Violin Recital

With so much happening this Christmas season, it's hard to keep this blog updated! However, since I have abandoned my Christmas card letters (the cards themselves I still have hope for...), I had best do some updating on here!

Earlier this month we had Lili's very first violin recital! It was all very exciting. She got to wear her Christmas dress, and we spent the afternoon doing her hair and nails (she is a girly-girl, truly). She didn't seem nervous. I was. Anyway, it was SO adorable, seeing the three of them from her Prep class on stage, looking very shocked at all of the people. Funny thing - as soon as Lili walked up on stage, I noticed that she had a HUGE hole in her tights... I'm talking full-knee-hole. Pretty funny! Luckily, her tights were fairly sheer, so not many people noticed!

The Prep Class played 2 songs - the "Taka" song and "See the Pretty Flowers". Lili had these songs down pat - she'd been playing them 3x each every day for months. However, as those musician friends reading this know, the funny thing about performing is that anything can happen.

And, it did.

The first song is played entirely on the open E string. Lili must have got confused, because she moved to the A string for the second phrase. Her eyes got really wide as she realized her mistake, and she immediately looked at me for help. I smiled and nodded in encouragement. She finished the song fine, but I could see the worry starting to work its' way into her brain. The next song requires actually putting fingers down - just one! However, most likely because she was still thinking about her earlier error (oh how many times has this happened), her concentration was off and she forgot to even get her fingers onto the fingerboard. Thus, she played the entire song on the open E and A string. At the end of the song, I could see the fear in her eyes, but she still smiled and bowed.

When she returned to her seat, we heaped praise on her, and she seemed fine. However, later that night, I heard her crying in her room. I snuggled into bed with her, and we whispered back and forth about nothing at all. I waited. Finally, it came. "Mommy...did you ever make a big mistake while you were performing?" "ALL THE TIME" I whispered back. "Mommy... did you ever play the wrong song while you were performing?" "UH HUH" I whispered back, eyes wide. "Mommy... do you still love me even though I didn't do super-good?" "More than ever" I whispered back.

Even though it was a difficult experience, it's one that is smothered in lessons. Don't let your mistakes show...don't let one mistake distract you...anything can happen during performances, so be prepared...mommy loves you no matter how you play...and, always bring extra tights!

She seems eager for her next performance...I know I am! I just hope that she remembers how much fun she had, and doesn't focus on the small, tiny mistakes.

Here are some pictures, and the video of the "taka" song!