We have striven to have a household full of music and the opportunity to play music since our boys were young. We didn’t push them to start music lessons…but hoped they would. When my oldest son finally decided he wanted to learn the violin, he had already missed the opportunity to start at school. However they were kind enough to lend us one for the school holidays. We only agreed to the loan if my son agreed to have a daily lesson from me for the 2 weeks, at the end of the holidays we took it back and he played them a little something and they were offered to take him as a late entry to the programme. I went out and bought him a facebook violin (it was a violin strung as a viola and needed a bit of love) – importantly he decided he wanted to learn himself!
I had hopes of us playing duets into the night and helping him along with at home lessons….all hopes dashed when he realised I’m not cool enough c’est la vie.
He was getting close to high school and to help his transition (as we went to an out of area primary school) we stumbled across Mansfield Musicworx. It was a great way to get him used to going to Mansfield High School as the lessons are on site. We soon discovered the music teachers have a connection to the high school (duh!) and so in addition to his regular school group lessons, he had one on one lessons that were complimentary to it, with the odd bit of communication between the teachers to keep him developing forward. Musicworx also have solo performance opportunities, which I recon are important to help a musician develop because it’s a near term goal and a bit of pressure too.
Dial forward a few years, with both sons playing the violin, we have discovered Broadwater Road Uniting Church. Worship is something can can really be enhanced by music, and with both contemporary and more traditional services its a nice environment within which to play as well. It’s a bit of pressure with new songs each time, often in challenging keys for young (and old) fingers alike. One of the things that is most serendipitous is seeing the generations mix and in a sense ministering and appreciating each other.
At bit further down the road is the Mt. Gravatt Mens Shed who have a regular jam group going, they seem happy enough to have the boys along on the holidays too. Its good for young boys to see music as a mans pass-time too I reckon! (See them playing with the shedders at Bagpipes and a violin…what could go wrong? )
