Traditional Weddings are classy, elegant, and a lot of couples’ dreams come true! I’ve done lists of unconventional music before, but here is a list of my favorite elegant, traditional music for a classic wedding.
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, by JS Bach
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring is great, because it can be used for prelude music, processional music, recessional music, or even for a unity candle! This timeless melody flows effortlessly and is perfect for weddings because there are multiple places to stop without feeling abrupt. That means your quartet can cadence and end a song gracefully, regardless of when your party is finished processing down the aisle or whenever you’re done lighting your unity candle!
Wachet Auf, by JS Bach
Another classic, this piece has another versatile melody that will flow well wherever you place it! Its tempo is perfect for a relaxed march down the aisle, and the melody is simple enough to set the mood for a unity candle without distracting from what’s going on. Perfect for classy wedding ceremonies!
Trumpet Voluntary, by Jeremiah Clarke
No trumpet needed to play this iconic wedding piece! This march was composed for royalty, and who doesn’t want to feel like a prince or princess on their special day? This is a great processional piece that will have your wedding guests feeling like they’re attending a royal wedding.
Solomon: Entrance of the Queen of Sheba, by George Frideric Handel
This fun, upbeat piece is great for a recessional! Handel wrote this piece as part of his oratorio, Solomon. The Queen of Sheba had taken a long journey to arrive at Solomon’s Court. Triumphant and Joyous, this piece is the perfect song to signify that you, too, have arrived at the end of your long journey of engagement and will leave the ceremony newly married.
Canon in D Major, by Johann Pachelbel
I’d be crazy to leave this off the list! Pachelbel’s one hit wonder, Canon in D, has survived centuries because of its soothing, beautiful melody. This is truly the staple of a traditional wedding ceremony, and it will fit wherever you place it. Like Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, this is a great piece for processionals or unity candle lighting because there are many places where your quartet can cadence and end gracefully when music is no longer needed.
Jenna Michael, violin, Krista Archambault, violin, Jamie Listh, viola, Kevin Sweers, cello
What are your favorite wedding songs? Let me know in the comments below!
Before I branched out on my own and started a violin studio, I remember looking on Pinterest, Google, Facebook, Instagram… anything I could think of for tips and advice! A lot of the stuff I read was helpful, but after a year of doing this on my own, I had my own tips to share. Here’s what I wish I knew before I started my own music studio.
Policies
If you’re anything like me, confrontation and the idea of policing rules probably feels really yucky. Navigating how to safely give lessons during a pandemic only exacerbated this feeling. Don’t make the mistake of not setting boundaries. If you are a music teacher, you likely are a giver. You’ve probably heard it before, but givers need boundaries because takers don’t have any! It’s not a matter of if you will be taken advantage of, it’s when, unfortunately. As a business owner, you should expect some losses, and it’s important to always be providing the best service possible. However this should not come at the cost of your sanity or the ability to pay your bills.
Bill Monthly
Whether you charge by the lesson or charge a monthly tuition rate, you should be getting paid the first week of each month. The parents of your students should be responsible for letting you know of any conflicts coming up before they pay for their invoice. If you charge your students for each lesson as they occur, you are going to be taken advantage of, because your time is money! Billing monthly will protect you in the long run.
Have a Make-Up Policy from the Start
Having a make-up policy works very well in tandem with billing monthly. Let all of your parents know before their first lesson what your make-up policy is. Have it in writing, either in paperwork that you give to parents to sign or an email so that you can refer back to it. Something really helpful that I learned at my old office job is that if it isn’t in writing, it didn’t happen.
I recommend having a 3-24 hour cancellation policy. Then, you can decide how flexible you want to be with it. Did Suzy come home from school with a runny nose and pass out on the couch an hour before her 4:30 lesson? That would be a good time to exercise some flexibility if you are able. Has Wanda’s mom texted you 30 minutes before her lesson that “it just won’t work today” once a month for the past 90 days? Time to remind her of your make-up policy. Remember how I said billing monthly protects you? This is why. When someone takes advantage of your time by cancelling lessons on a whim, you need to keep the payment for that lesson. I know especially when you are first starting that this can be scary; you don’t want to make parents angry and risk losing a student. Consider it this way: what is worse, not knowing what you will make from that student from month to month, or finding a new student that will routinely come to each lesson? It may take some time, but eventually you will have a full studio with students who follow your policies. Don’t discredit yourself now, because it will be extremely hard to rein it back in later.
Keep Records of Your Students
It’s so fun to keep track of everyone’s birthdays, and each student will be thrilled if you remember them on their day. It’s also great for you to keep notes of each lesson and what you worked on. I have a binder with a tab for each student that lists their birthday, and some bullet points from each lesson. You just won’t remember what each student is up to in their lessons once you’re up to 20 students.
