One of my viola students burst into lesson today so excited about her viola playing. Last week I had given her a 10-minute "get into The Zone" warmup, when she would "sniff & toss" (I need to write a post about that), put on the Forehead, and play Twinkle variations while checking in with loose knees, loose armpits/shoulders, and loose caves in both of her hands. Wow, I need to post about the Caves, too. I am way behind on Violin Alchemist.
A few students think the Forehead is weird and don't want to spend 10 minutes on a Zone Warmup. I actually wasn't sure whether this particular student would do it, but I assigned it because it was exactly what she needed. She really did it. And now she's hooked. "This is the first time I feel like playing viola is really easy" she said. And you can tell by looking at her when she plays. She looks beautiful, like she can really handle that big instrument.
Some kids grin, some look peaceful all of a sudden, and some get this little smirk of "woohooooo!" on their faces when this happens, and I love seeing it. That moment when playing violin or viola becomes relaxing? It means that from then on it can be there for them for the rest of their lives.