~Quarter note = 120
~"Don't think you are somebody!!! You are nobody!!!"
~Geexas.... :(
~Alright, I know everyone and their cousin is griping about their parents. And I usually don't really like to. But.... I thought the situation a few moments ago was rather silly.
~If I'm sitting in my room, having to listen to my little brother's cello practicing that can be heard anywhere in the house anyway, I thought that maybe having a good 12-ish years of musical experience would entitle me to at least a comment or suggestion here and there. Especially on the fact that my father seems to be totally and completely oblivious to both the proper use and sole existence of the metronome.
~Look. First of all, the metronome is there to help you. The way it helps you is that you turn it on and practice to it.
~It's some flockin' kind of background music for you to ignore.
~Now I know that in most cases, I have no right to talk, being only a poor to mediocre metronome-follower myself a lot of the time. But the two of them aren't even TRYING. The feeling I get from my father is that he believes that just turning the metronome on already signifies some kind of efficient practicing with it, and my poor 10-year-old brother just has no clue at all because he's really been taught the difference. I feel very, very, very sorry for him. I was always bad at counting, period, and I would hate seeing Chester falling that same path when it could very possibly be helped and fixed this early on.
~So after about 20 minutes of enduring the sound of cello groaning that isn't even CLOSE to sawing at the metronome speed (Dog knows what it's set to), I walked over to the stairs and yelled down, "For the love of mercy, PLEASE FOLLOW THE METRONOME!"
~The answer back from my father's voice downstairs: "If you have such good suggestions, why don't you ever come down here yourself and teach him?" It was not spoken very prettily.
~Then I said something about how it was incredibly unhelpful to have the metronome on when you didn't even pay a grain of attention to it, and, basically, even worse if you were putting this horrendously misleading impression on a younger and learning musician. My father told me to shut up. I said it would be just dandy if he didn't want to listen to advice (that I found reasonable, at least :( ), and then quietly closed my door.
~I guess it wasn't quietly enough.
~He rushed up the stairs a minute or two afterwards and banged on my door so hard I thought I was going to drop my laptop. He screamed at me to open it. I readjusted my laptop and told him it was quite open. He came in with the fury of fire and brimstone at his back and gave me an ear-piercing lecture on -- I'll keep it short -- I have no right to think I have the right to make any kind of crummy suggestions like that. There were all sorts of bits in there, including how much effort he and my mother put into my study of piano for all those years, and how I have no right if I won't even teach him myself.
~Look, mate. a) I'm not going to flockin' teach him cello, becaust I'm not a flockin' cellist. You're the one who always sits by him while he practices anyway. b) I have tried to teach the little fish-man piano, always at YOUR request. I have taught other children before. I have taught other children who listened. I have taught other children who weren't egged on to learn piano just because their parents wanted it. And I do understand that you'd want him to learn. I'm sure he wants to as well, in some ways. I do think it is extremely useful to have a few know-how's in other instruments. But for the MERCY OF HEAVEN. Everything I ever tried to patiently give him as far as piano has been thrown at a solid brick wall. I hate it because he is more interested in the fingerprint stains on the piano lid than the playing part. I hate it because I know you have set a standard in your mind of where he should be in piano at what point, because his own sister is teaching him, and she should know. I hate it because it takes TIME, and I can't make unreasonable standards. I hate it because sometimes you sit right by us when I've tried to teach him, and you're either giving your own suggestions or making me feel like my skin is going to explode in goosebumps because of how nervous I am. I have no hard feelings at all towards you for it. But with the conditions in consideration, it has been horribly difficult to teach my brother piano.
~Alright, Father. So you've taken music lessons yourself. Oh, 30-some-odd years ago. And I respect that. I understand you know a lot of what's going on, and probably a lot more than I do when it comes to string instruments anyway. But a metronome is a metronome is a metronome. Every instrument can follow a metronome, and every instrument has an instrumentalist. I just really don't understand why I can't say the occasional useful thing as if it's poisoning my own brother's cello experience. I know that we all think our own advice is always useful, even if it isn't in a lot of cases. But I KNOW FOR A FACT that this advice would be useful. It's not a flockin' OPINION that "Oh, following the metronome would help, by the way."
~I really wish I could get this message across. It makes me.... kind of sad to know that I'll get that kind of reaction for help that I try to offer like that :( . I'm not always the nicest person to my brothers, but I sure as the surest didn't mean anything negative this time :( . At any rate, he told me never to give any kind of tip or suggestion to Chester for his cello playing any more at all. For my own brother, that makes me depressed.
