As I have mentioned before, The Maestro likes novelty, but only if it is routine. This makes cello practice a challenge sometimes, because he would rather play than practice. Our favorite eastern musical philosophers might say that play and practice are not different, but The Maestro doesn't care about Eastern Philosophy much.
The most efficacious technique so far has been the puppets coming to visit during practice time. As with everything else, it has run its course. I had to leave for a week to visit my parents recently, and when I got back, he was done with the puppets.
This past week, enough people involved were sick that there was no lesson. The main event last week was the Maestro's fourth birthday. The Maestro has changed in the past year, that even now I am sometimes agast at how he handles things sometimes. I started to write this post a week ago, and ended up writing a food blog post instead. He is the same, yet not the same.
He still loves music- that is for sure. While I was in Canada, he asked Riley if he would still have his cello after he dies. When she tried to explain that he couldn't take it all with him when he dies, he started to cry and yelled "But I LOVE my cello!" His lack of enthusiasm for practicing is not to be confused with wanting to give up cello lessons, apparently.
For his birthday, our friend who is the Bassist in the City Symphony gave up comp. tickets for their annual family concert. Before-hand, the Music Shop put on an instrument petting zoo that I took him to. He got to play a 1/10th size violin – complete with good cello bow hold, the zoo-keeper pointed out – a French Horn, Clarinet, Trombone, Guitar, and Flute. He had some problems getting a sound out of the Flute, but finally succeeded. He wanted to take a closer look at the Cellos, but we needed to get home to get Riley. Hildr and Hildegard were both sick, so they camped out and kept each other company whilst Hildr enjoyed and Hildegard tried to avoid analyzing a Little Einstein video.
The concert was great. My experience with concerts has been that they often expose you to music that you wouldn't choose to listen to on your own, and that there is often a good reason for me to make that choice. So, I was delighted to learn that they would be doing Winter from Vivladi's Four Seasons, as well as Smetna's Moldau, two pieces I really enjoy. It turned out that the music was organized around a theme of visiting places through sound, kind of like a musical world tour. We also enjoyed Ferde Grofe's Sunrise, from the Grand Canyon Suite, and Morning on the Ranch, by Aaron Copeland, from The Red Pony Suite. I didn't care for the Rainforest of Puerto Rico, which may be why I can't remember what it was called.
The concert was about 15 minutes too long for the Maestro, but he sat well. The longer it went, the quieter he got, actually. At the beginning, he would point out all the instruments when they played, and ask questions like "What is making that sound?" I would point something out to him, like "Do you hear the trumpets?" He would either say yes and smile, or ask "Where ARE the trumpets?" I at first thought that he wanted their physical location, but no, he wanted to know where the sound was. When they played again, I could say "There they are!" He already knew that they were in front of the Timpani. The more tired he became, the further back he sat in his chair and the less he talked. He was particularly interested in the percussion section. They make great sounds, without a readily recognizable timbre. Besides which, they are often small, and hard to see.
When the concert was over, we went on-stage to talk to Bass Player and her family. Bass Player's husband is Celiac Faculty Member, and their daughter, Princess, is in the Maestro's class at pre-school. While I was in Canada, they came over to play, and did a Bass-flute duet for the Maestro. Cool people. They had a set of CDs for the Maestro, and we got to take a closer look at some of the percussion instruments as they were being put away. The Maestro has been listening to Tubby the Tuba ever since.
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