Music

My son has taken guitar lessons and drum lessons but never stuck with either, and *never* practiced. My daughter didn't show much interest in music but always knew she wanted to play the flute when she got to 5th grade and could choose to learn a band instrument. She did, and she has excelled. At the concert in April, she was chosen to do a solo of the Star Spangled Banner at the beginning of the concert. She did great!

Over the past few months, my son has begun expressing interest in music lessons again. At S's last concert, he kept saying that he wanted to play the saxophone. Finally, a few weeks ago, I began to look into it, and I was told that sax is actually too difficult for a 7 year old, and most 7 year olds start on the clarinet first. So, I signed up S for flute lessons and E for clarinet lessons over the summer.

E had his first lesson Thursday night. Here is some video taken on Saturday afternoon:



And he keeps getting better. Today, I was sitting on the sofa reading a book while they practiced Frere Jacques, and at one point S told E not to slur the notes, and he adjusted quickly and perfectly. S wants to be a teacher; it's the only thing she's ever wanted to be (well, that and a zookeeper, but she figured she would be a zookeeper part-time and a teacher part-time). She craves opportunities to teach. And E loves nothing more than to learn. It's the perfect match. He soaks up everything she teaches him about music.

So now I am wondering what I'm going to do with them. They are both advancing beyond their age group. To be honest, I find it annoying to drive them back and forth to lessons weekly. :( But I may have to.

Oh well. My husband says that we should not assume E will stick with the clarinet, but I think he enjoys playing with S, and so that will keep him interested for a good long while.