I’ve seen some teachers have the students keep notes and bring a notebook to their lessons, but that leaves a lot of room for error. If they forget their book, now you look silly because you don’t know what they were working on. Even worse, if something happens to their notebook, you lose your notes for that student. Having a record for your students is also helpful in keeping track of how many lessons they are missing, or how many you have needed to reschedule on your end.
You Don’t Need to Respond Immediately to Angry Emails or Messages
First, I want to mention that I have found that treating each person with kindness and respect will greatly minimize the chance of angry or frustrated messages. But it doesn’t eliminate it, because there will always be someone who can’t respect boundaries or think that they could do your job better. Whatever it is that one of your parents challenges you on, don’t respond right away. It’s hard not to, because it might make you defensive, or sad, or even angry yourself… but you’ll be glad you waited. I always find that I am able to be much more diplomatic when I give myself some space to breathe and bounce some ideas off of my husband or friends on how to respond. By giving yourself time, you may even be able to be open to changing to meet someone with a compromise. However, remember that you are the teacher; you’re the one who went to school for this, you went to all those $700 a piece teacher trainings and you’re the one who has been playing for longer than this student has been alive. It’s ok to stand your ground, too.
*Bonus Tip: If you can tell that a parent is exceptionally upset, talk to them either on the phone or over coffee. If you aren’t ready to have the conversation when you receive the text or email, ask them if they would be willing to set up a time to talk or meet you for coffee to discuss. It’s hard to have someone challenge you in real time by talking to them either face to face or over the phone, but it’s also a lot harder for them to be nasty. You also won’t need to worry about how your tone is being interpreted.
Financial Tips
All of that stress of college, the nights without sleep, the muscle soreness from practicing your fingers raw, and you have maybe one class that mentioned a tiny bit about how to market yourself and manage your money. If you are in college right now and reading this, take a business class, and maybe get a business minor! They don’t teach enough of this stuff to music students, and our artsy minds have a hard time grasping it anyway.
Hire a CPA
Sure you could try to do your taxes on your own and figure out how to accurately file for a sole proprietorship or LLC. Especially if you don’t have a large studio yet and are not in a financial position to afford a CPA, perhaps this is the best option for you. However in my mind, a couple hundred dollars a year for my peace of mind in knowing I reported my income correctly and was able to claim everything I absolutely could was worth it.
On that Note, Claim Everything!!
Do you drive to a studio to teach? Calculate your miles, even if it’s 3 miles down the road. Did you take teacher training? Did you have to buy sheet music for the weddings you played in? Did you rent a space to have a recital? Do you pay for internet so you can respond to leads? All of this is stuff you can claim as an expense for your business and you should, because that is money out of your pocket that needs to be accounted for. This will really lighten the blow of that first tax bill.
Save for February!!
This is really something I wish I would have hammered into my head before I let myself get so tight before March. Even working in restaurants and salons, I knew that the late winter months sucked for income, but you don’t understand it until you experience it firsthand. First, February is the shortest month, meaning if you charge by the lesson, you’ll have the fewest lessons this month. Your holiday money will be gone, and you’ll be chugging through flu (and now covid) season. Between flu season, covid, vacations, and holidays, I have not had a full week of lessons since early November. And they are valid reasons for canceled lessons. Next year I will be making sure that I have extra money saved for February!
*Bonus Tip: Don’t ever plan on having every student to show up for every lesson in a month. Give your budget a little bit of wiggle room, because we’re all living chaotic lives and it just doesn’t work to make it to every lesson!
Advertising Tips
This is what I spent all my time looking for when I first started. So you have the policies, you know how much you gotta save, you’ve taken training… well, now you need to get paid, so how do you get students?
Contact Schools
A quick look on Google Maps will show you which schools are close to your studio. Make a list of the schools you would like to contact, and then visit each school’s website and email one of the administrative assistants. Keep in mind that schools are short staffed right now, so if you don’t hear back for a few days, that’s normal! You can ask the admin assistants if they would be willing to put you in touch with their music teacher or if they could pass along your information. You can also ask them if they keep a list of private lessons instructors on hand and what you could do to get on the list. Most of the time, they will just put you on it without you needing to do anything extra. I’ve gotten quite a few students this way!
Use Social Media
I don’t love Facebook, but it is a very effective way to get your name out there. Create a page for yourself or your studio (even if it makes you feel super self-conscious at first like it did for me), and start posting about what you do. Pinterest has great ideas for making content, and you can schedule out posts months in advance!
