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...that my 6yo daughter has to synthesize at any given moment on violin is staggering to me. Not necessarily in an absolute sense - But given how young she is and that she's only been playing for a couple years, and given my experience with beginning wind players, it's amazing. Also as a proud father, it's gratifying to watch her work this hard at it and take it this seriously. The juxtaposition between an adorable little kid and her being so deadly serious in the moment still hasn't fully processed in my head.

Her teacher works out of the Suzuki books but doesn't really do the Suzuki method. Mostly just uses them for lesson music. Which is a nice middle ground.

Daughter just started Book II. (Sidenote: Hillary Hahn recorded the accompanying CD. It sets a high bar...).

ANYWAY. Back to this:

What my daughter has to do when playing: (1) Read the note; (2) Up bow or down bow?; (3) Where to start on the bow? (4) Is this the start of a big slur? i.e., do I need to read the next three notes as well and take that into account on my bowing? (4) Is that A in the middle of the run going to be open or 4th finger on the D string?; (5) Do I have enough bow to do this, or will I need to reset?

What I did on tuba at the same point in my development: (1) What button to push? (2) Blow hard or soft?

If I ever get back into teaching, being able to sit in on beginning violin lessons for the past two years is going to inform my teaching method GREATLY.

In the VIOLA classes, they've got kids licking the rosin, and sniffing glue. Just saying.

That's crazy, and good for her! Hope she stays with it (if she wants to!).

The best part is when I try to demonstrate the dynamics for her on my F tuba, and her response is "Daddy, you think THAT is piano???" The elitism starts early.

As a retired orchestral strings teacher myself, I am happy to hear that the teacher uses the Suzuki books only as source material. There are many string instructors here in the US that drank the Kool Aid on the Suzuki method without realizing that the method only really works within the context of Japanese culture or similar. The method depends on strict conformity for students, along with extremely intensive parental involvement on a level American parents are seldom equipped for. From time to time I would get an “advanced” student with a Suzuki background who would want to be placed in a more advanced class. When they played me one of their prepared Suzuki pieces they were great. When I put a piece of music in front of them they’d never seen before they were invariably stumped. Suzuki is 100% rote learning, you see. These kids could play but they couldn’t read. So I would encourage them them stay in the less advanced class so I could teach them how to actually read music. Because they always had good playing position and habits, I would make them class assistants to help out the other students who had trouble with that. They always liked doing that, made them feel special. And they were, in a way. But they always expressed gratitude to me that I insisted they stick with the class so they could learn sight reading. I think it’s a skill many music teachers don’t put enough emphasis on.

All of our children started on violin and moved over to wind instruments.
Our oldest studied oboe at Interlochen Academy, Eastman, and then with the principal in the Dallas SO at SMU.
Most of her tuition was covered by (playing)-merit scholarships.
She could sit in any oboe section anywhere, and read anything, but is - instead - making money for her husband's family business and raising my grandchildren.

Our second was a so-called "all-state" horn player.
She was a remarkable pop singer (has lost interest in it) and made the "all-state" band without ever (and I literally mean "never") practicing on her horn. ie. actually this: "Dad, if I make all-state, can I spend the night at Mary's?" (me: "I'm sure you'll do whatever you decide to do. I know you intentionally blew your audition, last year, because you had already bought tickets to see [blah-blah rock band] on the same weekend as the all-state concert.")

Our third was a fine trumpet player, who was mostly interested in jazz (and didn't even play in his high school's "concert" band...only the jazz band - a typical "big" band. When a 5th grade beginner, he was stuck in the middle school's 8th grade band. The band director did not assign parts (and decided to allow all the sections to work that out amongst themselves) - and our son decided to lay low and sit with the 3rd players, but - just before their little concert band contest - the director asked my son to play the "high C" at the end of their "big closer".

The violin (OBVIOUSLY - along with them being around all the wind instruments, regularly encountering professionals, and knowing precisely how all of the instruments are supposed to sound), I'm convinced, made "playing wind instruments" seem MUCH easier to them.
me...?? I feel completely embarrassed - and don't know what to say (other than - sheepishly - "thank-you") when complimented by a violinist. They are absolutely (particularly, some that I've been lucky enough to sit behind) "THE sh it".

