Continuation:

Remember the little girl who was thrilled to learn her scales and chords? (Here she is at the piano).

She had a new statement for me at her lesson this week:

"I learned how to conjugate the triads!"

(And I could barely remember if I had actually said that phrase in passing the week before... after all, she was SO excited about learning her C Major primary chords!)

Let's hope she remembers this if she ever takes music theory in college!

What they say...

Here is another collection of things my students have said. (Parents, you will definitely recognize your kids here... I hope they keep it coming!)

1. A homeschool answer for sure...
Me: "Did you do anything fun while you were out of town on spring break?"
Student: "Yes! We went to some museums!"

2. I was explaining dissonant intervals like 2nds and 7ths to an eight-year-old. I said, "Do you hear these two notes? They don't sound good together." She shouted, "Discord! Cacophony!"
(Another homeschooler.)

3. Seven-year-old girl: "I went to Burger King and got a drink... and I played 'Cuckoo' with my straw and the lid."

4. Same girl, working on a song in her sight-reading book. "I just LOVE this piece SO much. I NEVER want to check it off. I always want to keep working on it!"

5. Seven-year-old girl, putting hands together on one of her Suzuki pieces for the first time: "OH! I sound just like the CD!"

6. As my students were getting ready to leave, the 5-yr-old brother came back inside with a dandelion in his hand and ran to his mom. "Mommy, I picked a flower for you!" he said. His older sister apologized to me, "Oh, I hope that wasn't from your garden."

7. Same little boy came in for his lesson the next week and said to me, "Here is your money -- I'll pay you today after we finish our lessons." In his hand he had two quarters. I asked him where he got the money and he answered, "I found it in the car." Then he said, "Mommy, I'm paying for our lessons today so you don't have to."

8. I encouraged my 7-yr-old violin student to practice a lot so he could get very good, and told him to watch a young violinist prodigy, David Horvat, on YouTube. (See it here.) My little student responded, "Oh, I've heard of him! My grandma says he makes $150.00 a day just by playing on the street! AND, he almost got run over by a car!!"

9. (This is my favorite...) Eight-yr-old student to her mother: "Mrs. Hall is so nice and sweet and always happy. And she's so patient, too. It's almost like having another mom!"

10. Another 8-yr-old girl. The week before, we had practiced the C Major scale out of a "scale and chord exercise book" for the first time. I didn't realize how excited this had made her. At her next lesson, the first thing out of her mouth as she walked through the door was her absolutely jubilant exclamation, "Guess what! I'm all ready to learn the C Major Primary Chords!" (She is the first and only student I've ever seen to be excited about scales and chords...)