that couldnt do this, just none that didnt want to.
As the time ticked on, I was a little worried that she would change her mind. But she told me that she was determined to get this song done. Yesterday (Sat the 30th) was the big day. Im not sure who was more nervous, me or her. But we traveled to the location of the festival and we went inside to get the papers she needed. Mind you that we are abouat an hour from home.
We made it there at about noonish and her scheduled time to perform was at about 230pm. Its always wise to get there early to get parking and find the room. Plus time to warm up and make sure everything is ready. Like I said before, to a muscian, this is a serious thing.
We went up to the room and signed in there. I called Colleen to tell her that we were there and that we found the room. She was not in the building as she was getting coffee somewhere else. The judge said that we could have gone in then and there but Cami wanted her teacher there with her. So we opted to just stick with the original time. We then went down to the gym to practice and all that good stuff.
While in there, it was overwhelming with about a hundred others playing various instruments and songs all at once. Cami watched some of the others and then said to me that she didnt think she was as good as they were and that she wanted to go home. I told her not to go by that because those kids have been playing alot longer and that some day, she would be playing just like them and some little girl would say the same thing about her.
That sort of boosted her confidence and she picked up her violin and started to practice. Colleen came in with a few other kids that she teaches and they all sat down to warm up as well. There was another girl that sat next to Cami that was playing the same song. Cami leaned over to tell me that the girl didnt know how to play it right. I told her that she was just learning as well and that everyone doesnt play the same. So Cami continued to play and the girl said that she wasnt sure she was good enough to be there because Cami was better. I told the girl the same thing that I told Cami. This isnt a competition with other kids. Its something that you do for yourself. That boosted her up and she continued to play.
The noise was getting to be too much so we decided to go get a snack and walk around outside for a while. We had another hour to kill before we had to be back upstairs. We watched kids come and go with all their instruments and one was even carting in a full size harp. I would hate to see how that thing was getting down stairs to a gym or even upstairs to a performance room.
The hour ticked by and it was time for Cami to go upstairs to the room. We are both very nervous now and I called Colleen to meet us there. There were two kids ahead of us so we waited out in the hall for our turn. It seemed like hours went by. Actually it was only about 20 minutes. Colleen waited with us and then it was time to go in. I waited out in the hall with her dad and we were both pretty quiet so that we could try to hear through the door. Of course, we couldnt hear anything.
It seemed like an hour went by and then Colleen came out. She had a big smile on her face and said that she was doing awesome. She was amazed at how well she performed. She had a couple of little minor things that she did wrong but nothing thathad to do with the music itself. She just paused a couple of times and her bow slipped once. But she said that she did great. No one could be in the room for the sight reading part though. This is where the judge gives her a random scale to play to see that she knows how to read the music and that she is not just playing something from memory.
Cami came out of the room and said that it was too easy. She said that she was all worried for nothing and that sort of relieved me but not enough. We needed to hear what the judge had to say. Apparently he was quite pleased that a 9 year old performed the way she did as a Level 1. Being that this is the first year of her lessons, she probably couple have done a Level 2 or higher. He said she played beautifully and perfectly and he was thrilled to have heard her.
Colleen told us that she would call us to let us know about her final score. It could take a half hour to at least 4 hours before she gets the paper. She said to go on home and she would call later. So we drove all the way home and we waited. Very nervously, I might add. I called her at about 4:30 and left a message. She called back at about 5:30 with the result. They judge on a series of items. Posture, bow handling, tone, you name it. For a level one, they can get an Outstanding at 26, 27, and 28 points. Excellent are the numbers just below that. It goes down so forth. Good, Fair, Poor. You get the idea.
She said that she was amazed that Cami did so very well and that she was proud of her and knew she could do it. I knew she could as well but I wanted to hear that magic number. She scored a 24 out of 28 points!!! I was blown away. I honestly thought it would be lower considering that this was her first time. Talk about confidence. The best part was that she lost points for things like posture and pausing. Her music performance was near perfect.
I am extremely proud of her. She is extremely proud of herself. This just renews her confidence in herself. Basically that is what this is. It is a competition within yourself. Not with others. It shows you where you stand in your own performance. As you go up the levels, the judging gets tougher. Im sure she can handle this.
posted by BC at
6:52 PM
3 Comments:
Very cool!
(And it reminded me of all those years of going to solo and ensemble festival with my oboe.)
I couldnt do it with anything I played because I couldnt read the music and I would fail.
I'm gleefully surprised and elated that your Cami has done so well.
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