It is not December if our children do not have a violin recital. We have been doing this for nine years and it does not get old. Let me emphasize something: our children are not prodigies and it is a struggle to get them to practice more than 20 minutes a day.
Our son playing at the recital
Somebody once told me that violin lessons (or any music lessons for that matter) are about much more than the violin.
Here are some lessons children learn while practicing an instrument:
- perseverance
- overcoming laziness
- conquering procrastination
- scheduling
- goal-setting
- delayed gratification
- self-motivation
- doing something when you don’t feel like it
- conquering fear
- managing stage fright
- controlling nerves
- humility
- social skills
I could go on and on. If I could choose one above all, it is perseverance. So many people quit. Over the years, we have had four teachers. We have had to travel one hour to have lessons. Then, we moved all instruction online before the global pandemic, because our teacher lived in Canada.
Our daughter playing at the recital
In 2020, it became clear that we needed a new teacher, so we switched to our fourth teacher – the one we have now. The children have progressed well and here is the other lesson: progress, not perfection.
With their violin teacher, Cameron Rehberg
So many people think that if your children are in music lessons, they must be Carnegie Hall performers. Not so. There is a spectrum of music skills and we must allow children to develop at their own speed. As long as they make progress, just keep them going. One day they will thank you for it.