At my daughters first school concert for the violin, they had two groups, first year, and second year. Both groups played only one piece of music, "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". It made for a very short concert. to help make it longer the teacher asked the second years to play it as a solo if they wanted to. After several of them tried with varying degrees of success, my first-year daughter asks if she could play a solo. I was afraid for her. I had never her play it without playing the third note very flat. I even slumped down into my chair. The little fart spanked it! In tune, rhythmically perfect, and very musical. Easily the best of the night. The teacher ended the concert on that High Note, and everybody meet at the local pizza parlor where she had reserviced a room. The praise poured in as we sat there eating. I never doubted her again. She not a musician now, but I am still proud of what she has made of herself.

In spite of having me as a father,
CCC

My violin-first/later-oboe/EH daughter did the nursing home circuit ("cute little bitty girl who could play Bach/Schumann/etc. stuff on her fiddle", etc...)
She also did ballet.
I never saw her sweat...

When she was fourteen, she was covering principal oboe in a community orchestra. I seem to recall that someone came and played the Gershwin (piano) "Concerto in F" with them, on this particular concert.

Some professional "ringers" (flute/clarinet/bassoon/etc.) were hired to strengthen the group, and they played the last two rehearsals and the show.
The thing is this: They mostly TAUGHT and (being "third call" types of players) played VERY well, but didn't have the - well - "nerve" required to keep it together when things get dicey (nor - though they were middle-aged - possibly enough orchestral experience...??)

The concert opened with Bernstein's Overture to Candide. Anyone who's familiar with it (or has played it) will recall a section in the middle which features thin orchestration and some close dovetails. Well...The paid "professionals" lost their sh!t, and screwed up the timing/dovetailing. My daughter (who came in towards the end of that section with the oboe "TEE-ahh - TEE-ahh" (etc.) kept her sh!t together, ignored the nervous/panicking grown-ups' nonsense, and came in at the right time - PREVENTING the music director from having to stop and "start at letter [_]". I knew much earlier, but - after than - I knew that she would be able to play anywhere with anyone (which - as I stated earlier - she absolutely can). Later that year, she played the 3-movement *Haydn oboe concerto with the same outfit. Some curious Memphis Symphony folks showed up to hear her play...It was quite fine. (At that time - not yet being fully-grown, she couldn't quite reach a couple of the lowest keys, and Mrs. bloke had rigged up some extensions on her instrument.)
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*attributed to Haydn, but possibly written by someone else. fwiw, It's NOT a walk in the park...Download it from IMSLP, and play through it on your F tuba.

https://imslp.org/wiki/Special:Imagefro ... 91055/hfga

I'm actually blown away by playing piano and reading two lines of music at once. I never had a problem processing either line of music in piano methods, and I was never uncomfortable with the extra notations most string players deal with because it never felt all that different than my music, but two independent lines of music? Nope.

At the University of Maryland - when I was a student - Music Education majors had to take 4 semesters of piano methods. The last semester of that progression was not easy. Left hand? easy. Right hand? easy. Both hands? That corner over there is where you can F off.

I was involved in piano lessons 5 till about age 8, and moved along pretty well. I believe that piano and violin or any bowed stringed instrument or best started very young, before a human being starts thinking about how “hard“ something actually is…and they just do it.
In kolij, I just took the last semester of the set of piano courses…the only one that I was required to pass, and the teacher sort of bullied me by assigning me things that they knew I could play - if I worked on them. After I played the solo pieces they assigned me and some scales and other mess, they try to corral me into their piano studio. I told them that there’s no way I could make the kind of money I make playing the tuba plinking on the piano.

kingrob76 wrote: ↑Wed Jan 12, 2022 12:21 pm I'm actually blown away by playing piano and reading two lines of music at once. I never had a problem processing either line of music in piano methods, and I was never uncomfortable with the extra notations most string players deal with because it never felt all that different than my music, but two independent lines of music? Nope.

At the University of Maryland - when I was a student - Music Education majors had to take 4 semesters of piano methods. The last semester of that progression was not easy. Left hand? easy. Right hand? easy. Both hands? That corner over there is where you can F off.