Not Pretending

Rest position........................................ Bowing

Standing position

Playing position

Clara is moving along nicely with her cello lessons these days. The Suzuki program teaches that children need to learn the important technique and posture using a pretend instrument before they are able to master the real one. This naturally builds anticipation and excitement for when they will one day have an actual cello in their little hands, as well as helps the children learn to handle the instrument, before the expensive one comes on the scene. Clara's pretend cello has had a few 'incidents' in the car to which I quietly thanked Dr. Suzuki, may he rest in peace, for his genius idea of preparing the child and the siblings for the real thing.

A Little Lesson:
For Clara, and all the children in the class, there is nothing pretend about the pretend cello. This is serious business. She plucks her black hockey tape strings, holds the tar paper covered neck, and sits with pride each time she plays her 'made from a cardboard box' cello. It is when my sweet make-believing, imaginating, world inventing, and daily creating little four-year-old joins us in the real world and plays her pretend cello!