Beautiful Music

Steve has spent the last several years concentrating on music.  I'm not talking about practicing a few hours each day.  He practices 8-12 hours each day.  He has come so far as a musician that I'm amazed when I hear him practice. 

This year, he's been a part of several choirs at SWMU, plays in the jazz band, and has private voice and guitar lessons.  We've missed all of his concerts this year because he tells us that he has a concert too late for us to clear a place in the schedule or the concert happens on a dance day.  In April, Mike and I made a point of attending three of his concerts.  One was the year end choir concert.   It was wonderful!  I was impressed with the quality of the music program.

The following week, we were able to attend his voice recital.  My in-laws drove up from South Bend for this concert as well.  Steve sang two solos and performed in a group number.  I particularly loved the piece Steve sang from Les Miserables.  He's a much better singer than Russell Crowe.  :)

A few days later, the younger girls, Mike and I attended the music showcase concert.  The jazz band played two numbers.  Steve was phenomena!  His nickname "The guitar guy" at SWMU is well deserved.  My father was a jazz musician who played bass professionally in Chicago when I was a child.  Dad died over a decade ago, but I know he would have loved hearing Steve in the jazz band. 

Unfortunately, the recording I took on my camera and phone of the performances didn't record properly, so I can't post the performances.  They were still great nights that I won't forget for a long time.

Piano Girl

Paige loves playing the piano.  She is averaging 3 lessons each week, because she practices so much.  It makes me so happy to have another pianist in the family, especially one who is so enthusiastic.

Sometime in the middle of the night she lugged a large keyboard onto her bed and placed it above her pillow.  When I entered her room this morning, she was completely wrapped up in a blanket with one hand stretched out over her head practicing her newest piece of music.

I asked her why she had a keyboard on her bed.  She replied, "When I wake up, I need to play."  I would almost understand, but she has a full sized piano on the other side of her room!

No wonder she is progressing so quickly. 

Ode to Joy

This was so much fun to watch. I'm amazed at the amount of thought and time that went into creating this video. Enjoy!!

Too Much Music

All the kids, except Katie, are learning to play the piano. They have all made terrific progress this year and I'm thrilled with their new level of proficiency. In addition to the piano, almost all the kids are learning other instruments as well. Steve is learning the guitar, ocarina, and tin whistle. Joe is learning to play the pan flute, recorder, and tin whistle. Madelyn is learning the guitar and tin whistle. Paige is learning the tin whistle and recorder. Alison is learning the tin whistle.

Someone is always playing an instrument in our home. Usually more than one person is playing something. We have a piano and two key boards which are almost constantly in use. If someone is not really practicing, someone is plunking out a favorite tune. The constant cacophony of various instruments is driving me crazy. I can't think straight.

Wednesday, it all came to a head. Around noon, I closed the piano and forbid its reopening for the rest of the day. The tin whistles, pan flute, ocarina, and electric guitars continued to emit sounds. The children were told to practice in their rooms for the rest of the day. At 5:00, I began confiscating instruments. Six instruments ended up in my possession before the day was over.

It's wonderful that the kids are excited about making music. I'm glad that they don't need reminding to practice. I need some quiet to maintain a normal level of harmony throughout the house. With the constant practicing, all tempers are a little shorter. After much thought, I have decided to institute some ground rules. I hope that the children's creativity doesn't suffer. All wind instruments are to be practiced in the kid's bedrooms with the door closed, unless we are playing as a group. The piano is to be used for regular piano practice, but not plunking out the same 3 tunes throughout the day. The keyboards will be used with head phones. No piano playing after 8:00pm.

If anyone has a better idea, please share! I want to encourage the kids musically, but keep the noise to a manageable level.

Music Class

Most of my school-aged children are involved in a community music class. The class is low key and the instructor regularly brings in new simple instruments for the children to try to learn in addition to their main instrument. Recently, the instructor brought in Irish tin whistles for the children to learn some easy Irish music for St. Patrick's Day. The kids and I have had a blast learning our new songs. At times the Irish tin whistle sounds a little shrill, especially when 7 children are trying to hit the high notes. My neighbors and I have been listening to "When Irish Eyes are Smiling". "Saint Anne's Reel", and another Irish folk song whose name I have forgotten.

The tin whistles are in the key of D, while the children's other instruments have been in the key of C. The instructor wants everyone to learn several of our previous songs transposing the music into the new key. Some of the kids picked up transposing quickly, but a couple of them are having to do a lot of thinking before each song.

