There is no doubt that Alex loves music. Not surprising when you consider that every member of my family is musical. I have made an effort to make sure Alex has been exposed to a lot of music since he was born including outdoor and kids’ concerts. I have also tried to give him access to a lot of different instruments. I had a piano, a violin, and a cheap guitar in the house before he was born, and we have accumulated some odds and ends since then.

I started learning the violin with my parents around Alex’s age as did my siblings. So far Alex mostly plays on his little guitar, that I purchased for him at Goodwill, but occasionally I will pull out my violin and practice. He always insists on playing the instrument too. I don’t play much anymore, but I have played my violin more recently since Alex likes to play. The violin is way to large for him, so he has to play it like a cello between his knees. Violin time tends to be short as Alex is a bit rough on things so it must be closely supervised. Once he gets to rough, I put the instrument away, then it is time to switch to more active play like throwing a ball or bouncing around at Inflatable Kingdom.

I decided that it is time for Alex to have his own violin. My parents have a wide variety of instruments and even own a violin that would fit him, but my niece has already laid claim to it. So I started looking for an instrument for Alex. My needs were pretty simple, I did not need anything fancy or expensive as Alex is just starting, and he tends to be rough.

The first thing I needed to determine was what size violin would be best suited for Alex. To determine what size violin to get, you can either measure the child’s arm or guess based on the child’s age. Violins start at 1/32 and go up to full size. I chose a 1/16 size violin for Alex, which is recommended for children age 3-5 with a 14” arm. Technically Alex should use a 1/32 size, but the 1/16 will give him room to grow and he can hold it and play with it now.

Violin Sizing Guide
Violin Size     Estimated Age of Player     Player’s Arm Length
1/32                 2 and under                            13”
1/16                 3-5 years                                 14”
1/10                4-6 years                                  15”
1/8                  4-6 years                                  16.5″
1/4                  5-7 years                                  18″-18.5″
1/2                  7-9 years                                  20”
3/4                 9-12 years                                 21.5-22”
7/8                10-Adult                                    22”
Full                13-Adult                                    23” +

If you don’t know much about violins or are looking for a quality piece, I would recommend going to a violin shop to buy your violin where you can have an associate assist you, and you can try out the various instruments. I purchased a used violin off eBay for Alex since that was the cheapest place I could find one. I got him a decent violin that needed a little work, but my parents have experience with instrument repairs, so I figured they could help me with whatever work the instrument needed. I also ordered strings and an extra bow from another vendor.

The violin arrived and it is darling. I was happy because the condition was better than advertised. It really just needs its strings put on. My parents are coming to visit in February, and they are going to put the strings on for Alex then. Somehow I never learned how to string a violin, perhaps because I always had my mom to do it for me. Alex is very excited and wants to play his violin, but will have to wait a little later. I suppose this way it can be a Valentine’s Day gift for him.

Though it has been a long time, I have taught some beginning violin lessons before. I am really looking forward to teaching my own kid. Perhaps having Alex playing will be the inspiration I need to get back into playing myself. Having a child who looks up to me really does inspire me to want to be a better person.

-HL

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February 1, 2012

I see a lot of shows at Milagros because the venue is easy to get to from my house, they host performers on a regular basis, and the price is right. $3 donation per person is pretty easy to come up with even for me. Milagros use to have Van Oodles on Wednesdays, and I got to see him perform once, but he moved to Korea for a job last year, and the space has been vacant ever since. Until now…

I was very excited to see that Lorna Miller was going to start performing at Milagros on Wednesday mornings. Lorna Miller performs every month at Mississippi Pizza, but I had not made it over there to see her show. As soon as I found out about the new show, I made a note on my calendar and planned on checking out her performance this morning.

The show was less crowded this week then the last few performances I have been too at Milagros. There were enough kids and adults to have fun show, but not so many that we were crowded. I think it might have been tough having this show with a full house since there needs to be plenty of room to move around. Alex and I were the first people there (after the performer), so we got our choice of seats. I picked the seat next to the play house so Alex could play inside. He has gone in the play house before, but got scared when another kid came in, and he had to go past the kid’s mom to get out. This time he was able to hide in the play house as much as he liked, and I was right there next to him. There was another kid who went in and out some during the show, but it didn’t bug Alex as much this time.

