When I was a youth my favorite classical music was baroque. I loved Bach, Handel and Vivaldi, and I’d always wanted a string quartet in the family. The summer of 1999, before our music year began, I decided that this was the year we should have a string quartet, so I set out to create one.
None of my children played any instrument besides piano, but I had played first violin in the orchestra in high school and loved it. I owned one violin, but had no prospects of getting the other three instruments. Besides, how would I get a string quartet in the family when no one else played? Those two little obstacles did not deter me in the least. I knew I could get the instruments and that we would be able to play together.
Chase, Sam Loveland, Amber, Jeanne play at our Renaissance Family Home Evening December 1999
I began to search and plan and find a way to get a half-size violin for Chase, a cello for Amber, and a viola for me. The violin and cello use the treble and bass clef, which my kids already knew because of piano, but the viola uses the alto clef. I reserved that harder instrument for me because I already knew how to play a stringed instrument.
I talked about my dream of a string quartet to everyone and began a search for used instruments. Karen lent me a half-size violin. When Deena heard I wanted a cello she told me that her son had played that instrument, but at the time his was sitting under a bed. She wanted me to use it!
Finding a viola was harder because they are rarer. I didn't know anyone who played one. I searched and searched to no avail, and then in July while decorating for a patriotic event at church, I told Mike Vlk about my viola hunt. I had forgotten that his uncle had made a viola and he had inherited it. He wanted me to use it. Half the battle was over with the acquisition of those instruments!
The beginning orchestra professor at the local college said that in order to join her orchestra a person just needed to be able to read notes and follow along. For a young student she said that one year of lessons would probably suffice. I didn’t have a year and I wanted my kids and me to play in the orchestra right then, so I got to work.
I feel that the most important thing I did to encourage my children to play with me was to join the orchestra. One of my favorite quotes about teaching is, Not the cry but the flight of the wild duck leads the flock to fly and follow. (Chinese Proverb)
I got a book that helped me transition from violin to viola and practiced away. I don’t remember when Chase and Jasmyn began playing in the orchestra, but Amber and I started in September. (A year or two later, Autumn Heather joined the orchestra too. I kept playing for a few years after the rest of the kids stopped playing though. Brittany Spencer and I rode to the college every week for a year at least, to play in that orchestra).
Amber began practicing without much instruction. Chase began talking lessons with a young man in our ward who played the violin beautifully. Later Jasmyn began playing my violin. I suppose I must have taught her a few things as well. Hal IV was the only older child who didn’t have a string instrument.
After we got our string quartet going he decided to play the bass, so I began a hunt for that too. I finally found someone who was willing to let me borrow one of his bass instruments. He owned a music studio where Jasmyn had taken piano lessons, and he was ready to lend one to me, but before he did his studio suddenly closed. Even after searching for other options, a bass was the only instrument we never got.
Amber, Jasmyn, Chase, and I learned our instruments enough to play some hymns together. We practiced alone and we practiced together. Though we were pretty bad we enjoyed making music together. We even played a few times in our school concert recitals.
It didn’t matter that we weren’t very good.
Every screechy, scratchy note was music to my ears for I had a string quartet at last!
No comments:
Post a Comment