Trouble with Violins

Jewelia traded up her violin back in September, but we just weren't happy with it.  Her last violin had such a nice bright sound to it, while this new one although it was much prettier, it just didn't have the same tone to it.  

It was October now, and while Jewelia was happy about being Rapunzel for Halloween, she wasn't happy about her violin.  Or rather, mom and dad couldn't take the awful high pitched squeakiness and scratchy cat dying sounds that this violin kept producing.  Well, it was close to Halloween, but it would be nice to not have the cat screeching noises when Halloween was over.  

So, off we went back to the violin shop.  Last time we had been so distracted by the new violin's beauty (it was so much nicer than the look of her last violin that was so previously beat up by some careless renter) that we must have missed that it didn't sound that great.  They began showing us a few more violins.  We weren't sure, so we took 3 of them up to Jewelia's violin teacher to see what she thought.  

Well, none of these were really that great either, but what do you do?  We are just renting and so we can't expect the best just yet.  We aren't looking into going broke purchasing a super expensive violin that she is going to outgrow in a year.  So, we picked what we thought was the best of the bunch, although this one seemed a bit more mellow and not as loud. 

Then we had Jewelia play some new song to record.  

Here she tries "The Entertainer":

          

There is sounded a bit muted.  That didn't seem right.

And here she plays her latest Suzuki song, "Minuet in G":

           

We still weren't sure.  It kind of sounded scratchy a bit.  Then, when going to Jewelia's next violin lesson, her teacher noticed there was this sort of rough "buzzing" sound and that there was a crack in the side that might be causing it!  Oh no!  This was not going well!  Plus, they said it was going to take over 2 weeks to even look at, so they gave us a loaner one in the meanwhile.  What a mess!  Hopefully things would work out soon!  

Jewelia Guest Stars on Sundays @ 6

A few months ago, Jewelia's older brother Caleb started a weekly webcast series called "Sundays @ 6" where he performs different arrangements of church songs each week.  

Occasionally, he has asked Jewelia to join him for a duet of a fancy church arrangement.  So far, Jewelia has been on 3 times.  Once to sing and twice to play a violin duet.  

The first time she was on, she helped sing a song.  It was in a really high key, so a bit of a reach, but she did alright.  This is "I Often Go Walking":

              

The second time Jewelia made a guest appearance was for a violin duet on "Heavenly Father Loves Me" :

           

Then, most recently she appeared again with an arrangement for violin that her brother wrote to go with a piano arrangement of "There is a Green Hill Far Away".  This one was tough because her brother just barely came up with the arrangement about an hour before he was supposed to upload his show.  So Jewelia barely had a chance to practice it through.  She still did a good enough job though.

           

After recording this particular song we realized that Jewelia's new violin really did have a kind of scratchy and hard to listen to tone that kind of irritated our ears when she played on certain strings.  So, off to the violin shop we went to see about getting a little bit better violin with a better tone.  

(Oh, if you are interested in Jewelia's brother's "Sundays @ 6" weekly webcasts, you can like him on facebook, check out his blog, or look him up on YouTube.)

Birthdays, Back to School and Back to More Songs

Jewelia just started the 3rd grade!  She is getting so old!  Well, I suppose she is somewhat young as a 7 year old in 3rd grade, but 3rd grade sounds old.  

Fall is always busy with back to school and dance classes, and many people in her family celebrate their birthdays in September and October.  Although it is busy, Jewelia still works hard to keep up on her violin practice.  

Here she is playing a new song from Les Miserables called Do You Hear the People Sing?

           

Jewelia recently traded in her violin to a bigger size once again.  We aren't so sure of this one.  It sounds a bit scratchy.  It is tough when you have to rent student violins.  

Jewelia Plays in a Concert Downtown

Jewelia was invited to play with her brothers at a concert downtown this past August.  

She played a song with Caleb and then a fiddle duet with her brother Micah on his guitar.  

Here is part of her Gavotte with Caleb;

And here is her fiddle duet:

            

Jewelia does great on the big stage 

Violin Lessons; Fun with Duets

Jewelia has the best violin teacher.  Her name is Emily and she is so nice and fun.  

Sometimes when we go to lessons we take a camera to record the fun duets they do.  

Here Jewelia practices a fiddle duet with her teacher called Swallowtail Jig:

             

Outdoors and Still Fiddlin' Away

Jewelia has been having a fun summer and enjoying some hiking in the outdoors.  

It seems to suit her that she would choose to play yet another fiddle song!  

This is actually a recording from a few months before her recital, but we forgot to put it up on the blog.

Here she is playing "St. Anne's Reel":

         

Jewelia's Summer Recital

Jewelia had her Summer violin recital where she played 2 songs.  

First, she played Gavotte from her Suzuki 2 book.

             

Her older brother Caleb was nice enough to accompany her.

Then, she played a fiddle song duet with her teacher, and had her older brother Micah add some chords with his guitar.

              

They did awesome!

How fun to be able to play with her brothers too!

Her Grammy and Grandpop came to the recital as well.

Jewelia is doing great and she has the best teacher.  

We can't wait until her next recital!

