Our Little Violin Player

Many of you may already know that our little girl is extremely musical and has been since she was born. As her parents are also musical it seems that is where she got it from! We have been thinking for a little while that we wanted to cultivate her musical talents and so she has performed twice at church (she is singing in my parents ward this weekend).

When I performed in the Hosanna at Easter, you may recall there was an amazing violin soloist that mesmerized Jasmine. We realized that violin is one of the few instruments that she could start to learn now. Also, we are lucky enough to have a friend who is an amazing violinist and teacher, Jason Day.

We contacted Jason and he had us come and observe a lesson at his studio (in his home) of a 3 year old he is teaching. I have never seen Jasmine sit so still and she periodically tugged on my shirt and whispered, "When is it my turn Mommy? Is it my turn yet?" After we left the lesson Jasmine insisted that she wanted a violin and could she please play it too. Lorne and I decided this was the right thing for Jasmine to try and so we talked to Jason and signed her up for lessons. She had her first violin lesson last week on Monday, May 5 at 4:30 PM. She was so excited and we explained to her that she would be getting her violin and learning to play it. She was so excited. When we got there, the first thing Jason did was to make her a foot chart that shows her feet at rest position and play position. Also her violin and bow. The he started teaching her the parts of the violin. She learned quickly but was anxious to give playing the violin a try. Jason taught her how to hold the bow and how to hold the violin on her chin. I have to tell you, the small violin that we bought her to learn to play on is the cutest thing you have ever seen! I was also instructed to pay attention and take notes because as parents, we have to guide her practice at home and know what to as well. Since she is so young, this isn't something she can do alone! Lorne and I knew that when we made this choice and we intend on doing our best to be active participants in this as well. I asked Jason if I could take pictures at the lesson and he said sure so enjoy the pics because they are precious!