Accidental Learning

Children accidentally learn all the time. By reading them stories, they are learning why and how to read. By letting them cook with you, they are learning to cook. By letting them draw, they are learning to write. By writing letters to friends while they watch they learn why to write. By reacting badly to stress, they learn to yell and get angry. By swearing and name calling, they learn the same. By saying I love you, they learn to say I love you. By smiling they learn to smile. By hearing music, they learn to make music.

Adults are less prone to accidental learning, we need more instruction and guidance as we are more afraid to get things wrong. To be sure children need instruction and guidance for many of these as well, but less so then adults.

Every week I take the boys to their violin lesson. I learn the techniques as they do so I can better help them practice. I have played their violins, teaching myself songs and practicing the fingering and bowing. Yesterday I downloaded song sheet music of songs that I like and began to learn to play them on the violin. It is lots of fun though harder then it looks to even get a smooth sound from the bow.

I already knew a bit about how to read music but I am learning how to play the violin by accident. I am by no means very good at it.

Music Practice

I had forgotten how painful it can be. We had to practice 4 songs tonight for Friday nights youth surge. The others on the team play together often enough but I had never sung with them. This was not a huge drama as I was familiar with most of the songs.

When a singer goes to music practice, she shows up approximately on time (or as near as circumstances allow) and waits while everybody else sets up and tunes their instruments. Then we decide which song to practice first and how many times to do what, this is of interest to the singer so she listens. Then talk moves to who plays which parts, who comes in where, which bits are loud and soft, four or eight bar intro, what chords everyone is doing. The singer is not generally included in this discussion and, understanding little of it, tunes it out. After several minutes of discussion, the music starts, the singer begins at what sounds like the right time, and we are off. About three quarters of the way through the song, the musicians cut out (by agreement) and the singer tries not to falter and hopes it is not because she made a mistake. Happily shortly the music begins again and she is relieved to know it was a "building technique". After the song is sung through once, the musicians begin the "who made which mistake where?" and "I thought we were doing this here" and "maybe if we try this" and so we sing again. If it is a song we are comparatively familiar with, it will end there. However if there is disagreement, confusion, unfamiliarity or lack of concentration, the song (or part thereof) will be repeated several more times.

This is for every one of the four or five songs. Now I do understand that the Musical planning and discussion and co-ordination is important and it would sound TERRIBLE and be a waste of time if there wasn't any, I just wish singers were slightly included in this. I know we are not necessarily understanding of the musical instruments and jargon, but we do understand build and pulling back, the power of just singing, how many times we can repeat the same dopey phrase without strangling somebody. Also I am appreciating the value of a team leader who firstly leads, and secondly understands musical instruments (obviously not me).

Cooking

This is another blog post thingy about cooking which makes two or three in a row I think.

I have spent a lot of time in my life cooking cakes and biscuits and things. When I was little it was one of the ways mum spent one on one time with me and my brother and sisters. She was smart and refused to cook with more then one child at a time, now I can see why. I think of all of us, I am the one who enjoys cooking the most, I taught three other kids to cook from scratch (not packets) before I turned 14 and now I cook something with the kids I look after about once a week.

I had stopped cooking for pleasure though, I cooked dinners out of necessity, morning teas and suppers because they were needed and since I moved here, cakes and biscuits because a child wants to make them. I had forgotten the pleasure of just cooking because you feel like it and not for any reason. The difference is time and choice, if it is someone else that suggests cooking, it is their choice of what to make. If it is for a function or event there is a time limit about when and also what you will make. Somehow these take some of the pleasure out.

Now that I am almost entirely in charge of the family dinners (my boss is NOT fighting me for it) I am finding a pleasing kind of responsible feeling, and planning ahead novelty, I had not expected. When I cook just for myself, there is a bit of that, but I can make it when I get hungry, rather then to a time table, and make what I feel like eating, without reference to others.

Cooking by myself while listening to music I like, planning meals for the week and what I will make for afternoon teas, cooking without time pressures, this is a useful and simple pleasure.

Music

I have CD's to listen to while I am working in the house. Happily there is a 3 disk CD player so it takes a while for the songs to repeat themselves. I have recently begun to notice though that I can't get into "work-mode" until the music is on. If I don't turn it on, I wander around knowing what I need to do but lacking the motivation to get it done.

This is not a bad thing, music you can sing along to makes most things more enjoyable, plus I know I am tired or depressed if I don't sing along. Also turning on music now acts as an on button for functioning.