Kayden's violin learning journey and new instrument

By the end of December 2016, Kayden would have completed 5 years of violin playing. We have never thought that he would come this far in his musical learning journey although as have definitely harboured tiny hopes that our kids would be able to enjoy and appreciate music. The violin lessons have been tough for K as we watched how he struggled in the initial months with the correct posture and later on with the different fingering positions and bowing to the current stage of picking up challenging new pieces. But, we have also witnessed how he had overcome the challenges along the way and what he should be doing to manage his frustrations in learning new pieces.

Mummy has asked him several times if he wanted to give it up but the answer was always a firm no. Truth be told, we are actually very pleasantly surprised that there was no contemplation on his part. We believed the change in his violin teacher has helped him where he got to spend time learning and playing songs which kids of his age would appreciate, oldies and pop. He has only done 1 formal examination 3 years ago and is now preparing to take his Grade 6 examination next year and thus, it was time for us to invest in a better quality instrument.

His first 1/4 size violin was a hand-me-down from a friend and when it was time to upsize to 1/2, Papa bought 1 from Beijing for him. We have certainly heard what Miss J has been telling us for quite some time about the difference between a German-made versus a China-made violin and finally decided to get him a new 3/4 ahead of time in early September. With the new Karl Hofner Handmade Violin Outfit (H11) from Synwin, he is showing more enthusiasm and commitment these days for his daily practices! 

Yes, we now have 2 expensive musical instruments ("Ouch" by our standards) at home for the boys' enjoyment and learning. If memory serves us well, its about a year after the piano purchase. Do continue to enjoy playing and learning our dear boy!

The serious violin player and his new toy