Penny

Bianca had an orchestra clinic the last two days. She, my tiny 5th grader, lugged her double-bass there (nearly toppling over every time she put it on her back) and I couldn't help notice people staring (and chuckling) as she walked past them. The top of the bass hits the top of most door frames, so Bianca has to lean forward to fit it through. It really is so cute I couldn't help laughing myself. The double-bass takes up a whole seat in my car (because I have to put a seat down in order to fit it inside).

She named her bass Penny (derived from Pig Pen of the Peanuts fame). Despite its bass voice, she's a girl. Bianca loves to name all her instruments. Maybe that's why she gets so attached to them. Her viola is named Viol; her cello is named Charlie Brown. Portia's violin is even named Vio-Lindsay.

Last night all the kids in the elementary school orchestra clinic played several songs together. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Mary had a Little Lamb, Hot Cross Buns. What amazed me more than anything wasn't that Bianca picked up another instrument so quickly, but that amongst 40-50 kids (most of them playing the violin) that you could hear the bass vibrating so loudly through it all. I told Bianca I could hear all her wrong notes (she said she wouldn't be playing any wrong notes). Well, she's always an optimist.

This morning as Bianca was practicing, she picked up another song. Jingle Bells. Not bad for her third day playing Penny.