You may recall that the boys have been taking ukelele lessons for about a year and a half now. We took a pretty big chunk of time off last spring and summer, but started back in earnest last fall. Every week.
I am supposed to get them to practice every day, but that is a lot of effort on my part, so I do it (most) weekdays only. Still, there are plenty of days when it doesn’t happen until I unburden the task onto Henry after dinner. Anders is easy; just tell him to practice and he happily strums along to himself. As with everything, Finn takes more persuading. And you actually have to sit down and do it with him. (I realize there are bigger problems in the world then getting your kid to practice an instrument.)
Both of them are getting pretty good. When I watch them change cords and read music that I don’t understand, I am proud of them. And when I see how cute they looked at their St. Patrick’s Day Gig, I appreciate all the hard work they put into it. Although, I am the one doing the reminding and prodding, they are the ones who really make it happen.
This video might be a little long and boring if it’s not your kid, but since it is about our kids I think it’s pretty sweet.
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And here’s the video from their Holiday Gig, in case you missed it.
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Lovely.
Yes, it is a pain sometimes to get Oliver to practice piano too, but so worth it when I hear him play, see his pride after performing, or when he’s graduated to a new book, or when he describes himself as a “piano player”. I think both the joy and discipline of knowing how to make music are great gifts we can give our children…but yes, not always easy on a day-to-day (or pocketbook) basis. Worth it, though, I think.
Thanks for commenting, Jane. I think I’ll appreciate all my hard work 😉 more and more as the boys get to be better and more confident players. They sure do like it, which is what matters right now.