Suzuki Suffering

Last spring, my five year old daughter approached me with an idea that instantly filled me with joy.  She wanted to learn how to play the violin.  My maternal hubris went into overdrive.  Clearly I should no longer feel guilty about all those hours I had plunked her in front of the television (in moments of sheer desperation) and let her repeatedly view that Baby Einstein video with the puppets and toys that dance to music.  All those hours of classical music and bizarre puppet twirling must have inspired her to reach for the stars and channel her inner Mozart.  I was absolutely giddy as I started to search for a violin teacher to help my daughter, the budding musician, learn how to make graceful music with strings.

It wasn't until about her third violin lesson that I accepted that I had been completely delusional.  It turns out that playing the violin is hard.  After four months, she can finally hammer out the rhythm to several variations of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star on an open A string.  But Mozart . . . she's not.  At most of her violin lessons, she squirms around on the floor like she's been possessed by some sort of hyperactive worm.  Last week she even managed to wiggle half way out of her pants and moon me before the lesson was over.

In an attempt to get things moving along, her violin teacher whipped out a chart at one of her lessons.  The graph showed how long it would take to proceed through the Suzuki books, and demonstrated that the rate of growth in violin playing is directly related to the amount of practice in which you engage.  According to the graph, if you practice more than 2 hours a day, you can progress at a substantial rate.  Practicing everyday for 15 minutes also yields a reasonable rate of progress.  However, if you practice only a few times a week, it will take you about 10 years to make significant progress.  Take a guess about which group we fall into.  In between constantly ferrying the kids to school, soccer practice, drama rehearsals, ballet classes, and science club meetings, and mustering at least some sort of attempt to clean my house, I have tried to squeeze in violin practice, but it isn't easy.

You see the whole concept of the Suzuki method requires parental involvement.  You are supposed to attend the lesson and take diligent notes.  You are supposed to oversee the child's practice and encourage them to listen to classical music.  The teacher even asked whether I wanted to learn to play the violin (which many teachers require).  Give me a break!  I can barely remember my name on a good day, there is no way I have the mental fortitude to learn a new instrument.  No, right now, I am going to do what most parents do, and just focus on getting through the day and praying that the wheels on this whole operation don't start falling off and spewing in every direction.  Of course, there is part of me that will take quiet refuge in the hope that maybe . . . just maybe . . . if I keep shuttling the kids to the things that they want to do and applauding the tortured playing of musical instruments, they will eventually discover who they want to be and grow into decent human beings.