Flying Solo
Life was pretty normal today, with a call to @galenkp and co around lunchtime, cleaning the house, doing laundry, playing some games together and generally, preparing for the week ahead. I am meant to be going on a work trip from Tuesday, but haven't started packing yet.
Smallsteps participated in her first solo piano recital tonight, with two songs that she has been practicing for the last few weeks - Au clair de la lune and Chim Chim Cher-ee, from Mary Poppins. She has been very nervous in the leadup about performing in front of people by herself. But, after pushing the butterflies away and after an awkward bow, she got on with the job at hand.
As we got there far too early (the teachers weren't there yet), so Smallsteps was able to play a bit of each song to get a feel for the grand piano, which she hasn't played much before. I could also take a couple photos, though it was pretty dark in the place and I was flashless.
We have a standing piano at home, that we were gifted by family as they couldn't fit it in their new apartment. We have had it since we moved into this house, but Smallsteps has only started having lessons from the start of this year. However, the difference in sound between the two is quite extreme, even though we had ours tuned not so long ago. Granted, I don't think the guy did a great job tuning, but if Smallsteps continues on down this path, I might look at getting her a digital piano instead.
She is growing up so fast now, that I feel like I am missing bits and pieces of her life. Like, I blink, and something else has changed and I didn't even know it was on the cards. What I notice a lot these days is how her language is changing, as she is using increasingly complex sentence structures, with broader vocabulary. She is also getting sharper with her humor, which is impressive as at least to me, she has always been quick-witted.
She keeps me on my toes.
Which isn't that hard.
I am going to have to find ways to up the language challenge for her, so that she doesn't plateau in English because she is stuck interacting with me. Of course, as she starts reading more her vocabulary will improve, but there is nothing like proper conversation to hone skills and learn about all of the subtle cues in speed, tone and pitch - not to mention the associated body language that adds complexity to the arrangement. There is a lot to learn, but practical exercise is the best way.
There were other kids performing, most quite a bit older, and I asked Smallsteps if seeing them play had any affect on her and she realized that it makes her want to practice more and improve, as they played so beautifully. I think that it is a good lesson in how the people around us can influence our desires, and our behaviors. If we want to improve at something, we should surround ourselves with people who are already better at us at it, and who are able to inspire us to practice a little more.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
It sounds like it was a really great performance by her. I know those nerves all too well, though I always had a band surrounding me, so it was a little less intense being in the spotlight. Nobody really cared about the goofy guy in the back playing the cymbals!
The cymbals :D I would never have guessed in a million years!
I was a percussionist, so I played all manner of bangy instruments!
Ah! that sounds like fun :)
We had some good times for sure!
Let alone performing in front of people by yourself, even speaking is not easy and needs some specific education. Thus, I think she has got an important experince in her early life 😉
I am hoping so. She is starting to get out of her shell a little more - but there is a long way to go :)
Sure, and have we got out of it yet? 😄
@tipu curate
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First time back after many months, fully back, that is, and this is the first post I read? Great. No, for real, super glad. (Is it me, or those the first sentence sound like sarcasm? LOL). It's such a reminder and a confirmation of how much I missed it here. You don't read cute updates like this just anywhere and often, except it's a book or something.
How intentional you are about teaching/showing your daughter things I everyday wish I had, or could do, is really a delight. As I read, I imagined her as a wise, skilled, sharp and brilliantly diversified woman. The kind I would love to meet and discuss/plan nation building and world changing issues with... oh you must pardon me, I already feel like I am using all my Hive-reserved words on you, haha.
I guess what I am trying to say is Kudos!
Kudos not only for doing your job so well, but for encouraging others to do theirs (as many these days really do not), as well as "producing" seasoned members of the future world.
Ain’t that the truth. Besides picking up some tricks from people who play better than us, we can draw inspiration at discovering the bar is higher than we have set it.
What a gift you have helped give in the form of a solid musical foundation. Piano is as good as it gets when it comes to writing songs or transitioning to other instruments in case she decides to pursue it further. Otherwise, that basis for musical appreciation and connection will always be there.
I think it comes with age. Kids want to clear the bar - adults want to overcome it.
I am hoping that one day, she will write a song for me. Just tonight I asked if she would, and she is unsure. But, I will keep asking :)
It's wonderful to have people who inspire us to achieve more
I love the photos, she looks so mature and confident in that last one! And her attitude, to let others inspire her to work harder, is phenomenal in one so young. Her teacher must be very good too. Great job Dad!
Her teacher really is good. I played piano for about the same "time" (not as much practice) and I was far, far, far below her!
If you want book suggestions for Smallsteps, your HIVE librarian is here! Reading words isn't the same as conversation, of course, but it will build vocabulary. A dictionary with pronunciation guides is also helpful if you don't have one already.
A dictionary is on the cards. I think she is at the age where she will have some fun with one. What is interesting with Finnish is that the language is phonetic - there are no spelling tests here.