Lorna Miller brought a selection of cans, chopsticks, and bottles to use as drums and shakers. There were plenty for the kids and adults to each have as many as they wanted. We all gathered up our choice of “instruments” and the parents wrote their children’s names down so she could include them all in her first song. All the kids and their adults played along as Lorna Miller performed a variety of tunes, many of them familiar classics that we were encouraged to sing along with. We all got up and danced for a couple of the songs including the hokey pokey. I think every kid there was up and moving at some point during the show and I felt like I got almost as much exercise bouncing and swinging Alex around as I would have jumping around at Inflatable Kingdom. It was perhaps the most interactive musical show I have ever been to. One of the audience members even sang us Puff the Magic Dragon when she requested it, and Lorna did not know the words.

Alex had a great time, but all that moving around wore him out. The last couple songs he sat in my lap and shook his shaker. On the way home, he fell asleep in the car and is still asleep right now as I am completing this article.

Lorna Miller performs Wednesdays at 10:30 am at Milagros.

-HL

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January 29, 2012

My father taught in the music department at the University of Nevada, Reno, and when I was growing up I would often go the music department’s Christmas party. Many years the party featured a shortened version of Hansel and Gretel, and one year my aunt played the wicked witch. As a result I have very fond memories of the opera.

Last year when the Portland Opera produced Hansel and Gretel I wanted to bring Alex. After much consideration, I decided he was not old enough to go to an opera production, especially since he can’t sit still for a 90 minute movie yet.

This week when I saw that Portland Opera was producing a shortened version of the opera for families, I was very excited. The production was over at McMenamin’s Edgefield, in Troutdale, which is less than a fifteen minute drive from my house. Perhaps the best part was that admission to the show was free.

My husband and I brought Alex and his grandparents to the show this morning. I have only been to Edgefield once before and it was long ago, so I forgot how huge the place was. We parked the car and walked out in the rain trying to figure out where to go. We found an employee who gave us directions, then made the mistake of following a family who looked like they knew where we were going instead of following our directions. As a result we did a lot of extra walking and by the time we did finally find Blackberry Hall, where they were having the production, we were all fairly wet and cold.

The place was packed. All of the seats in front were taken. We found some seats against the back wall behind the tables and the patrons who had were standing around them. Our view of the opera was alas not very good as a result. I held Alex up on my shoulders for most of the show so I hope he could see.

We ordered a 16” pizza to split for lunch. It took a long time to prepare, but it was huge and wonderful when we got it. The pizza cost us around $30 and each of the four adults were able to eat 2 large pieces (Alex does not eat much so just ate some of the crusts).

The singing was lovely. They were doing the opera in English instead of the original German which certainly makes it more accessible for the younger audience. The witch was played by a man, which is currently a popular way to produce the opera though I personally prefer the soprano witch since that is how I remember the opera from when I was a child. I really enjoyed the production, though I am uncertain what Alex thought of it. At times he seemed to be pretty interested, but other times he wanted to go home. He’s a tough age to take to shows and sitting in the back where he couldn’t see much didn’t help. There were a lot of kids at the show and most of them seemed to be having a pretty good time.

After the production of Hansel and Gretel, there was a 15 minute intermission, then the singers came out to sing some various opera tunes. We stuck around during the intermission and I brought Alex up to see the witch’s house. A lot of people left during intermission, so we were able to get much better seats for the second half of the show. Alex wanted to go up front, and we did for a little, but he was not content to sit still, so we did not stay there. He really had fun during the song from Marriage of Figaro which he bounced up and down and danced to. Alas Alex eventually got to loud, so we had to leave the show before it was over.

This was the perfect show to use as an all ages introduction to opera and I would highly recommend it to everyone. There are going to be performances at the Hampton Opera Center February 10 at 7 pm and February 11 at 1 and 4 pm. Tickets are $5 age 12 and under, $10 adults or $20 for a family of 4. There are also additional free performances including shows on February 2 at 7 pm at the Crystal Ballroom and Feburary 16 at 7 pm at the Kennedy School. For a complete schedule, visit the Portland Opera to Go web-site.

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