I thought we were getting off light for our son’s first semester in college, because most of his classes require inexpensive textbooks or none at all. No such luck. Today we had to buy the Music Composition major a piano keyboard. His keyboard skills class had to move to mostly online instructions, so students willContinue reading “Roland the Headless Keyboard”
Category Archives: Music
Tools of the Trade
After all these years of renting, today we bought our son a violin of his very own to bring to college in a few weeks. We have rented various violins over the years. Sometimes there was a rent-to-own clause. That’s fine for a student who isn’t serious about continuing with the instrument. If you becomeContinue reading “Tools of the Trade”
Friday Photo: The Duke
Yesterday my son chose his dorm building and room! So it seems like a good time to post a photo of him with the yard sign that James Madison University sent to all incoming Freshman.
Overslept
My son overslept this morning and missed his online piano lesson, the one that was scheduled for noon. He was still in bed at 2:30 this afternoon, but by then was wide awake, phone in hand. His piano teacher said he should have told her ahead of time that he planned to oversleep. I don’tContinue reading “Overslept”
O Say Can You See the Truth About Key?
There is talk of changing our National Anthem because Francis Scott Key, who wrote the lyrics to the “Star-Spangled Banner,” was a slave owner, and because the song contains pro-slavery lyrics. My initial reaction was negative: I can’t see that it’s useful to erase the other achievements of anyone who owned slaves. What’s next? GiveContinue reading “O Say Can You See the Truth About Key?”
Choosing Classes
My son has chosen his courses for the fall semester of his freshman year of college. Now let’s hope the university can actually offer in-person classes safely. That’s the current plan, according to the school, but who knows what will happen with the coronavirus pandemic. It still seems odd that we’re all going ahead withContinue reading “Choosing Classes”
College Craziness: Tentative Decision
My son accepted a spot at James Madison University last week, and paid the deposit. While I’m relieved that he has somewhere to go, it’s a shame that he had to accept an admissions offer from a school that isn’t really where he wants to be, especially since he was also accepted to his firstContinue reading “College Craziness: Tentative Decision”
Taekwondo Class in the Time of Coronavirus
I posted a video a couple days ago of my teenage son’s virtual piano lesson, with him sitting at the baby grand with his phone set up nearby so his teacher could tune in via WhatsApp. In addition to being a musician, Jon Morgan is a third-degree black belt in taekwondo. Before the shutdown, heContinue reading “Taekwondo Class in the Time of Coronavirus”
Piano Lessons in the Time of Coronavirus
At first, the piano teacher wanted to keep coming to the house. After the governor’s shutdown order, I put my foot down. The piano teacher is in a high-risk age group, yet she resisted. She is using Facetime for lessons with some of her students, but didn’t understand when we said we can’t use FacetimeContinue reading “Piano Lessons in the Time of Coronavirus”
And Just Like That, High School Is Over
The governor of Virginia announced today that state K-12 schools are closed for the rest of the school year. I don’t fault him for making the decision. Our schools were already closed through the end of spring break in mid-April, but anyone who thinks this global coronavirus pandemic will be over by then is, well,Continue reading “And Just Like That, High School Is Over”
