Best excuses for NOT practicing VIOLIN from STUDENTS!!!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kelly Torosian on February 8, 2010 at 10:39am

The screeching is funny, but you'd think by now that the "my dog ate my book!" would just fade away. NO one believes that anyway! The ones I hear all the time are:
"I forgot"
"I had a _(insert sport here)__game"
"My violin was out of tune" (when often it's not the violin, it's their fingers!)

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Janice Tucker Rhoda on February 8, 2010 at 12:12pm

Thanks, Kelly. Oh, yes, my violin was out of tune! I forgot about that one! Here's another one from a student of mine: "I didn't practice because my D string broke." I said: BUT, you don't play on the D yet, all of your songs are on the A and E strings!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kelly Torosian on February 9, 2010 at 9:51am

Haha, that one's really funny too! Really, it's amazing what kids can come up with. The hard part is not laughing with them, since then they feel like they can get away with it again.

Janice Tucker Rhoda said:

Thanks, Kelly. Oh, yes, my violin was out of tune! I forgot about that one! Here's another one from a student of mine: "I didn't practice because my D string broke." I said: BUT, you don't play on the D yet, all of your songs are on the A and E strings!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ann Marie Cordial on February 16, 2010 at 1:04pm

This - believe it or not - came from an adult learner. I think he was studying violin for approximately 18 months and approached me one day at work and asked,"Can you recommend a teacher for me? I'm going to leave me current teacher. I don't want to take weekly lessons, I just want to take a lesson once or twice a month."

So, I asked him how he thought he would progress if he only took lessons once or twice a month, and he said and in a serious tone,"This is supposed to be FUN, not WORK. I also would like to get up to practicing for 10 minutes a day."

I almost choked on my coffee. I spent the entire rest of the day wondering what the heck he practiced or played in under 10 minutes...............

Anyway, I wonder what he told his teacher each week when he showed up for lessons....that this was a GOOD week? Because he managed a 4 minute practice time each day? (I'm sorry, this still makes me laugh when I think about it).

---Ann Marie

▶ Reply to This

▶ Reply to This