Another way to use media is to create a website for yourself. If you do create a website, write a blog! You can post weekly, monthly, or whatever, but the more you post on your blog about relevant issues, the better it will be for your website’s SEO.
Play in local areas to promote yourself
Last summer, I decided to contact a few local farmers markets and ask them if I could come play some fiddle music. They were excited to have me, and it was a super enjoyable experience. I made a sign that showed how to contact me and advertised that I gave violin lessons and did weddings. I got so many inquiries from people who saw me playing! In the summer, parents are more likely to have their children with them during the day as well. When the kids become fascinated with what you’re doing, the parents will start thinking about violin lessons.
*Bonus tip: Do you have friends in the area who teach? Ask them if they would consider referring their overflow to you. I’ve referred students to friends when I didn’t have time in my schedule and I’ve had friends do the same for me as well. Just moved? A quick google search will put you in contact with some of the local private lessons teachers.
I LOVE that weddings are becoming totally customizable! Video games have some of the greatest music (partially why I’ve been a Zelda fan since elementary school!), and I love it when couples ask me to play video game music for their ceremonies or receptions. Below are 5 Video Game Soundtrack Songs that would be perfect for a wedding!
Great Fairy’s Fountain from The Legend of Zelda
If you know me personally, you know that I’ve been a huge fan of the Zelda games since I’ve been playing video games. Who else got their start on the N64 on the family TV? The Great Fairy’s Fountain theme is a perfect song to have during your ceremony as either a processional song or as a unity candle (or equivalent) song. I had the opportunity to perform this for the first time last fall for an outdoor wedding in front of a large fountain. How perfect is that??
Dearly Beloved from Kingdom Hearts
How can you not love this incredibly romantic song? It’s almost as though it was composed just for this occasion! 😉 I have personally played this for a bridal processional song and I had chills as the bride walked down the aisle. I think it’s a perfect song for a ceremony.
Littleroot Town from Pokémon: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire
When I was in kindergarten, the first Pokémon movie came out. I watched part of it with my mom and my little brother. I say part of it, because at one point in the movie, Mew and Mewtwo watch as Pokémon square off one on one, and then Ash DIES (or turns into stone forever, but I feel the end result is the same). My mother turned off the movie in horror and deemed Pokémon too violent for our age, and it wasn’t until years later that I heard that Ash was later brought back by the tears of the Pokémon. Why do I tell you this? Because it wasn’t until my tenth birthday that I was able to have any sort of Pokémon anything in my house again. I got my first Gameboy (renamed a Gamegirl because, why not) with Pokémon Sapphire and I put an embarrassing amount of hours into that game (don’t ask about the hours I put into the remake!). Any music from this game is special to me because it was the first Pokémon game I was allowed to play after watching my friends play for YEARS!
I think this song is peaceful and would make a great processional song for the parents and bridal party. Since the nature of this song is to repeat over and over again, it can be easily adapted for however long it takes for everyone to get down the aisle before it’s time for the bride to process.
From Past to Present from Skyrim
This is a song that we have in our repertoire but sadly don’t have a recording for yet, so what better thing to do than go right to the source? Skyrim has a beautiful soundtrack and this song would be a perfect addition to the prelude music before a fantasy-style wedding as guests arrive.
Rosalina’s Comet Observatory from Mario Galaxy
I was happy to find a recording of a string quartet playing this! I think that the Comet Observatory theme would be perfect to play as a recessional song. It would also be great to include in the prelude music before the wedding as guests arrive. I also feel that it doesn’t really stand out as a “video game” song, so if you’re trying to slip in the soundtrack songs discreetly, I think this is a great choice!
It can be hard to find video game sheet music, so I’m curious, what have you heard played before, and would you recommend it for a wedding? Post your comment below!!
New Year’s Day and the first few weeks of January are always great times to check in, reflect, and set new goals. I’ve found that I grew more from the teachers who set clear goals for me than the ones who played things more by ear, and I strive each year to be a better teacher for my students! So, in addition to more personalized goals for each individual student, here are three goals I would like to see allof my students reach this year.
Practice and Listen More Often.
When you teach 3-12 year olds, it can be hard to find a good practice/listening and life balance. Even harder when you personally have struggled with debilitating burnout in the past. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve gotten a bit lax with my practice requirements and I haven’t always been persistent in having my students listen to their music each week. I struggle a lot with seeing where the line is between encouraging a love of music by keeping lessons fun and doing a disservice to my students by not encouraging them to meet their full potential. I also think that telling each student to practice every day is not realistic, and it’s kind of a cop-out. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could practice every day, work out every day, work on our jobs and our side hustles every day (or go to school!), and never experience an ounce of stress, burnout, or injury!
