Violins and Dragon Slaying Knights

Our current slogan: If you can slay a dragon you can certainly play a violin. How did this come about?
Ezra: whines and cries about how hard it is to remember "up" bows while simultaneously remembering all the notes to "O' Come Little Children".
Me: Ezra, you are a dragon slaying knight. If you can slay a dragon you can certainly play a violin.
Ezra: *silence...violin up on shoulder, bow on violin, concentrates, plays beautifully.
Once again practice disaster put off for another day!

 Aren't they so cute and hard working. We practice violin 6 days a week 30min a day and we strive for 7 but it rarely happens. Suzuki says that you only have to practice on the days you eat :) It has been really fun since Enoch got his violin and they can play things together. They are going to be playing together in the Ward Primary Program this year. I am really excited and nervous about it. They are getting in lots of practice playing in front of other people. Anytime someone comes over they play the violin for them.

 Enoch has started the song "Perpetual Motion" in the first Suzuki book. He is sounding better all the time although he is having to get used to the bigger violin. We just recently bought him a new one since he was grown out of the old one. But this one is a 1/4 size and he has to get used to everything being bigger, farther finger reaches and the heaviness of a bigger violin. He is a hard worker and practices 20-25min a day with me and 5-10 min on his own after that while I start with Ezra.

 He is starting to pick up on if the violin is in tune and if he is playing the notes just right. The song he is learning for the church program is called "Stand For the Right". It is in a key he has never played before, but he loves learning new pieces and was so excited to learn it he did a double practice the day he started it. He practiced 30min at home had a 30 min. lesson then came home and practiced the new song for another 20-30 min.

 Ethne loves her cracker box "Pink Biolin". She wants to have lessons with "brodders" and asks when it will be her turn. She practices with them a lot of the time and when she isn't practicing she is dancing to the music.

 Ezra is a natural at holding the violin and posture according to his teacher. He learns fast when he wants to and he is doing really well. Last night the boys played for my cooking club. There were 14 adults watching them and they were very brave and played beautifully. Ezra however is VERY DIFFICULT to get to practice. Every time I say OK get out your violin, he flops on the floor and says "oh no! not again".

 Last week we worked SO hard every single day(well 6 days) on his new piece "O' Come Little Children". It is the first piece that starts with an up bow and the bowing is quite tricky. My philosophy though is to hit it hard in the beginning and work until you get it right. If it takes too many weeks to learn a new piece they get the idea that it is too hard and they "CAN'T" learn it. So we worked so hard we both felt like we had run a marathon at the end of our 30 min. each day. His teacher commended out hard work and said "Well Done to you both" it takes most kids weeks to get that. She asked me what my method had been for teaching it to him. Because of my own music lessons as a kid I know the drills-one bar at a time until you get that then the next one then put them together. With violin I have found it works best to do one line or phrase at a time and then do the next one.

Way to go boys! I am very proud of you.