How do you get to Carnegie Hall?. . .

Yes, this cello is far too large for my 28 lb. 3 year old. He could use a 1/10 size probably, but I'm going to start him on a 1/8, like this girl's:

I gave a lot of thought to which instrument to start J. on. Most parents start their kids on the violin . Suzuki violin, to be precise some time during elementary school when permission slips go out. That's what I did. I started on violin at nine and switched to cello at ten. By middle school I was principal cellist wih the St. Louis Conservatory and School for the Arts Concert Orchestra, and I moved up to the Symphonic Orchestra in high school. Though, I never made principal cellist there. I didn't even try very hard. It just wasn't the priority. Sure, I made some extra money with a quartet I was in that played weddings. I taught private lessons for a couple of years. But I never really tried to be great. I don't think I even knew what it took to become great. I mean GREAT, like these fine fellows:

(Mstislav Rostropovich and Yo Yo Ma)

To be like them-not just a professional, but a soloist making millions a year- one doesn't start at nine. He starts at three or four. And he doesn't waste time on the violin just because it's small. He starts on the instrument that will be the instrument he will pursue. The GREATS, unlike me, didn't place a social life over practice time when they were teenagers, and they don't skip rehersal with a fellow rogue violinist and tympani player to hang out at Vintage Vinyl down the street. Yes mom, I did that. But I always practiced enough to not make a fool of myself. That's what was important to me: looking cool, not necessarily being the best.

J. may make the same choices. But he will certainly be given the opportunity to be one of the GREATS. He'll start young, on an instrument that isn't as competitive as the violin; we'll keep lessons fun and enjoyable, though regular. And should he show tremendous promise as a teenager, we'll throw out algorithms (and traditional schooling entirely), and have him practice. Practice like he's on his way to Carnegie Hall: 6-8 hours a day.

J. can already pluck the correct string: A, D, G or C, when I ask him. He knows the parts of the cello, like the bridge, the frog, the pegs and the strings. And he knows not to play up on the fingerboard like the little boy is doing in the picture above. We've got a long way to go, but we're off to a good start.

I met a girl that worked at a used book store in the airport last year. She had a musical score tatooed on both arms. As I was checking out I said, "That's the Haydn." She looked shocked. "You know the Haydn cello concerto?" "Yes, I do," I answered. I knew it because my private teacher (an amazingly talented, STERN, LARGE, South African woman) let me know repeatedly in high school that I didn't play it well. She had me go over it and over it and over it. It's one of THE pieces for any cellist for a reason...it's crazy difficult.

Maybe J. will master it and the Boccerini. That would be something, even if he doesn't become one of the GREATS.