Practicing every day will surely help you improve faster than the students who don’t. I’m sure Ray Chen, Hillary Hahn, and other famous violinists do, in fact, practice nearly every day. I had many college professors who insisted we practice every day. But, I’ll let you in on a secret: I’ve never met an adult musician who has spent their life practicing each and every day at the expense of sleep, rest, and sometimes their health, who is also consistently happy, has appropriate social skills, and doesn’t hold an unhealthy resentment towards those who don’t fit their idea of what it means to “work hard”. So, even though I realize I’m in the minority when I say this, I don’t think my students should practice every day. Instead, what I tell them is that they should practice most days. I think you should take a look at a student’s work load and work together towards practice goals that make sense for each individual student.
That said, my strong feelings against the side hustle and burnout culture have made it very hard for me to understand where I need to draw a line. I think it’s possible to acknowledge and encourage my students not to overdo it and also set firm boundaries on how much they should be practicing and listening to their music. This is also an expectation that needs to be stated clearly with the parents. Kids are just that: kids. They need reminders. It’s my job to make sure the parent knows what is expected of both them and their children. My goal for them is to establish a workable practice and listening routine so that my students are practicing more.
Explore New Music.
I love the Suzuki books. They’re set up in a way that makes sense to me and I believe that as you continue through each book, the skills you learn from each song build on each other. But they’re not diverse. I think most, if not all, of these songs were not even written in the same century that our students are growing up in. Classical music is great, but it’s far from the only thing out there and it would be silly to think that all of my students go home and blast Tchaik 5 or the New World Symphony. I want them to listen to music that is being made today, whether that is from contemporary violinists, jazz musicians, or pop artists. Being able to listen to music and not do anything else, just listen and enjoy it, is totally underrated and personally, I think it’s healing and a very healthy thing for us all to do. My goal is to help them eventually take self-guided explorations with new music without me encouraging it. But for now I can send home some fun assignments! 😉
Have More Confidence
This is something I ALWAYS have on my list of goals for my students. Life has a way of getting you down, and social media can make it easy to compare ourselves to others who seemingly have it together more than we do. If my students only do one thing in 2022, I hope that they become more comfortable with their instrument, are proud of themselves for doing so, and in turn, have the confidence to keep playing.
With just a few weeks left in December, I wanted to reflect on this past year. It was a big year for me – I left my day job as a receptionist to pursue my dream of being a full time musician. It’s proven to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, but it hasn’t come without hardships. Dealing with the medicaid office for one, was a horrible nightmare. Even though I had saved diligently to pay for a health insurance plan, I didn’t qualify for one because when I applied in March, I had no weddings, so almost no income was coming in. It was also a very difficult decision to explain to others. I left a job with decent pay and good benefits for something that in all honesty had a really big chance to fail. I’m very careful to stay humble because if I was in a different situation – if I didn’t have support from my family, if I had children to feed, etc. I wouldn’t have been able to take this leap of faith. But now I’m doing what I love – sharing my love of music with others, and I’m even getting paid to do it! I also reached another milestone this year – my husband and I got married! (Bye-bye Medicaid!)
Along with all of the changes I went through in 2021 came the busiest wedding season of a lot of vendors’ lives. We saw 2020 and 2021 brides getting married, all in one year. It was a little crazy!! Even though I’ve been playing for weddings for years, this was the first year that I was doing it to make a living. I learned a lot about myself and the business. Below are my top takeaways from the 2021 wedding season.
Check (and Double Check) the Details
As I said above, there were a lot of 2020 brides who needed to reschedule their wedding for this year. However, let’s not forget that 2021 started out just about as grim as 2020 was. It was still full of uncertainty and I had weddings in the spring that still were being postponed to later in the year. I found that even though I was sending out confirmations the week of the wedding, I wasn’t being specific enough with my confirmations. These brides who have had to move everything, sometimes multiple times, had too many details to keep everyone in the loop. Much like the stage crew, the musicians are often a bit of an after-though. We are meant to be in the background, so while it can be frustrating, I understand. However, before I learned to specifically write the start time of the ceremony in my confirmation emails instead of relying on the contract we had signed, I arrived at no less than 5 weddings hoursearly. A lot of time-frames got moved around without me knowing and I’m just thankful that none of them were moved to earlier in the day, which would have meant I would have missed the wedding entirely. Planning my own wedding this year certainly gave me a lot of empathy, so now I make a point to include every last detail of my performance in my confirmation emails.
