Allen Violin Studio

Violinist Itzhak Perlman Lists Manhattan Home for $17.5 Million

Anyone want to buy Itzhak Perlman's place?

Violinist Itzhak Perlman Lists Manhattan Home for $17.5 Million March 31, 2022, 2:34 PM · This week superstar violinist Itzhak Perlman and his wife, Toby, listed their Manhattan home for sale, for $17.5 million.

All children have a way of thinking about their strengths and abilities.

Those with a fixed mindset believe they cannot change the hand they’re dealt. Scenarios that could lead to mistakes or failure are avoided, meaning opportunities to learn and stretch themselves are lost.

Conversely, children with growth mindsets recognize mistakes and obstacles for what they are — opportunities to learn and develop.

Instilling this mindset is as simple as believing it’s possible.

Prompt your child to journal about overcoming challenges.

Choose to read books and watch movies that inspire resilience.

And remember to praise your child for the hard work that leads to each and every success!

Happening today! Shoutout to students Advithi, Sarah, and Caroline for allowing me to use clips from videos of their performances in my presentation!

Early applications for violin camp are due on Monday!

Here’s a stunning next stage frame from a student who is working on maintaining that frame in third position! We talked in their lesson today about curved fingers and landing the note from above with confidence.

It's hard to believe that it's been two whole years since we last had Violin Bootcamp in person! (Special shoutout to those in this photo who've graduated or moved on to other opportunities! Looking forward to hopefully welcoming back some former Bootcampers and getting to know new ones for the firs t time this summer.)

Bootcamp (and this summer, with Violin Academy added to our roster of opportunities!) has always been a unique time of growth, encouragement, challenge, and inspiration for our students. If you're looking for more connection in your musical life, want to get your skills to the next level, or just want some company around while you practice, send us an application!

Early application deadline is this Monday, March 28 - so don't delay!

https://masonacademy.gmu.edu/summer/music-camps/violin-bootcamp/

https://masonacademy.gmu.edu/summer/music-camps/violin-academy/

Come be part of our studio! We’re based at Mason Community Arts Academy in Fairfax and do lots of great things - from learning solid violin technique to community performances to masterclasses with guest artists and advocacy for equality in the classical music world.

Open spots are on Tuesdays at 3 pm and Thursdays at 6:30 pm.

Whether you’re just starting out or are a player looking to take it to the next level, you are welcome here!

Learn more on the website and submit an inquiry form to be considered for one of the open spots:

https://www.claireallenviolin.com/teaching.html

When we look at our children's report cards, there’s no box for “being kind to others.”

When we see friends post pictures of their children on Facebook, it’s rarely for how kind they are; it’s usually about their latest achievement.

One easy way we can bring the focus back to a child’s inner qualities is by the way we praise them.
How we praise our children really matters. It tells them what qualities we really value.

Try this: look for ways to praise your child’s inner qualities (not only achievement)--kindness, thoughtfulness, being a good friend, etc. This can go a long way towards showing them that you care about the person they are becoming, not just their achievement. 💗💚

Prepping for “May the Fourths,” which starts next month at @masonartsacademy. It’s Star Wars, but also it’s me so there will be scales…so naturally I am combining them!

Violin Bootcamp | Ages 10-18 | Mason Arts Academy/GMU, Fairfax VA

Bootcamp and Violin Academy applications/auditions are due Monday! Be sure to apply by our early application deadline for the best chance of getting a spot this summer.

https://masonacademy.gmu.edu/summer/music-camps/violin-bootcamp/

Violin Bootcamp | Ages 10-18 | Mason Arts Academy/GMU, Fairfax VA Summer 2022 | Violin Bootcamp for intermediate and advanced violin students. Masterclasses, private lessons, workshops. Fairfax, VA.

Best Way to Help Kids with Practicing #BeTheGPS

Love this practice tip for parents from Barbie Wong Music!

Best Way to Help Kids with Practicing #BeTheGPS Transform the way you connect with your child and truly help them with music practicing by using this simple practice technique. Want to raise joyful, musica...

Music Practice Makeover - Interview with Christine Goodner

Many of you have gotten emails recommending this book. I've been so thrilled to get to read it as an advance reader, and even more excited once I got to talk to the author about her experience writing the book and what inspired it.

https://www.violinist.com/blog/callen46/20223/29151/

Music Practice Makeover - Interview with Christine Goodner Christine Goodner's new book, Music Practice Makeover: Strategies to Make Practice With Your Music Student as Painless and Efficient as Possible offers a host of effective answers for students, parents and teachers. Just released today, it follows her first book, Beyond the Music Lesson, which I've....

Your.Words.Matter.

How’s your March Motivation Madness Family Challenge going? Hopefully your daily actions are going well and you are already starting to see, hear, and feel the benefits of that consistency!

My practice bracket is right on my refrigerator, where I’m sure to see it every time I want water or something to eat. If I leave things in my practice room, it’s too easy to ignore. Has anyone else hung up their bracket in a central location?

Trying not just to write the whole book down as a quote. So good.

@suzukitriangle, this book is going to change people’s lives!

Would anyone be up for doing a read-along here on IG and Facebook?

