Yamaha Or Private Tuition

After Sunday's Yamaha concert, I've pretty much decided what our strategy for Beth's musical learning will be.

But first, here's a clip of how her class performance went...





When we compared the performance of her class with some of the other classes of similar level, it was clear that Beth's class was a standout. The kids were perfectly disciplined, orderly, and in sync with their teacher. All that weekly training ("eyes watching me") in watching the teacher, following cues and rehearsing for the concert paid off beautifully.

I must make special mention of Beth's teacher Rebecca Stewart. She has an absolutely natural connection with kids, and works hard to keep these 6-7 y.o.s entertained, motivated and open to learn each week. She manages to correct without coming on too hard on the little ones, and is not beneath making fun of herself when she makes the rare mistake while playing.

It's amazing just to watch her sing and play (without looking at the keyboard!) and engage the kids with a variety of humorous and dramatic facial expressions and comments.

Actually, it's exhausting. I feel tired just imagining myself doing what she does for a whole hour.

But back to the concert...

Having sat through countless practices of the piece (and being a perfectionist), I was straining to catch any mis-steps (which would be natural given performance nerves and the average age of the performers), but there were none. The performance of March of the Little Bears (which included a tricky transposition from F major to C major and back to F major) was flawless.

We were also given a glimpse of the musical possibilities post-Yamaha. This group of teens you're about to watch have completed the Yamaha course but wanted to continue, so a special class was created for them. Here they're playing the Tokyo Disneyland theme song with their teacher Keiko.




That guy in the middle who gave the countdown to each major section. Can you see how his whole body was just moving with the music, like he couldn't help himself? So cool. I must learn from him how to be less inhibited the next time I play in front of an audience.

The whole time they were playing, I felt like dancing. When the item ended four and a half minutes later, I cheered and clapped and whooped...and wished there was someone I could share my euphoria with. It was so beautiful to sit there watching these young people put their God-given talents to work for a good cause.

So. About our strategy for the next two years...

We've decided, in close consultation with the person who will be affected by the decision, that Beth will continue for another two years with Yamaha. She has an assessment coming up at the end of the year where she will play two pieces of her choice (she has already decided what those pieces will be). The assessing teacher(s) will - I believe - also test her on her oral/aural skills.

That would be the perfect time to discuss how she's doing and to hear what her teacher recommends.

Also, in term 4, I will request an interview with her school music teacher to hear her recommendations. She gets to observe Beth in a different setting every Monday, and should have something interesting and useful to share.

My own instincts tell me Beth is an above-average but not outstanding musician. She has the ability but not always the attitude to support it. Until she wants to excel for her own sake, I'm going to try and resist the urge to push her through the grades.

I know she will benefit from one-on-one tuition and that the earlier she starts, the quicker she'll catch up to her peers who are already having private lessons. But for now, she's enjoying playing in an ensemble, so I think I should, as a wise friend says, let her interest lead. We can always do both if she really wants to go further. It doesn't have to be an either/or decision.