One of my Finnish friends lived in the US for a bit when she was pre-teen, and while she couldn't speak English that well at the time, never spelled words she had read incorrectly. She would read them "as a Finn" so the spelling was clear :)
Well, there is a reason for the weirdness of English. I recommend The History of English podcast once she's a few years older. It ties together history, language, literature, and more.
In short, a lot of spellings are left over from when that was the phonetic spelling.
That's impressive! Kids do really frow up very fast
It looks like Smallsteps rises to every occasion and that is saying a lot considering she is yet so young. To be able to conquer stage fright is a huge accomplishment, especially when using an unfamiliar piano. I like to hear of her advancements in communication, but even more so in humor.
She's a legit little kid and I'm proud to call her my niece.
I'm certain she inherited a few traits from you, as well as her mom and dad. She seems such a well rounded child. I predict she will be able to choose her life's path and excel in the path she has chosen. It's a joy to watch her skills grow.
Yeah, it's incredible to see her develop and I get the impression she'll make something pretty great of her life. She's such a funny kid, as is my nephew @mrbonkers as well. Good kids the both of them.
That's good to know. As their generation prepares to be world leaders (in another 20 years or so) it's comforting to know we have some intelligent, level headed people to set the stage.
I know you have a visit with @mrbonkers coming up soon...hope you have a grand time and build some awesome Legos!
The world would be a better place if my niece ran it.
As for @mrbonkers, yep not too far away, first quarter of 2025. We were video talking last night, he was telling me about all the things we could do and Lego was one of them. I'm going to let him drive my truck (sitting on my lap to steer) and I'm going to let him shoot some guns too, supervised of course. He's looking forward to that, and to painting and water fights, the beach, Pancake Kitchen (a tradition in my family) and watch Top Gun and so much other stuff. I'm looking forward to it too.
She is doing really well and what was interesting today, was that she played the songs again, and played them better. It is like she is concentrating a little more - might not last long though!
It may not last long, but then again, maybe it will. If it strikes a chord in her she will continue to progress and perfect her skills. At the very least, she will have that skill to carry her through life, even if she loses interest. Music is a language and if I remember correctly, she is quick to pick up languages and their nuances.
Wait til she hits teens XD I noted down as much as I could with the homeschool blogs which was apparently enough for us to get by but I remember talking to the moderators every year and freely admitting that I don't know what else they get up to most of the time (everything in the blogs is stuff I've facilitated or stuff they've come to talk to me about (which is frequent but still feels like it's only the very topmost tip of a very large iceberg which is almost entirely submerged.
I remember playing Au clair de la lune on flute a hundred million years ago. May have also played it on recorder even longer ago than that. Is everyone still required to have/learn recorder these days? XD
Yay for the first performance! Did she have fun with it after the initial nerves? Hope there's heaps more and that she loves them :D
Seeing other people doing stuff better than you is such inspiration, I remember after taking the bigs and middle child's bestie to the Stardew Valley concert, the bestie (who plays flute) said watching the flautist was inspiring her to practise more.
I don't understand the people who get jealous
You and @bozz should start a band!
Yeah she did and was proud of herself that she overcame the nerves :)
I wonder if the jealous y is of the skill, the person, or the forced acknowledgement that someone is willing to learn, while the jealous person is not.
I'm sure we could do some interesting renditions XD
in my case it may or may not be against Geneva Conventions
Good on her :D
Hmm that's an interesting thought on the jealousy front, I'm going to be pondering that one for a while especially as the only people that I've known that are that consumed by jealousy that they are actively working against/badmouthing the people they're jealous of don't seem to be the type that would be aware that that's why they're doing it (they seem to think their actions are justified).
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I think performing in front of people, experiencing that nervousness, and overcoming them is very important for character growth. Now that she has that under her belt, she should be more confident and be able to explore and do more things in the future.
Did you ever perform as a kid? I played sports, but it is different.
A little. My first one was singing when I was a kid. I got stage fright and it was a dumpsterfire, so that really messed with my confidence.
She looks like a prodigy. Reading is not only good for vocabulary, but it's also great for spelling.
Spelling is pretty easy for a Finn - the language is phonetic, so when they learn other languages, they learn it through the frame of Finnish and can spell well. Speaking well is a different matter!
English must be one of the least phonetic languages in the world. An attempt was made to introduce the phonetic Shavian script - I might write a post on it.
She is a Rising Star!
Indeed.
My wife was really into piano in her youth winning many competitions. She didn't choose the music path forward as that was the time Soviet Union fell apart a music career wasn't the best choice at the time. Our daughter is 11 years and 5 months old, the change in the last 5 months seems to be more than in the last couple years, so you might look forward to even further acceleration in your daughters growing up fast :)
It must have been hard for your wife to give up though. I always find it interesting that we generally give up the skills that make humans beautiful, in order to make money. Strange, isn't it?
I tell my daughter I will put a heavy book on her head to stop her growing. :)
LOL that is funny :) Yeah we cannot stop them from growing, we can just be there for them and try to help.