Hand over that Mother of the Year Award

[ciroccoj]

Daniel learned his Christmas carol, and is working on the dynamics. Justin has been working so hard it's heartbreaking, especially this last week, but cannot manage to remember where his fingers go. If he looks at the music and it's got each letter and finger written on top of the notes, he gets distracted and flustered. If I erase the cheat notes, he's just lost.

He wants, so badly, to be able to play Away In a Manger for his grandparents. And it's not going to happen. He's been learning piano for three years now, and wants to play a very very simple four-line tune. Two of the lines are identical, and only require him to play with the right hand. The other two are similar, and require him to play with both hands doing the same pattern.

I even took out the left-hand part of his last line. No dice.

Three years learning to play. Four weeks practicing two one-hand lines and one two-hand line. And he can't do it.

I feel like the worst mother in the world, for telling him he could do it. I feel even worse for wanting to scream as he slowly and laboriously goes over four-note patterns twenty, forty, sixty times, before getting it right... and then promptly forgets them the next day.

But I can't help thinking I don't have time for this! I had a list of things that absolutely needed doing this week before we left for Calgary. Then Chris decided that we needed to shut down our Royal Bank accounts and open up at a different bank. Over three hours were spent on this, as I wistfully thought of all that I needed to get done, that wasn't being done. Not a problem, though: I still had Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Then I realized I'd forgotten to write an appointment on my calendar and there went another three and a half hours. Then I got calls re. information needed right now which meant another two hours. Then today was the NAC. And the popcorn deliveries. And my list is almost exactly where it was on Monday, because everything else has taken priority. No matter what comes up, it must be more important than my piddly little concerns.

I'm starting to panic.

And into the middle of this comes Justin's piano piece. His four-line piano piece, which he has been struggling to learn for a month now. I don't know how to tell him that it's just not going to happen.

Comments

[mynuet.livejournal.com]

Why not ask him if he wants to continue? At least if it's a dialogue, he gets to talk out his frustrations.

You could also bring up the idea of switching him to percussion. That way it's rhythm/math and he can get used to that before then adding in the concept of notes on a staff.

[ciroccoj.livejournal.com]

I have. That's part of what makes this so difficult; I've given him the option of quitting, and have suggested it, a few times now. He really wants to do it. But it's getting to the point where I'm going to have to put my foot down and declare all his efforts a waste, like I did with French.

Percussion is a thought, though. He'd probably enjoy that...

[mynuet.livejournal.com]

You could even tie it into world culture/history, since percussion is so universal. He could get a guiro, some maracas, talk about the connection between Africa and Latin countries, maybe even work in lessons on the difference between black slavery in Spanish colonialism versus the English kind. And, hey, the beat is the most important part of making music.

[umbo.livejournal.com]

*hugs*