I Need to Speak Up More
I let myself be pushed into a lot of corners to play this year. Trust me, I get it! Brides would rather not have a stranger on her violin in the wedding pictures. But the problem is, I can’t see if I’m in a corner, and I can’t read minds for when to start playing the bridal processional song. I rarely get a good cue for when to start the processional and each wedding is different. I definitely can’t see in a corner when everyone stands for the bridal procession. It’s really easy for me to get frustrated and think “how are you expecting me to know when to stop playing??” But honestly, you just don’t know what you don’t know. Like a lot of musicians, I have some anxiety when confronting people, but it was so worth it to get the courage up to say “I’m worried that I won’t be able to see if I’m sitting here.” I also found that when I was upfront about my needs, not many people had a problem with it.
I Should Limit My Performances
If you follow me on Facebook, I probably sound like a broken record, but it’s true. I signed up for way too much this year. The weird thing about wedding season is that during the week, my schedule isn’t go-go-go like my body is having me think it is. I love what I do but I still have a little bit of performance anxiety, and I’m an introverted musician! I need to gear myself up mentally to prepare for performing in front of hundreds of people and then being stopped by several guests to talk after the wedding and talking with the other vendors beforehand. Then, I need time to recharge. When I’m doing that every weekend, it becomes a difficult cycle of gear up, expend all my energy, recharge, repeat. If I only did weddings, then it would be difficult but manageable to do that every year. I don’t only do weddings though, I also teach violin lessons 4-5 days a week. This led to me spending my down time (which in all honesty was a lot more than I used to get at my old job!) playing video games, reading, or otherwise vegging out. I started feeling really insecure – how come I had all this time during the week to clean my house but I just couldn’t bring myself to? Why are there three loads of unfolded laundry sitting in baskets on the floor? I have time to exercise and meal prep, why am I still gaining weight? I made a mistake at that couple’s wedding, I can’t believe I would mess up like that! Why can’t I just be better at handling it all?
And so, I learned that even though I love performing and I’m experienced in doing it, I need to limit it, because it takes a lot of my energy.
I LOVE This Life and the Potential I have
Even though it does take a lot out of me, I love sharing music with others. I love watching couples tie the knot and learning snippets of their love story. I love the excitement I see in people’s faces when I play an intro to a song they really like. I love, love, love playing with my quartet and being in sync with my friends to make fun and beautiful music. I love that I have time to teach others how to play this instrument that has been through every major life event with me since I was a kid. I love that I have the opportunity to scale back on my performances when I realize that I need to. 2021 has taught me a lot of things and not all of them were easy lessons, but it’s shown me that I’m on the right path after many years of trying to fit myself in a mold that I just didn’t belong in. I’m so excited to see what 2022 brings!!!
One of the most common questions I get is “how old does my child need to be to take lessons?” The answer (as are most things involving parenting) is complex. I can tell you that I am certified to teach as young as 3 years old and that through the Suzuki program with it’s encouraging slogan, “Every Child Can”. The notion that “Every Child Can” is inspiring, isn’t it? And it rolls so nicely off the tongue. Here’s the part that doesn’t flow quite as well: Every Child Can if they are provided the right tools and parent involvement. So, my answer to the ever-popular question of “how old…” is a series of questions for you, the parent.
How much time can you invest?
Maybe this seems confusing. These lessons are for your kid, right? Yes and no. Your 3-8 year old will need LOTS of help at home. They will need a practice buddy in the beginning to watch their posture and help with their bow hold. That means sitting with them and actively listening and participating during their lessons so you know how to help. Luckily, when children start learning, their practice sessions don’t need to be very long. However, you’ll still need to budget a few hours a week to practicing and attending lessons. Even when they are able to practice without a buddy, children need to be reminded to practice. It’s not because they’re uninterested in playing or they don’t like it, it’s because they’re a child and children need reminders. Especially when they are young, there is a lot of parent-involvement needed in violin lessons for your child to succeed. Do you have the time to dedicate a few hours every week to your child’s lessons and practice? Then 3 years old is a great age to start. If you are not able to (for a plethora of valid and fair reasons) give that much attention to violin lessons, then your child needs to be old enough to remember assignments on their own and absorb what they are taught in the lesson and apply that at home. I often don’t see this until 7 or 8.
What are your expectations?
As adults we have been trained by society to view progress linearly. We often don’t have a lot of patience for ourselves or others if we aren’t seeing obvious improvement from week to week, or even day to day. If you are expecting to see your child play full songs by the end of the first month, then your 3-8 year old is too young for lessons. In fact, many older kids would be too young by that standard as well. For the average child, it takes months to get to the point where they will be able to play their first song.
How much do you like Twinkle, Twinkle?