Catching Up

The kids and I have been really busy working on school work and trying to stay warm. We are all experiencing cabin fever due to the very cold weather and looking forward to a break in the temperatures. A friend called me on her cell phone to let me know that she was wading in the Gulf of Mexico. It didn't help.

Poor Allie hates to go outside in the cold. The other day I noticed that one of my little girls was dressed in snow pants, hat, mittens, winter coat and had a scarf wrapped around her head. I thought that it was Paige who likes to go outside, regardless of the weather. It was surprising to see that Allie was heading outdoors. I asked her if she was going to play in the snow. She looked at me in surprise and mentioned that she was taking the trash out to the garbage can. I guess the 15' walk to the trash can needs the proper clothing!

My mom is still recovering from shingles. Her depression has lifted and she sounds more like her normal self. I worry about her because she keeps her house so cold in the winter. The cost of heating her 150+ year old farm house with 15 rooms is really beyond her means. She doesn't want to move now and prefers to keep her house at 55 degrees F. Since her illness, she has started keeping her house at 62 degrees.

The kids have started the second semester of their music classes. The classes are taught free by a professional musician who wants to encourage children to pursue music in their lives. The instructor is enthusiastic and encourages the children to try various instruments. I love that the children are getting excellent music theory instruction and learning to also play by ear. Most of my kids have been playing the piano for several years, but I (their piano teacher) have very limited ability to play by ear. I can usually figure out a tune and basic harmony, but it is a laborious process for me. The teacher encourages parents to stay during class, so hopefully my playing by ear ability will improve.

During music class, Allie was struggling with keeping her fingers on the correct buttons of her recorder, so the teacher gave her a harmonica. She is thrilled with her new instrument. All Friday evening she played her harmonica. After being sent to bed, she continued to play the harmonica. Eventually, I took it away from her and placed it on the piano. At 1:00am, the household heard the sounds of the lone harmonica player. At 2:30 am, we were once again serenaded by "sweet" music. At 3:45am, 4:30 am, 6:00 am , and 7:00 am our ears were blessed with the harmonica's mellow sound. I'm going to have to end up deaf or crazy before she loses her enthusiasm. I'm really need to find new hiding places, she has discovered all the old ones.

Amy is home from college this weekend. Money has been tight for her, so I brought her home to raid my pantry. She also got a job, here in town, tutoring literature and writing for a homeschool family. During the tutoring sessions, Amy covers material, then assigns writing and reading assignments to be done before the next session. Her students will be emailing their writen work to her at school. She will be coming home every two weeks for the rest of the semester! It will be wonderful to see her more often.

Amy and I spent today preparing food for the upcoming couple of weeks. We made Stromboli (which was fabulous), empanadas, meatloaf, oatmeal breakfast bars, and spaghetti sauce. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll finish the remainder of the cooking.

Mike is going to take Monday off to return Amy to college. He's planning on spending the day catching up on his TO DO list and doing things with the kids. I am going to spend some time at the library alone.

Katie, Madelyn, and the boys are enjoying their martial arts class. After class, I'm asked to try to hit them or try to kick them, so they can practice their newest block or attack. Pretty soon, they will be able to kick my butt. I really need to get in better physical shape! Katie is quite sore for a few days after each class. I can see the changes in her back after the class. She's spending a lot more time each day, doing the exercises necessary to keep her scoliosis under control.

Paige (my girly-girl) has discovered the joys of making jewelry using bendable plastic inter-locking triangles. She makes rings, necklaces, bracelets, crowns, etc. It's a joy to watch her plan her next creation. Recently when I asked what she was making, Paige proudly announced that she was making a "sniper gun." Her older brothers are certainly making their mark with her.

Friday's Activities

My children attended their first dance and music classes Friday afternoon. The dance instructors are from Columbia, Russia, and somewhere in the middle east. The children are currently learning a South American folk dance. The instructor explained the history behind the dance and the costume. She is so excited to be teaching the dance to the children. In Columbia, the children begin learning the folk dances when they are three. Only three of my children are participating in the free dance class. The children will be performing the dance during an international children's parade in November.

The music instructor is a professional musician who plays several instruments. He is doing group instruction teaching piano, guitar, ukulele, recorder, and drums. My younger three girls are learning recorder and my 11 year old son is learning guitar. The instructor is teaching numbers instead of notes. He mentioned that in two weeks, he will teach the children the note names. This is a new experience for me to convert my knowledge of notes into numbers. My girls are eager to practice each day and are picking up the songs quickly. This is another free class that someone in the community offered to teach. The children also received free instruments to keep.

I feel so blessed this year. It was necessary to take my daughters out of dance classes this year because we couldn't afford them any longer. What a blessing to my children to have the opportunity to still dance.