I can’t believe that after 12 years in Boston we are picking up and relocating. Just like when I moved from Utah to Boston, the hardest thing is saying goodbye to my students and the community we have built here. I am so thankful for the past 12 years. You have seen me bring home my babies, have survived a worldwide pandemic, and so many other things! Most importantly, you have welcomed me into your lives and we have made so many beautiful memories and so much beautiful music. I will miss you.

Thank You Thank You Thank You,
Libby

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Week #1

Violin Review List:

Mississippi Hot Dog Twinkle, Mississippi Mississippi Twinkle, Go Tell AR (happy and sad), Allegro, Etude, Happy Farmer, Hunter’s Chorus, Two Grenadiers, Minuet in G, Gavotte in G Minor, Bach Bourree

Violin Reading:

Cabbage Easy (Recording below): Fairfield Fiddle Farm Vol. 1 pg. 4

Cabbage Hard (Recording below): Fairfield Fiddle Farm Vol. 1 pg. 32-33; If

Violin and Piano

Rhythm Practice (Winning Rhythms): Pg 2, a-e; try to do the rest of the page by yourself. Keep a steady beat and keep counting!!!

Flashcards

Listening

Brahms’ Violin Concerto

Mozart Piano Concertos

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I know some of you have started reading our book Nurture Shock and I wanted to share a little bit of it with you. I hope you all can read it. It is great! If you haven’t found a copy of it yet you can order it here or I know the library has several copies of it.

In the first chapter “The Inverse Power of Praise” we read:

“The presumption is that if a child believes he’s smart (having been told so, repeatedly), he won’t be intimidated by new academic challenges. The constant praise is meant to be an angel on the shoulder, ensuring that children do not sell their talents short.

“But a growing body of research…strongly suggests it might be the other way around. Giving kids the label of “smart” does not prevent them from underperforming. It might actually be causing it.”

A bold statement! And one that I did not agree with originally. Bronson goes on to share the findings of a woman named Dr. Carol Dweck from her studies on praise. He talks about different kinds of praise. When praised for innate ability or talent, children react one way and when praised for effort, children react another. I find these studies fascinating. Another article about Dr. Dweck’s work can be found here.

Have any of you read this?

What are your thoughts?

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There was an article in the New York Times titled “Is Music the Key to Success?” I encourage each of you to read it, Do you believe there is a connection?

This fits right in with our discussion on the Non-Musical Benefits of music study–providing us with prominent successful examples of playing an instrument. 

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