And now, for the Good Ones
To offset the negative post I wrote last night, I thought I'd focus on all the GOOD students I have. Let's face it, kids ARE cute, and while some of them make me want to rip my hair out and stomp my feet in frustration, most of them never cease to amaze me with their intelligent questions, surprising wit and active imagination.
Here are some of my favorites :
1) Two adorable sisters-- M & M. The oldest takes violin; she prefers to have private (as in, she doesn't want her mother in the lesson either) lessons with me, because, as her mother puts it, she "cherishes her time with you". I have never seen her fidget or lose concentration...not even ONCE! I appreciate this. Her younger sister takes piano, and while they are only 15 min. lessons due to how young she is, she is sweet the entire time, and if she makes a mistake, she turns to me and says "I'm going to re-do that one". A perfectionist! yay!
2) G-- a cute, dark-haired girl who started piano with me nearly four years ago when she was only three years old. Now, G definitely isn't the best piano student I have, and she should be further along than she is if only she'd practice more--but what's special to me about her is that her mom stuck with the lessons despite the discouraging progress we saw for the first two years or so. Her own husband wanted them to quit, but the mom was relentless and they are extremely loyal. I say it paid off, because while her daughter definitely could be better if she practiced more consistently, she now can read music and has a great sense of rhythm and a great memory. Even though she's only seven, for some reason, our lessons go by so fast because she's always asking questions, and she too is a perfectionist. I love teaching her new things.
3) S--a shy, very quiet thirteen year old who I've had for almost three years. She's among my more advanced violin students so we do an hour lesson. I think I've heard her only say maybe no more than ten words voluntarily for the past three years, but her mother tells me that she thoroughly enjoys her lessons, and it shows because she almost always puts to practice what I teach her. It's been awesome to hear her sound mature in such a short amount of time, and I have to keep reminding myself that she still isn't very old; when I remember that, I get super excited about how much more we can get done in the next couple more years. Right now, we're working on the Galamian scales, Dont etudes, a movement from Bach d minor partita, as well as preparing the first two movement of the Bach Double to be played with another student of mine. I really want to get her started on a concerto, but I'm having a hard time deciding what her first "real" concerto should be. Any one have any suggestions?
Of course, there are many, many more students that keep me on my toes--but I particularly enjoy my lessons with those four. Students like that really make me grateful for what I do.
Here are some of my favorites :
1) Two adorable sisters-- M & M. The oldest takes violin; she prefers to have private (as in, she doesn't want her mother in the lesson either) lessons with me, because, as her mother puts it, she "cherishes her time with you". I have never seen her fidget or lose concentration...not even ONCE! I appreciate this. Her younger sister takes piano, and while they are only 15 min. lessons due to how young she is, she is sweet the entire time, and if she makes a mistake, she turns to me and says "I'm going to re-do that one". A perfectionist! yay!
2) G-- a cute, dark-haired girl who started piano with me nearly four years ago when she was only three years old. Now, G definitely isn't the best piano student I have, and she should be further along than she is if only she'd practice more--but what's special to me about her is that her mom stuck with the lessons despite the discouraging progress we saw for the first two years or so. Her own husband wanted them to quit, but the mom was relentless and they are extremely loyal. I say it paid off, because while her daughter definitely could be better if she practiced more consistently, she now can read music and has a great sense of rhythm and a great memory. Even though she's only seven, for some reason, our lessons go by so fast because she's always asking questions, and she too is a perfectionist. I love teaching her new things.
3) S--a shy, very quiet thirteen year old who I've had for almost three years. She's among my more advanced violin students so we do an hour lesson. I think I've heard her only say maybe no more than ten words voluntarily for the past three years, but her mother tells me that she thoroughly enjoys her lessons, and it shows because she almost always puts to practice what I teach her. It's been awesome to hear her sound mature in such a short amount of time, and I have to keep reminding myself that she still isn't very old; when I remember that, I get super excited about how much more we can get done in the next couple more years. Right now, we're working on the Galamian scales, Dont etudes, a movement from Bach d minor partita, as well as preparing the first two movement of the Bach Double to be played with another student of mine. I really want to get her started on a concerto, but I'm having a hard time deciding what her first "real" concerto should be. Any one have any suggestions?
Of course, there are many, many more students that keep me on my toes--but I particularly enjoy my lessons with those four. Students like that really make me grateful for what I do.
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