Andante - What It Sounds Like

Going through some musical terms with an 11-yr-old girl.

Me: What does Andante mean?
Girl: I have no idea.
Me: Take a guess.  What does it sound like?  [slowly] An-dahn-tay.
Girl [skeptical]: Like an aunt?
Me: Er - nooo... [I do the 'let your fingers do the walking' thing with my fingers]
Girl: Creepy?
Me: Ahem.  Walking.  My fingers are walking.  Andante is walking pace.

Mistake Face

In quartet this morning, we were having some timing issues.  We'd almost got it sorted out, but Violin 1 kept coming in too soon.  We played it again, and she still came in early.  I shook my head, and she did that wide smile with eyebrows raised in the 'I made a mistake but please forgive me' face.

Cello: She always does that face when she makes a mistake.  But when we make a mistake, she does that face.

This was accompanied by imitations of facial expressions - priceless.  Icing on the cake: at the end of the piece (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies), cellist sneezed in time with the music. 

Espressivo e Tranquillo

I was talking terms with a 10-yr-old today (in Seitz's Concerto No. 2, Third Movement, for those of you playing at home).

Me: What does espressivo e tranquillo mean?
Girl: Oh.  We talked about this last week....
Me: Espressivo...?
Girl: Oh!  Um.. sounds like... Expressive!
Me: Yes!  [very pleased that she didn't say 'espresso' like last week].  E?
Girl: And!
Me: Yes! Tranquillo?
Girl: Nnnnnno idea. [I start miming, like I'm smoothing something].  Oh, flat? boring?
Me: Chop the -lo and you get the word tranquil.  Do you know what that means? [girl shakes head]. Calm... peaceful... like a calm lake.  So how are you going to play expressively? [girl shrugs].  Keep using that lovely vibrato [hers is coming along beautifully] and lots of dynamics.
Girl: But how can you play expressively and calmly?

I played the passage expressively and agitato, then again expressively but with far less accentuation from the bow.

Girl: Oh yeah!  It does sound like a lake!