I baked a loaf of bread today.  I love to let my two year old Adelaide climb up on the stool next to me, mix the flour, yeast, salt and water.  My heart grows every time her face lights up when she sees how much the dough has grown the next morning. We punch down the bread in the morning, preheat the oven and let the smell of what I’m sure heaven must smell like fill our home.  The crunch of the crust and chewy, moist center with a slather of butter and honey on top are irresistable. I am not describing a complex meal to prepare. Just a loaf of bread.  

As I cut into the bread today, I thought about the generations that came before me baking bread for their little ones and loved ones.  I thought about the long tradition that spans past my lifetime and will continue into the future. I also thought of how profound that loaf of bread is for sustenance, community and joy.  

Why does this matter for our violin practicing?  We, as teachers, often tell you about the importance of playing all your violin songs every day or week.  We tell you about how in order to build your ability, you must do it with pieces you are comfortable with.  You can probably even hear our voices spout scientific research. However, one thing I would suggest is that review goes beyond that research and data and goes well into something we cannot ever fully comprehend.  Review is good for your soul. Just as a humble loaf of bread can nourish your body and soul to make them feel full, so can review.  

Let me explain further.  I used to travel quite often.  I met people on planes, trains and buses who were interested in that funny shaped case on my back.  So often, I heard their stories about their time as a child playing an instrument. I felt the pang in my chest when they expressed they “just weren’t any good,” or when they said, “I wish I had stuck with it.”  Sometimes the thoughts in my head about how they might’ve just needed a no-fail, positive environment, or how they could take it up again if they really spent the time came out of my lips and sometimes I just smiled and listened.  

Our review repertoire is such a gift to us.  The Suzuki literature is beautiful, timeless literature that lives on and on.  Depending on our stage of development, we all have a wealth of literature and countless pieces that we can pull out in a moment’s notice. 

These days, I am spending more time on social media than usual.  I am seeing women playing violas from balconies in Italy, cellists setting up driveway concerts for neighbors who are standing six feet apart, old friends who haven’t touched their instruments in years tune them up and explore and so much more music than I’ve seen in a long time.  It feels like the beauty in this world is striving to wipe away the darkness and scariness some of us have been tempted to pay too much attention to – and it’s working.  

While we do need sustenance from our food, our souls need much more than that.  We all have been given the incredible gift of expression. Those of us that are privileged enough to have the skills to share that expression through a musical instrument have a gift beyond what the majority of people in this world will ever experience.  As with our humble loaf of bread, let’s not take that for granted. Let’s take delight in our review buckets this week, share that joyful gift with others through whatever medium we choose, and let our hearts soar with the beauty of hard work, perseverance, timelessness, exceptional repertoire and more simply put:  music.  

– Kirby