Okay, I’ll be honest and say I don’t know many people who get crazy over Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. My point is, if you have a really young child taking violin lessons, get ready to hear a lot of beginning songs over, and over (and over and over) again. They need a lot of time with these songs because we don’t simplify violin techniques for children, we just give them the techniques in bite-sized pieces. This takes time. It’s also important to note that, as Dr. Suzuki suggests, it’s a great idea to use something old to teach something new. Going back to old songs is not uncommon for the Suzuki method because we are constantly learning how to be better.
Parents, this just one area where your role becomes important. From my experience, a child does not get bored with a song and become anxious to move on, the parent does. This goes back to us seeing progress linearly. It’s tough to rewire our brains, but very important. Here’s why: If your child hears you say something about wanting to move on or being tired of a song, then they will be influenced by that. Your children adore you and they want to emulate you, and even if you say something that seems insignificant, your child may very well take it to heart. “We need to practice Twinkle… again” becomes “Mommy/Daddy’s upset because we’re playing this again, I need to move on faster.” I’m not saying you’re supposed to like practicing the same songs over and over again with your child, but a little enthusiasm (even if it’s not sincere) will go a long way. If you’re thinking you may have trouble keeping your impatience to yourself, consider waiting until your child is old enough to practice on their own to enroll them in violin lessons.
What age did you or your child start lessons? I’d love to hear your experiences below!
Traditional Celtic music is a broad genre that evolved out of the folk traditions of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. While there is a lot of diversity in the genre, it’s often easily recognizable by its care-free lilt and whimsy. If you’re looking for a romantic, yet natural and whimsical atmosphere for your wedding, setting the mood with music is an absolute must! Here are my top picks for Celtic-Style Music for weddings!
August 19 by April Verch
April Verch is a Canadian Fiddler who wrote this song for her friends’ wedding. This song was literally written to be played at weddings!
Si Bheag, Si Mor
Michael Kelly explains the meaning of the title (and then some) translates to “So big, So little”. This song is particularly special to me because I walked down the aisle to it at my own wedding!
The Ashgrove
This lovely song is also the tune to a Christian hymn. Played by yours truly!
Give Me Your Hand
Being a little more lively and rustic-sounding, this song provides a great beat for you to either walk down the aisle to or use as a recessional song.
Danny Boy
This is perhaps one of the most iconic Irish Ballads. This gorgeous melody would fit anywhere in your ceremony as processional music, music for a unity ceremony, or even the recessional.
Honorable Mentions:
Ashokan Farewell
Red Red Rose
A River Boat’s Gone – Also by living composer April Verch
Did you know that violins come in multiple different sizes? It’s true! While most adults play on full size violins, there are 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/10, and even 1/16 size violins for children. Whether your child is 3, 7, 14, or even if you’re an adult student yourself, getting the right size violin is crucial to learning the instrument. For children who need a fractional sized instrument, getting them the right size violin will allow them to handle the violin much better than they would with a violin that is too big.
Won’t my child grow into a full size violin?
While, yes, your child will very likely grow into a full size instrument, there are several reasons why this logic will end up hurting them in the long run. First, when I say “hurt”, I partly mean that quite literally and physically. Holding the violin is not natural – meaning no other time in life are you likely to hold up your left arm over to the side of you in the way you would to hold a violin. Even without an instrument to hold up, your arm is probably going to get tired after a few minutes of holding it up if you’ve never done this before! Violins seem like such little things, but they’re heavy when you hold one for extended periods of time. If your body hasn’t developed the necessary muscles and endurance to comfortably hold a violin for extended periods of time, we risk injuring the student by overusing the muscle. The smaller the violin, the lighter it is. If your child has the benefit of being able to start on a smaller size instrument, you will be doing them a favor as they will be able to develop their muscles slowly over time rather than rapidly putting stress on them.
Second, a smaller child is set up for failure if their instrument is too big to handle. We need to be able to move around freely on the fingerboard in order to play the instrument. There is a lot of work in the first year (and many times longer) with posture (holding the instrument correctly). The most common thing I see when a child has an instrument that is too big for them is that they’re not able to hold it properly. They need to have a straight left wrist in order to comfortably access every note on the fingerboard. If they’re struggling to reach the top of the neck of the instrument in the first place, they don’t have a chance of keeping that wrist straight. This will cause (on top of constant nagging from their teacher) them to play out of tune, making it extremely difficult for them to develop their ears. Playing in tune is a challenge when everything is set up right – it’s near impossible if the student also has other factors working against them.
All of this is sure to frustrate the student, and in my experience, they will be more frustrated than they will have fun. They will hurt, their teacher will be nagging them constantly about their posture, and they won’t be able to make a nice sound with their instrument. No child wants to fail. Having an instrument that is too big for your child will likely result in them losing interest.
