Joy Meets Viola

A few days ago, we had a new addition to our household.

Joy and I went to a local music store and rented a viola.  Her siblings were intrigued by this mysterious and surprisingly light instrument.  Since we've had really good experiences with Suzuki piano lessons, I looked for a Suzuki violin/viola teacher (I didn't find any strictly viola teachers in our area, probably because there aren't enough viola students to pay the bills), and found one in a neighboring town who also plays the violin in a local orchestra.  We observed one of her lessons, and she seemed like a skillful and encouraging teacher, so decided to give her a try.

This afternoon we went to Joy's first lesson (and mine too--I'm learning with her partly out of curiosity, and partly so I can help her practice properly).  We expected to whip out our bow and play a few long, soulful (or scratchy) notes.  Instead, our first lesson consisted of memorizing the parts of the viola, plucking each of the strings while saying its name, and learning how to hold the bow.  While it seemed a little rudimentary and disappointing, we quickly discovered why that's all we got to do: holding that bow the right way is hard work, especially for your pinkie finger.  My hand gets tired very quickly, and I can see why it needs to exercise for a week before we try playing anything.

For the younger kids, the novelty of the viola has already worn off, and they were content to play with the teacher's wooden train set.  I still think the viola is pretty cool though.  As for Joy, she wants to take both piano and viola lessons for the rest of the summer, and maybe beyond.  Her homework load was very light in fifth grade, and if it stays that way in way in sixth grade she might be able to handle both instruments.  I'm guessing that she'll eventually have to choose between them because she is too busy or tired of making time for double practice each day.  During summer vacation, though, she has plenty of time to explore both instruments and see which one she likes better.  I'm guessing the viola will win and she'll tinker with the piano on the side, but I've been wrong before.