Should You Take That Audition? Five Things For Student Orchestral Players To Consider

Audition season for school and youth orchestras is upon us once more. My thoughts:

Should You Take That Audition? Five Things For Student Orchestral Players To Consider October 20, 2021, 10:40 AM · This fall, it's been exhilarating and cathartic to witness the return of orchestra at every level, from professional concerts in the world's most famous concert halls, to school orchestras and community orchestras starting again. With the return of school and youth orch...

Reading an advance copy of @suzukitriangle ‘s new book, Music Practice Makeover, and it is an amazing one. I can’t wait for everyone to be able to read it!

So excited. We are going to mark stuff in colors!!! Students, just order yours now….

Creating Enthusiastic and Independent Practicers: Market Like Disney

"Violin can work the same way. Think of creating an immersion experience for violin. If your child's only associations with violin involve going to lessons and having to practice at home - especially if fights between parent and child take place about practicing - they may have more associations of work, fights, and frustration than joy and fun."

Creating Enthusiastic and Independent Practicers: Market Like Disney Practicing violin takes a lot of focus, patience, and discipline. And, if the practicer is a young child, it takes quite a bit of cooperation and collaboration between parent and child. Learning...

For the Encanto fans out there. I know it says "alto sax," but this is the friendliest key I've seen for violin.

https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/762099/Product.aspx?currency=USD&utm_source=fb&utm_medium=Facebook_Desktop_Feed&utm_campaign=6214273818838&utm_content=6254594637238&fbclid=IwAR3_DkhUK4tzDydGpY5A3mwH2ER271IZ2ouDO90R8961loi4fGdlDNr2-BY

Love these suggestions for complimenting students!

Although it’s quick and easy to say, “Good job!”, try to praise something specific that your child did. Specific praise doesn't mean it has to be extensive. It can typically be summed up in one word: You can praise your child’s persistence, organization, courage, kindness, etc.

Specific praise also gives your child more useful information than general praise. Unlike specific praise, “Good job,” doesn’t tell your child what was good or how they can continue doing well.

Next time, catch yourself before giving generic praise. Ask yourself what your child did particularly well, and say something like, “You organized your toys so well!” or, “It’s great how you kept trying that math problem instead of giving up!”

Navigating College Applications for Music Majors

Fabulous advice for those considering a degree in music from Professor Susanna Klein at VCU!

Navigating College Applications for Music Majors March 11, 2022, 4:37 PM · As a music professor myself, I thought I would know most of the ins and outs of applying to music school. But as my own high school senior moved through the application and audition process this year, I got a real-life education about what it was like to be on the other si...

A part of our #marchmotivationmadnessfamilychallenge is to have a family movie night! Sometimes when we get busy, music can become just a thing on the to-do list. One more thing we have to check off, or drive the kids to, or read emails about…a task. For students it can be an isolated activity, something they do alone in their rooms. So, doing something like watching a movie about music or with characters who are musicians can be fun, and can also remind us that music is something we all can enjoy.

This photo is from a recent family movie night where we (and our cats!) watched the documentary Stolen, which is about the unsolved true crime of the theft of the Davidoff-Morini Stradivarius violin. What an interesting look at the musical world through a different lens!

What are your favorite movies about music?

If I could give only one piece of advice to a family starting music lessons, it would be for parents/caregivers to prepare *themselves* for the daily routine of practicing with their young child. Especially when studying the Suzuki method, parents should plan to actively practice with their child well through elementary school and to be an involved support the rest of the time! I recommend this book to every parent who starts in my studio and am about to embark on a reread myself so I can better help the families in my studio and reinforce my own knowledge about working with children!

Music as resistance: Kyiv’s orchestra plays on

When the days are darkest, these musicians are turning to music for hope and connection. Music is a gift we give ourselves, our children, and our communities for life.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/10/ukraine-russia-orchestra-music/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR3SoGvxrpwwlTFD0I-9YQT6Jh9WdcRVgI4potkV8OGZv0iPye-cPQ-toac

Music as resistance: Kyiv’s orchestra plays on Some pieces they couldn't play. Too many musicians had either fled or joined the fight against Russia.

Excited to announce that as of late June, 2022, we will have openings for one or two new students for the 2022-2023 academic year!

(If anyone can come between 3 and 4 pm on Wednesday/Thursday, and continue that time next school year, we could possibly start this spring!)

If you or someone you know is looking to take violin lessons, please pass on this link and encourage them to submit an inquiry form!

https://www.claireallenviolin.com/teaching.html

Starts this week in lessons! For anyone who wants to join in, the link is in my bio to the website with this downloadable PDF and all the supplemental activities. Promised prizes only apply to my current students, of course!

Here’s my first read for our #marchmotivationmadnesschallenge ! Kind of like Harry Potter, but the magic school is a music school where music *is* magic. Highly recommend to musical kids, teens, and adults who love YA novels!

It's here and it starts....TODAY! (or in your lesson this week).

https://www.claireallenviolin.com/march-motivation-madness-challenge.html

March Motivation Madness Challenge

Introducing...the March Motivation Madness Family Challenge! Coming to lessons next week (your Day 1 is in your lesson). Special early access for our Facebook followers here, email coming to everyone on Monday!

https://www.claireallenviolin.com/march-motivation-madness-challenge.html

March Motivation Madness Challenge Motivation is something I get asked about a lot as a teacher. This March, I'm challenging my students - and their families - to take part in a series of activities to spark their collective...

Coming next week…