"Edison Violinsts", for the Edison Newspaper

During the lunch hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Edison Regional, a student or teacher walking down the hall will most likely hear the sound of fifteen little violins, from the kindergarten room, all playing in unison. Students on their way to lunch, or coming back from lunch, will stop and stare at these groups of mostly kindergarteners, and marvel at their ability to play so many different songs, and most of the time, without any book in front of them. Some of the passerbys have said to me, “oh, I don’t have an ear for music” or, “music is not one of my strong talents.” Most of these students, however, started the program with no previous knowledge of how to translate such songs as “Twinkle-Twinkle” to the violin, but have been conditioned through consistent repetition of songs and phrases until talent is produced. Playing the violin is not a talent we are born with, it is something that is learned through repetition, very similar to the way we learn to speak. All of these beginners have at least eight pieces under their belt, not including scales, and some have taken the initiative to teach themselves tunes that they have heard outside of class.

Once the violinists graduate to a more advanced level, fiddle tunes are introduced, to encourage confidence in other forms of violin technique. By introducing fiddle to these students, certain expectations for understanding rhythm as well as the technical fingerings and bow-handling has allowed the students to advance very quickly, when the bar has been raised to such a level. The fiddlers have to come together as a team, and work together to create more than just a little “fiddle-ditty.” Music House Fiddle Team won Second Place in the Junior Division of Midwest Fiddle Competition last summer, and now the Edison Fiddle Team is working hard to prepare for the upcoming competition!

Music House offers private lessons 5 days per week, year ‘round, group lessons in the form of Fiddle Team and Jazz Band on Tuesday evenings, Orchestra and Suzuki style classes on Saturdays. Call 773.262.2051 for info or click www.musichouseinc.com for info and free reports.

By Allison Trumbo