Music Milestone

WF had his 1st Music Class Concert last Saturday.

Each of the children was required to play or sing one song from those which they have learnt during lessons over the past 6 months. This had been told to the parents 2 weeks earlier, so everyone could 'prepare' for their 'performance'.

No one opted to sing. All the children chose to play on the keyboard - I think to the kids, that's more fun.

To WF, singing is never an option. It is not that he cannot sing. In fact, he can sing quite well. But he just doesn't like singing those songs taught in class, and somehow, he just never agrees to sing before an audience.

The Concert was held in the last 20 minutes of the lesson time. Most of the children had invited guests to watch them perform. So after the guests settled down at the back of the classroom, the teacher began to call upon the children to present their songs.

One by one, the boys and girls took their place at the electone or piano (they can choose to use either) in the front of the class. Most played very well. One of the more outspoken girls even managed her own variation of her song by using alternate hands to play the different phrases of the song!

WF did very well, too. He played 2 songs (instead of one) and he played them both using both hands, ie melody on the RH and accompaniment on the LH. The teacher was pleasantly surprised at this achievement - afterall, she has not yet taught the children during class to play BH. The closest had been some 'part'-playing ensemble on a group basis, meaning the class was divided into groups which then played different parts as assigned by the teacher.

So I was a very proud mother that morning, especially when the very impressed teacher complimented WF over and over again. I was also very pleased that unlike some of his classmates, WF had kept a very steady and regular tempo in his playing throughout. There was none of those 'pauses' between phrases which he sometimes had previously.

WF has always been the cheeky one in class. He is, basically, the clown there. And his classmates love the 'funny' things which he does - standing behind the teacher (when he is supposed to be standing next to her), sitting with the teacher on the piano bench (when he is supposed to be standing with his classmates), examining the back of the piano (when he is supposed to be singing with his classmates) etc etc.

Very often, he would tap one foot or move around, changing position amongst his classmates while singing the songs or solfege. This inevitably draws some laughter and giggles from his amused classmates (some would follow him), and there would be so much distraction that the teacher would have to ask all the children to pretend to apply some glue to the ground and get their feet 'glued' to their respective spots!

There was also once that WF pretended to be super lethargic when making his way to the front of the class. So to urge him to move quickly, I suggested that he 'rides on his rocket' so that he could hurry! And guess what?! He took the cue and dashed to the front of the class in a split second, only to 'splatter' himself flat on the wall! And he remained 'stuck' this way with his right cheek and out-stretched arms all remaining on the wall for a good 5 seconds or so!

When the teacher walked over to WF and kindly asked what had happened, WF replied, "My rocket blasted off too quickly, so I am stuck to the wall!" Needless to say, everyone in the classroom burst into laughter instantly. The teacher had to help 'peel WF off the wall' and position him properly amongst his laughing classmates after that.

The teacher always tells me that WF is just acting his natural self and that she does not 'blame' him for these distracting albeit funny antics. But we both agree that she should be firm with him when necessary so that lesson can proceed and other parents will not be too upset at these distractions.

So, on my part, I have warned WF that if he does too many of those 'silly tricks and stuff' or does not follow the teacher's instructions during lesson time, I will walk off and leave him in the class all by himself. So he knows he must 'control' himself and not overdo things. That's our deal.



Nevertheless, on our way to the weekly lesson, I must always remind him of his agreement with me - the "do's and dont's". It is almost a ritual now.