Olive sings with a violin

As many of you know, I have long been taking fiddle lessons from a superb teacher in Amherst MA, who is probably best known as a French Canadian style fiddler. I will probably never be a great fiddler; most of the greats have been playing since they were ten years older or even younger. I never even picked up a fiddle until I was well into my 30s, and didn't get serious until I was nearly 50. My goal is and always has been to be able to join a good fast jam session at a folk festival or fiddle camp, be able to keep up, and not be out of place there. Of course, that means frequent practice.

I try to put in two hours of practice each day (though I don't always succeed). On my first day with Olive I went to my practice area and started to play, then heard what I thought was Olive crying. It didn't take me long to see that every time I played a note, Olive would be singing along. I wasn't sure what to make of it, so I emailed Nanne to ask whether she knew what was up. In return I was informed that the family that Olive lived with before me had a child that took violin lessons, and this short video that the family took. It was too funny!

I'll note that just playing this video brings Olive running to my desk to sing along!