The Old Ways

[song_365]

I know I did not bring the CD player to Alfred, because there was no sense in bringing a music playing device when all of my music was already on my computer, and because I live in a dorm room which can be easily filled with the sound of a laptop. And I imagine that I would have included my overstuffed binder of CDs in the box containing the player

Comments

[to_the_ready]

wait--suzuki involved ear training? maybe that's where my single musical talent comes from...

[song_365]

In theory, the Suzuki method meant that one could learn a piece only by listening to it--all of the books came with tapes, and the idea was that four-year-old me would sit by the stereo listening to a recording of my assigned piece, and eventually master the song only by ear.

My school district cheated a bit, of course, and the first four years consisted of my mother dictating the fingerings until I figured out the rhythm and memorized the notes on my own. I cheated even more when I decided in fifth grade to give Suzuki up entirely, only to be bribed by my string teacher and allowed to read everything right out of the book as long as I memorized it all for performance.

But learning things by ear at an early age before I learned to read music definitely helped me out later on, I think.