Gavotte from Mignon

Jewelia is having a fun Summertime.  She is playing lots and relaxing a bit, but she is still practicing her violin hard.  She has learned a lot of songs this summer.  

She learned a new song in her Suzuki Book that lets her pluck strings at the end called Gavotte from Mignon.  Here she is playing it with her brother Caleb:

            

Awesome playing and plucking Jewelia!

Fun with the Family Band

Jewelia decided to have some fun playing her violin with some help from her family.  She loves playing songs out of her fiddle book, and she saw that it had chords for guitar, so she asked her brother to play with her.  Her little sister wanted to help out as well, so she got her drums and shakers.

Here are the videos of Jewelia playing with part of her family band.  Sorry, we realized afterwards that her E string was out of tune, so on the second song it sounds like she is playing a wrong note, but it isn't her fault because it is an open string just out of tune.  

      

      

Jewelia is going to have a violin recital coming up and she has asked her older brother to play his guitar with her for one of her songs.  

Theme from "Witches Dance"

It is Summertime and Jewelia is out of school.  

She has been being good and practicing her violin every day. 

Usually Jewelia can learn a song pretty quickly, but then it is a matter of memorizing it and asking her brother to play the accompaniment with her.  Sometimes it is a little tricky to get her brother and herself to match up equally, or sometimes her brother likes to play too loud or fast or slow and so they have to practice learning how to play together.

It doesn't take long though.  They can be ready after just a few days of practice.  

Here is the latest song she has been working on.  It is called "Witches Dance":

            

This time her violin was in tune, and if you notice she is keeping her wrist out more.  Jewelia has been working really hard trying to break the bad habit of touching her wrist to the neck of the violin.  She has improved a lot!

Jewelia Helps Her Brother Compose

Jewelia is a pretty smart little girl.  She has been working hard to improve on her violin.  

Often, she will team up with her brother Caleb on piano to play songs together.  They are a good team.

Last month she was asked to go play her violin or sing at a friend's church.  She was supposed to play a certain easy church song with simple accompaniment, but her brother didn't like the arrangement.  Caleb decided to find a fancier piano arrangement, but then it didn't have a violin part to go with it.  

Caleb and Jewelia worked together so that Caleb could arrange the song to fit the new fancier piano accompaniment.  Jewelia liked it and suggested a fun ending that her brother wrote into the music as well.  

They did this all in one night, so there was only time to practice maybe 3 times before church.  Jewelia was so awesome that she was all ready to play it just overnight!  

Here is the song they played with the violin part that was arranged by her brother Caleb:

Jewelia Performs in the School Talent Show

Jewelia auditioned for her school talent show and she made it as one of the youngest performers!  She was so excited to play one of her fiddle songs.  She even got all dressed up in some "fiddle playing clothes".  

Here she is playing "Kesh Jig" (with the repeats that she remembered all by herself) at her school talent show:

           

Jewelia Turns 7 Years Old!!!

Jewelia celebrated her 7th birthday and this year she requested a violin cake!  Her mom worked pretty hard to make it just right.  It turned out pretty well.

She had a great day.  She even got her hair all curled and beautiful.  

She is excited to be a big 7 year old now.

Last Song as a 6 Year Old

Jewelia has done so well as a young violinist.  She was great as a beginner playing her first song at 4 years old, and at 5 years old she learned a lot.  At 6 years old she has been awesome.  As it got nearer to her birthday, she wanted to perform one more fiddle song.

This one is called "Ganglat Fran Mockfjard" which Jewelia just loved to say.  It is an old Swedish walking song.  

                

Songs in Suzuki Book 2

While Jewelia really loves her fiddle songs, she is still learning songs from her Suzuki violin books.  She is nearing the end part of book 2.  

Here she plays "Bouree" with Caleb accompanying:

          

And here is another one, "The Two Grenadiers":

          

Her pieces are becoming a little longer and more detailed.  Some of Jewelia's biggest challenges right now are trying to keep her wrist out from touching the neck of the violin.  Sometimes she's a little flat on notes, but she is working hard to be a good little violinist.  

Jewelia Plays in Church

They asked our family to speak in church, and when they ask us to speak, we think rather to play music!  So, along with all of us talking, we had each of the kids do a musical number.  

It was kind of a late notice, so Jewelia had only 3 days to learn a song on her violin.  She practiced a couple of different songs, but in the end, the one that sounded best was "Families Can Be Together Forever", so that is what she played.

Here she is practicing at home with her brother Caleb as accompanist:

             

She did just great in church speaking and playing her violin!

A Fiddle Song for Easter

It's Spring time, and Jewelia got a new Easter dress!  

No Easter songs here, but maybe it's time for another fun fiddle song!  

Here she is playing "Kesh Jig":

           

Jewelia's Song

Jewelia's brother plays the piano and sometimes he composes songs.  For a competition this spring, he wrote a song for both piano and violin.  He made it pretty easy so Jewelia could play it with him as part of the competition.  He named it "Jewelia's Song".  

They went to Park City to perform it and he won 2nd place for his composition.  