~Geexas.... :(
~Alright, I know everyone and their cousin is griping about their parents. And I usually don't really like to. But.... I thought the situation a few moments ago was rather silly.
~If I'm sitting in my room, having to listen to my little brother's cello practicing that can be heard anywhere in the house anyway, I thought that maybe having a good 12-ish years of musical experience would entitle me to at least a comment or suggestion here and there. Especially on the fact that my father seems to be totally and completely oblivious to both the proper use and sole existence of the metronome.
~Look. First of all, the metronome is there to help you. The way it helps you is that you turn it on and practice to it.
~It's some flockin' kind of background music for you to ignore.
~Now I know that in most cases, I have no right to talk, being only a poor to mediocre metronome-follower myself a lot of the time. But the two of them aren't even TRYING. The feeling I get from my father is that he believes that just turning the metronome on already signifies some kind of efficient practicing with it, and my poor 10-year-old brother just has no clue at all because he's really been taught the difference. I feel very, very, very sorry for him. I was always bad at counting, period, and I would hate seeing Chester falling that same path when it could very possibly be helped and fixed this early on.
~So after about 20 minutes of enduring the sound of cello groaning that isn't even CLOSE to sawing at the metronome speed (Dog knows what it's set to), I walked over to the stairs and yelled down, "For the love of mercy, PLEASE FOLLOW THE METRONOME!"
~The answer back from my father's voice downstairs: "If you have such good suggestions, why don't you ever come down here yourself and teach him?" It was not spoken very prettily.
~Then I said something about how it was incredibly unhelpful to have the metronome on when you didn't even pay a grain of attention to it, and, basically, even worse if you were putting this horrendously misleading impression on a younger and learning musician. My father told me to shut up. I said it would be just dandy if he didn't want to listen to advice (that I found reasonable, at least :( ), and then quietly closed my door.
~I guess it wasn't quietly enough.
~He rushed up the stairs a minute or two afterwards and banged on my door so hard I thought I was going to drop my laptop. He screamed at me to open it. I readjusted my laptop and told him it was quite open. He came in with the fury of fire and brimstone at his back and gave me an ear-piercing lecture on -- I'll keep it short -- I have no right to think I have the right to make any kind of crummy suggestions like that. There were all sorts of bits in there, including how much effort he and my mother put into my study of piano for all those years, and how I have no right if I won't even teach him myself.
~Look, mate. a) I'm not going to flockin' teach him cello, becaust I'm not a flockin' cellist. You're the one who always sits by him while he practices anyway. b) I have tried to teach the little fish-man piano, always at YOUR request. I have taught other children before. I have taught other children who listened. I have taught other children who weren't egged on to learn piano just because their parents wanted it. And I do understand that you'd want him to learn. I'm sure he wants to as well, in some ways. I do think it is extremely useful to have a few know-how's in other instruments. But for the MERCY OF HEAVEN. Everything I ever tried to patiently give him as far as piano has been thrown at a solid brick wall. I hate it because he is more interested in the fingerprint stains on the piano lid than the playing part. I hate it because I know you have set a standard in your mind of where he should be in piano at what point, because his own sister is teaching him, and she should know. I hate it because it takes TIME, and I can't make unreasonable standards. I hate it because sometimes you sit right by us when I've tried to teach him, and you're either giving your own suggestions or making me feel like my skin is going to explode in goosebumps because of how nervous I am. I have no hard feelings at all towards you for it. But with the conditions in consideration, it has been horribly difficult to teach my brother piano.
~Alright, Father. So you've taken music lessons yourself. Oh, 30-some-odd years ago. And I respect that. I understand you know a lot of what's going on, and probably a lot more than I do when it comes to string instruments anyway. But a metronome is a metronome is a metronome. Every instrument can follow a metronome, and every instrument has an instrumentalist. I just really don't understand why I can't say the occasional useful thing as if it's poisoning my own brother's cello experience. I know that we all think our own advice is always useful, even if it isn't in a lot of cases. But I KNOW FOR A FACT that this advice would be useful. It's not a flockin' OPINION that "Oh, following the metronome would help, by the way."
~I really wish I could get this message across. It makes me.... kind of sad to know that I'll get that kind of reaction for help that I try to offer like that :( . I'm not always the nicest person to my brothers, but I sure as the surest didn't mean anything negative this time :( . At any rate, he told me never to give any kind of tip or suggestion to Chester for his cello playing any more at all. For my own brother, that makes me depressed.