Buying multiple instruments for my child as they grow sounds expensive.
I have great news! In a lot of areas, you can rent string instruments. When your child outgrows theirs, you turn in the violin for a bigger one. I recommend renting your first instrument to everyone, even if they’re an adult student who will be starting on a full size instrument to begin with. Here’s why: how many times have you or your kid been ALL about something, totally invested, can’t get enough… just to lose interest in a few months? I love the violin, but I’m not foolish enough to believe that it’s for everyone. It’s a rewarding, but very challenging, skill. To put it bluntly: the violin is too hard to enjoy if you just “kinda” like it. Renting an instrument is a smart option financially if you’re unsure of the commitment.
In Grand Rapids we’re lucky to have Meyer Music – your one stop shop for getting sized, renting, and helping with repairs for your instrument. If you go during normal business hours during the week, they’ll even change a broken string for you while you wait. All included in the rental fee! If recommend Meyer Music to all of my new students. If you’re not in the Grand Rapids area, Shar Music does online rentals. Even though they’re based out of Ann Arbor, they will ship you a rental instrument. They’ll help guide you through the process of measuring your child to see which size violin is right for them as well.
I would love to hear from you! Let me know what your thoughts are about this below!
Some of us have had out weddings planned since we were children. Others of us… not so much! When it comes to picking music for your wedding ceremony, it can seem like a daunting task. You’ll remember what you walked down the aisle to for years to come, so the selection is important! Here are three tips for choosing songs for your wedding.
1.) Know Your Musicians
Are you going to have live music for your ceremony, or will your DJ be playing something? Whoever is playing the music for your ceremony is important to consider. If you have a solo instrumentalist, or even a duet, there are just some songs that aren’t going to translate well. If you’re hoping to have your favorite electronic, hip hop, or metal song played for your ceremony, it’s not going to sound the same on solo violin or a violin and cello duet. This is because there are a lot of things going on in those kinds of songs, and we won’t have a drum set or a backing track to play with. There are some melodies that I can work with and make really beautiful, but it will be different. If you are having a hard time picturing your song being played on the ensemble you hired for your wedding, I suggest looking up covers of the songs online. This will help you get an idea of what to expect. If you can’t find a cover played by your instrumentation online, it’s likely because, unfortunately, it doesn’t work very well. I would consider having your DJ play those songs if you are attached to them – then it will be exactly how you pictured it!
2.) Consider the Timing for the Processional
The trickiest thing to plan is the processional. The timing is pretty key here and you’ll need to take that into consideration when choosing songs. Be thinking of things like, how big is your wedding party, if you have one? Do you want a separate song for when your party walks and when you walk? How long is the aisle at your venue? These will all play a part in the timing for your wedding. For this reason, it’s a good idea to pick a song that is easy for your musicians to stop if they need to. My suggestion is to find a song with a repeated or repetitive melody in the chorus. A couple of great examples of this are Perfect by Ed Sheeran and A Thousand Years by Christina Perri. This makes it easy for your musicians to stop early if they need to or repeat a section if they need more time.
Some couples have different songs for the party and the bride, and some couples have one song for everyone to walk down to. That part is up to you! Just keep in mind that if you have live music, your musicians will likely need to reset after each song (meaning they will need to take their hands off their instruments to turn the page in their music!). If you have a different song for the mothers, one for the bridal party, one for the ring bearer, another for the flower girl, and finally one more song for the bride, it’s probably going to sound a little choppy.
If you are struggling to find a song, ask your musician what they reccomend! They will be able to provide you with a list of ideas.
3.) The Recessional Song(s) Should be Special
The songs you choose for the processional will likely not be played all the way through. However, the song for your recessional will be. If you have a song that you absolutely love, I highly suggest choosing that for the recessional rather than the processional! You’ll likely be too overwhelmed to hear the processional music anyway!
What do you think of these tips? I’d love to hear what songs you’ve chosen for your ceremony below!
Well, Michigan has officially survived it’s first couple weeks of Back to School! Most of my students are back in the classroom, and with covid rates rising, so are tensions. In these unprecedented times, I find my fellow teachers and myself have all been wondering, “how do I provide excellent music education with these restrictions?” My suggestions for today are mainly geared towards private lessons, but if you are an orchestra teacher looking for advice, I would love it if you gained a few tips from me today!
Here is my guide to surviving the Fall Season while also making lessons fun for your students!
Plan, Plan, Plan!