Here's a little video of them rehearsing it at home:

         

2012 Fiddle Fair

The music store down the street was holding a "Fiddle Fair" where they were going to have an "Open Performance Showcase" where anyone could come and play a stringed instrument.  You didn't have to be a professional.  It was just a chance to practice performing in front of an audience.  So, Jewelia packed up her violin and went to play a few songs.  

Kind of seems funny as she is playing "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam" in a music store with electric guitars hanging behind her, but she had a fun time.  

The music store even took some nice pictures and posted it on their website. 

1st Talent Contest for Jewelia!

Jewelia joined her brothers to compete in her first talent contest this last week.  She played "The Happy Farmer" on her violin.

She was the youngest contestant out of about 23 kids going up to about 17 years old, but she did great!  

She earned a green ribbon and had a lot of fun!

Here is the video from her performance:

                                             

Here Come the Primary Songs!

Jewelia has gotten a new violin book that has all primary church songs in it.  It is a pretty easy book for her to play, but it is fun and has some pretty piano accompaniment arrangements.  She is having a good time learning to play all her favorite primary songs.  

First she wanted to play "Keep the Commandments":

       

Then, she loved to play "Do As I'm Doing" which turned out really pretty:

       

Just wait, as you will be hearing a lot more primary songs in the future!

Jewelia Gets Her Accompanist Back!

Jewelia has gone solo for a while as her accompanist brother had arm surgery, but now his arm is healing, so they are back at it again!  

Over a year ago, Jewelia wanted to play a church song on her violin, and her first violin teacher, Mr. Hooper, made up a little version of a church song that she could play on her violin with piano accompaniment.  We don't know why it took so long to finally get around to it, but here is "I Know My Father Lives":

            

Mr. Hooper is now Elder Hooper, serving a church mission. 

 I'm sure he would be proud.

Hunter's Chorus

Jewelia thought she was pretty cute today with her hair down but with braids going across the top of her head (and with flowers too!).  She's been doing pretty well in violin.  She has memorized a new song from her Suzuki 2 Book called "Hunter's Chorus":

            

Back to New Songs from Suzuki

Well, Christmas is over, so back to the regular songs for Jewelia!  

This week she has been working in her Suzuki Book Level 2.  She is working on keeping her wrist away from her violin.  It is kind of tough when you have a short little violin, but Jewelia is working hard to break the habit.  

Jewelia has been growing a lot.  Wow, her hair has been growing so long!  Maybe she will need to go up to the next size violin soon.  She started with a 1/10 size violin when she was 4, and then went up to a 1/8 violin when she turned 6.  But the next size up is a 1/4 violin and that is quite a jump.  We shall see when she turns seven.

Here she is playing her latest song from Suzuki called "Musette":

          

Good job Jewelia!

Jewelia Plays in Church on Christmas Day!

This year Jewelia was asked to play a violin solo in church on Christmas day!  This was going to be very exciting for Jewelia, so we decided to throw 2 songs into one medley to allow her to play a little longer.  

She was going to play The First Noel and then go right into Hark! The Harold Angels Sing.  

She did so well!  She didn't even make one mistake!  

We couldn't record in church, but here are two videos of her playing the songs separate at home.  

Here is "The First Noel":

           

And here is the 2nd song, "Hark! The Harold Angels Sing":

           

Well, you got a very fast version of that song!  

We can't wait for next Christmas, and hope that she might have a chance to play again in church.  

Jewelia Performs at the Mall

Jewelia wanted to have a Christmas violin recital, but her teacher said she didn't have very many students who were good enough to play in a recital yet.  Instead, her teacher decided to join with her piano/guitar teacher friend to have her students play as part of their recital.  Her teacher's friend wanted to have the recital at a mall.

This sounded like it might be fun, but it was in the middle of the Christmas season and the mall was very very busy and noisy.  There was even a train that circled around the inside of the mall tooting it's horn and ringing it's bell about every 5 minutes.  So, when it was Jewelia's turn to play it was very hard to hear her.

But she still did great!  She had Caleb come to accompany her on piano.  Here she is performing "Silent Night":

          

Her second song she was to perform "Believe" from the Polar Express.  She did really well, but toward the end of the song Caleb had to turn some pages and he couldn't quite reach because the piano was an electric keyboard that was a bit too tall, so the book fell off the piano hitting the keys and he had to fix it all.  Jewelia was good to wait and continue on when he fixed it.  It was kind of funny though that she didn't even notice what had happened.  She just thought he really messed up his accompaniment!  

Here is there 2nd performance with the piano book disaster:

You could still tell they knew the song and it would have been perfect minus the book falling part.

Maybe next time they decide to perform at a mall it won't be such a busy time and not so loud.  It was fun though, and we all had a good time!  

2nd Grade Christmas Program

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Jewelia had a 2nd grade Christmas program.  See her on the front row?  The shortest one?  Yep, that's our Jewelia! 

She was excited for this program because she was asked to sing a solo, or rather a duet with another little boy for one of the songs.  We knew Jewelia was a good little singer!

She did a great job!  The boy she was singing with was somewhat a character, but you can hear little Jewelia hitting all the right notes!  

          

Jewelia was excited that her Daddy came and he even got to wear her Zebra hat.