Mikey started music camp last week. He is in the beginner’s guitar section. The electric guitar was a present for his 7th birthday, but we could only afford the lessons this summer. Hah! Didn’t think that one through.
He loves it, of course. There aren’t many activities our extrovert doesn’t enjoy, so long as they don’t involve risk. Some friends are in ice hockey camp, which I thought sounded like a lot of fun. I asked Mikey if he would like to try it, and he looked at me as if he was struggling to explain a difficult concept to a slow child. “Mom, don’t you think that’s a little dangerous? I could get hit by a puck, and then where would I be?”
Camp is in a trailer from the 70s, because nothing is too good for our boy.
He can now play D, C, G7, and E minor chords; notes on the B, E, and G strings; and several songs like Yellow Submarine, Get Up Stand Up, Eleanor Rigby, and The Hokey Pokey. So I’m told.
We’re still in the rough stage, where everything sounds like cats on a hot tin roof. Last night he practiced Get Up Stand Up, and I hinted that 14 E minors fired off like a gun shots may not a song make. I played him the actual song, which he claimed sounded slower than the version he heard at camp and then proceeded to hum to me the differences. That whole conversation was like the time Vanilla Ice tried to explain to MTV News why Ice Ice Baby sounded nothing like Queen and David Bowie’s Under Pressure. I love him for it.
Mikey, not Vanilla Ice.
How fun! You two are the world’s most awesome parents, trailer and all!
Hah! I don’t know if they would agree with you, but they better. ;)
This is awesome. And your boys are so handsome! Sorry, is that creepy? I didn’t mean it to be! (although hello, if Mikey is learning guitar, watch out for when he’s a teenager!)
Haha! Thanks, Ris. :)
Haha, “Peace dude” on the first picture, LOL
I remember when I was a teen and my younger sister started piano lessons. I was SO excited that she was going to play and had all these visions of playing duets together and such. I quickly realized what my parents had to endure when I was learning. Yowzas! The one great thing about being around to hear kids practice is being able to distinguish when they’re really “getting” it, which is a really awesome feeling.
Oh, I know! That picture! I do not pose them. I don’t have to, when my oldest suddenly thinks he’s a rapper! O_o
We had a little of that with Hokey Pokey last night. We could almost kinda sorta here “and that’s what it’s all about!” at the end. ;)
I had trouble getting past the ice hockey comment I was laughing so hard! Where would you be if you didn’t have such good guidance on child-reading?! Music camp sounds awesome and I hope his songs become more recognizable soon.
The hockey comment. I tried pointing out that absolutely NO ONE would be good enough to hit the puck more than a few feet, and that everyone would (probably) be trying to stay upright on their skates! No dice.
Hee-hee – I was listening to the Classic Rock station on Pandora the other day and couldn’t figure out why on earth “Ice, Ice Baby” was being played. You guessed it, it was “Under Pressure.” ;)
That happens to me all the time on Pandora!!!! I listen to classic rock, too.
After reading his hockey comment, I see he’s a boy after my own heart. A person can’t be too careful about such thing.
Also, thanks for the clarification at the end. For a moment there I thought you had a thing for Vanilla Ice and I would be forced to rethink my high estimation of you–PHEW! Total weight off my shoulders.
Growing up, I never participated in anything because I was afraid of failure or meeting new people. Mikey’s afraid of getting hurt. It’s so funny to me what we focus on as kids.
Vanilla Ice … classic!
When I learned acoustic guitar I was pretty sure it would never sound like music, at least with me strumming. Then, one day, it did. Guitar is a funny instrument.
Electric guitar, you guys rock! I learned classical guitar, because my parents couldn’t stand the thought of an amplifier extending the bitter notes any further than my bedroom. As an adult I learned the violin – now that is an awful instrument to hear being played poorly – it practically accosted my own ears, think my sense of tone has been limited by those very years ;) Now that the little one has requested trumpet lessons, I’m thinking long and hard about how to integrate the noise into our quiet, quiet world (there really isn’t anything quiet about our world, I just like to pretend).
Will you be my mom?
You had me at Band Camp. :)
I second Kendra- will you adopt me?!
I’ll organize your binders… ;)