This may seem a little counterproductive right now. How are we supposed to plan for something when everything can change at a moment’s notice? Here is my advice: plan anyway. Have a back up plan. Heck, have two! With an impending recession, parents are going to start looking at their spending and cutting things that aren’t necessary. You’ll have to ask yourself if you are providing lessons that you would make a priority for your own child if you were in their shoes. Are you prepared with something to learn each week and have a plan for how to keep things light and fun during these heavy and not-so-fun times? Or are you winging a lesson here and there and waiting to see what the student does to plan how the lesson goes on the spot? Don’t get me wrong – I know that a lot of the lesson will go according to how prepared your student goes, but you can also have a plan for whether they are prepared or not. Unfortunately, right now you need to be treating lessons like an audition. Just like an audition, you can’t give them any reason not to want you, which means being prepared with a lesson plan and a back up lesson plan to keep your student engaged.
Try not to mention the masks
In Michigan, we are required to wear masks inside public places. This includes my studio. For some students, the masks are no problem. I have one student whose mother is a nurse, and she has not once commented on her mask. Instead, she arrives at each lesson with a properly fitting mask and doesn’t fiddle with it (see what I did there). What a dream it would be if all of our students were like this! Unfortunately, it can be a huge hindrance for some. Remember, your student is starting one of the most stressful school years of their lives. The mask is just one more thing they have to deal with right now and for some, it’s borderline too much. However, there’s really not much we can do about that right now. Regardless of what you believe, your music studio can be fined if you are reported not wearing a mask with your students. For most music studios, this would be bad news, as most of us have already lost a considerable amount of money this year. So, the best thing to do is not to bring it up. That’s not to say you should ignore your student if they do, but never be the first one to talk about the mask unless it is extremely important. If you bring it up and complain, then they will be reminded about how much they hate them too, and you’ll spend about 5 minutes trying to get a de-railed lesson back on track. So here is my advice: pretend that you aren’t even wearing them. Don’t fidget with them if you can help it (I know this can be near impossible for my fellow glasses-wearers). When a student starts to complain about them, don’t ignore them. Listen to them and say you understand. You can remind them that the lesson is fairly short and they can take their mask off after. Here is something that I had suggested to me by a colleague: if it is really becoming a hindrance, have them take a 5 minute break in the restroom. They can take off their mask when they are alone and then come back to their lesson ready to learn. My last bit of advice for this one is to try your best to be patient. Everyone is doing the best with what they have right now and this includes your students. It’s hard for a 9 year old to understand what’s going on and they are often too young to understand why the change in routine is distressing to them. If they spend half of the lesson playing with their mask instead of the violin, remember that they are doing their best for right now and make it a goal to spend a few more minutes with the violin at the next lesson.
Keep it Fun
I am a violin teacher. Half of my job is to teach my students how to play the violin. The other half of my job is to create a space where they feel safe enough to talk, make mistakes, learn, and have a little bit (or a lot) of fun. Right now, what our students need, more than knowing how to play all the Suzuki Twinkle Variations, is to have a safe, dependable place where they can use their instrument as an outlet. I read an article recently that talked a little bit about transactional relationships vs transformational relationships. A transactional relationship basically means, “I do this, so you do that”. In other words, I give you this exercise, you learn this technique. This is something that even under normal circumstances, will likely bring both you and your student frustration. In a global pandemic when school schedules are different and everyone is stressed, treating your lessons like this will certainly bring you and your student a lot of frustration. Instead, focus on having a transformational relationship. Learn to teach that student in a way that helps them learn. It’s not the same for everyone, which is something as teachers we know, but sometimes forget. If you can manage to stay mindful of this with each of your students, you both will be better off.
Take care of yourself
Your students need you more than ever to take care of them this school year, and in order to do that, you first need to take care of yourself. This means get enough sleep, eat healthy food once in a while, drink water, and take any meds you have to take. It also means to give yourself breaks, not to overload your schedule, and to be aware of burnout and how to help recover from it. Something that really helps me with burnout is journaling, and talking with someone I love about it. I also see a therapist each week to help cope with my struggles and grow. Do you have a therapist yet? Everyone should go at some point, and coping with a global pandemic seems as good a reason as any to make an appointment! If finances are a concern, ask if there is an intern you can see. Interns have almost every credit for their degrees, they just need a certain number of hours at an internship. They are often much more budget-friendly if you don’t have insurance that covers psychotherapy! There are also online options as well. The hardest part is making the appointment, then the rest is just follow-through.
Remember, your best is all you have
We’re all doing our best here, and none of us are perfect. None of us in the US have dealt with something like this before and it’s tough sometimes! Also, remember that your best is not doing so much that you end up exhausted and stressed. Your best is the best you can do while still maintaining your well-being.
How have your lessons been going? I want to know! Comment below or send me an email so we can chat!
