Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions. ~Oliver Wendell Holmes

We had another group class today. First of all, the boys get so much out of not just the classes they are taking, but simply by going to the music school itself. They are regulars on campus. They are comfortable there, carrying their doll-sized instruments alongside the college kids. We often walk into the lobby of the music school and see a case that catches their eye, or a student with an instrument walking past. Asa and Addison are fascinated by what they see, and the students there are happy to see them. There is some mutual fascination, and I nurture it every chance I get.

Once, a grey haired professor walked through the lobby with a rectangular case. The boys have stopped bass players, cellists, and violinists, and can recognize the cases they carry. This one was a mystery. They must have been able to sense the professor-ness of this man... the aura that most of them possess.. and they were intimidated. They whispered to me about the case, they stared. The man was talking with a student and they watched him. Had he been a 20 year old student they would have approached him with only a slight hesitation. This man was different. Was it okay?

When he was finished talking, I encouraged them to approach him and ask their question. "What is in the case?" "What instrument do you play?" I knew Asa would not. He is admittedly shy. Addison, however, loves to talk and will talk to anyone with ears. Again, this man was different somehow. The man started to walk away and a panic went over them both. Tears welled up... will they never know? I lead them to the man and let him know that they would like to ask him a question. "Of course they can." He did not smile or tell them how cute they were. He basically just said "yes". But, that was all they needed. Mom talked to him, he seems okay, Mom approves. He's no danger to us and Mom is right here.

They asked and the man told them that he would open the case for them, but they would have to guess what the instrument was. Their eyes widened. He's going to OPEN IT! He loosened the shiny latches and revealed not one, but two polished trumpets; one silver and one brass. They both yelled, 'Trumpets!" and were pleased. Then, he asked them what was in their cases. He guessed, "Are you in the mob? Are they tiny guns?" They smiled, proudly told him they were violins, and skipped away. I thanked the man and he looked at me and said, "This is a music school. That is my job."

On this day, we walked into the lobby to find a group of students (sophomores maybe) sitting in the chairs. One had a guitar and they were working or discussing something. The boys fixated on the guitar as we walked across the tile floor. We were a little early, so we picked a chair in the center of the huge room. Some of the girls in the group had cooed over the boys as we walked in, pointing at their little cases. We sat in the chair and Asa and Addison watched them work with the guitar.

Addison wanted to ask them what they were doing, and watched my face for approval. I told him that they seemed very nice and that it was okay. He walked over with absolutely no problem and asked, "How do you play that guitar?" They laughed and talked to him for a bit and asked him if he would like to try. He plucked the strings. This was motivation enough to propel Asa from his perch on my knee (where he was telling me how sometimes he gets shy) over to take his turn plucking the strings. They talked for a minute and then Addison asked them, "What are the names of your strings?" The boy answered, "E-A-D-G-B-E". Then, he asked Addison what instrument he played. "I play the violin." He asked him what his strings were called and both boys told them "E-A-D-G". They were having a conversation about their instruments and I sat across the room and grinned. The lessons they are taking may cost money, but we are all learning much more than what we are paying for. We are gaining confidence (not that Addison needed much help in that area), we are learning about people, we are leaning about social interaction, we are learning about ourselves, and we are learning about the value of learning.

When we go to class, Asa and Addison usually get to see our friend Brian (McLucas), who works there. Sometimes we run into him and occasionally we go to his office to say 'hi'. It's a small thing, but I think it plays a roll in making them comfortable there. I feel like all of these interactions help them to feel like the building is their school, too.


The boys' classes are taught in the Suzuki method. Here are a couple quotes that I liked from Shinichi Suzuki

“Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens. If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline and endurance. They get a beautiful heart.”

“I am mentally preparing myself for the five-year-old mind. I want to come down to their physical limitations and up to their sense of wonder and awe.”

“Music exists for the purpose of growing an admirable heart.”