Making a Difference

Author: Marina Zimmermann

The innocence of a child is one of the things that touches me the most. They simply are who they are. Each small step is a victory, being able to pizzie (playing pizzicato or plucking) the string, hold the bow, play the first bars of "Mississippi hotdog...". The opportunity to be able to teach them the violin is a gift because I know it will make a difference in their lives, as it did in mine. With each class, I notice that the focus time is increasing and what was previously "impossible" has now become reality. I can already see a growth in logical reasoning, both in practice and in theory. They already recognize the notes on the musical staff and know how to sing solfege (syllables, do, re, me, fa, etc., are assigned to notes) . When they hold the violin, they already have the correct posture and many already ask to "play by themselves". At the end of the class, I always leave with an air of hope that even with small actions we can make a difference!