Learning to play

Music is like a language, the language of the heart. From each first tender moment to each flamboyant finale, the music speaks to us, no matter the culture, religion or language. For some mysterious reason, certain combinations of notes will elicit tears while others will bring joy. And once you have managed to learn the language of the heart, you are free to invent your own story, weaving complex melodies or elaborate chords. It establishes connections between us and the masters who came before us, hundreds or even thousands of years ago. In some small way, their spirit lives in the music that they have created, with each tone and moment of color.

Today I'm trying to play the D major scale first with an entire bow for each note, then half a bow, then up to 4 notes for each bow. I'm still convinced that I am playing out of tune more than half of the time, but I think my ears are slowly training themselves, and the moment of hesitation before placing my fingers on the strings is becoming shorter and shorter. I realized that I can play the D major scale starting from the D string, all the way to the high D on the A string. There is an F sharp and C sharp built in to the pattern, how convenient! The only trouble is, once I get to the E string, I have to remember to play a G natural directly following the F sharp. Sometimes its not easy to find my way back to that G natural.

For the first time in a while, I actually feel soreness in my left shoulder and arm. I was ambitious enough to try to play a few different versions of Pachelbel's Canon in D Major (see previous entry), although I only got through the first page or so. It's hard to restrain myself to slow down because I want to play the melody, its so tempting to speed up to satisfy my ears. However, more often then not, I'm rewarded not with a beautiful melody, but a wrong note or out of tune one. That reminds me, maybe I should sign up for that violin class... I haven't been motivated to read the Violin for Dummies book, playing is just so much more fun than reading!

By the way, you might be wondering why I haven't written any entries on learning French, well, that's because I haven't been learning too much these days. I'm going to start making my 20min commute count by listening to Starting Out in French from Living Language. More to come soon on the French front. Ciao for now!

New strings, new hopes

Today I got my violin strings replaced by Earl Thibadeau , actually my boyfriend brought it in to be serviced as a surprise for me. He said strings usually last 6 months to a year, and considering I got my violin online (for about $300), which came with rather crappy strings a.k.a. garbage category, he's not surprised that I ended up with a broken string. Whew, now I don't feel as guilty! In fact, he replaced all 4 strings because they are bound to break soon anyway. I'm glad I got the more average grade strings this time, which should last longer. The whole procedure cost $36, $22 for the strings, and $14 for labor. The crappy strings would cost only $14-16. The other option would have been to get the high end strings, which would cost about $60. But with a rather average factory made violin like mine, it probably wouldn't make much difference.

Earl also mentioned that the instrument should feel and sound different (better!) compared to its previous life, and indeed it does! The strokes feel smoother and the sound is much more natural, rather than the sort of screechy sound I had before (or maybe it was just out of tune!). He also replaced an inner peg (inside the body of the violin, right under the bridge) because the original one was not the right size, plus he did it for free! I still don't know how he got the little wooden stick in there, its like the ship in a bottle game which I also don't get. But all in all a great experience so far, Earl seems like a really experienced and responsible guy, I would give him two thumbs up!

And the weird vibration on the G string? All gone. I'm so happy my instrument is like its been reborn. I also feel refreshed and encouraged to play and practice more. Plus, now I can't blame how bad I sound on the violin itself. I'm starting with the Suzuki books, volume one. I actually feel a lot more natural while playing compared to when I first started. I have a lot less tension in my wrists, and I can balance my bow really well now using my thumb as a fullcrum and my pinky as a weight. I'm playing "Lightly Row", "Long long ago" and "May Song." I'm trying my best to use the more of the bow. My goal is to finish the first book of Suzuki by the end of October. My next goal is to try to play Pachelbel's Cannon in D Major. It's a really popularized song, but I still really like it. The only score I found online is the original one in D major, the hard part is that I don't really know how to play flats yet... Does anyone know how to convert the music to say... C major? Here's a simple version on scribd with piano accompaniment.

(Actually there's a better version here, it sounds more original) - added 9/30/3008

I also got info on a local violin teacher, Jenny Grant. I tried googling, and didn't find anything on her. Have you heard of her or took lessons from her before? I'm just interested in a reference. I was resisting taking formal lessons for a while purely due to time constraints. Maybe I'll finally breakdown and take some real lessons, maybe the pressure will force me to practice more and get better faster? Or should I opt for the less stress, more fun route? Then again, I've always done well with more structured learning. Now I'm only practicing during commercial breaks while watching Chuck and Heroes.

Persistence

I thought I had it tough... here's a commercial with a deaf girl learning to play violin:




Can you guess what product this commercial is for?

Broken String

So after a few months of hibernation, I finally got my violin out and tried to tune it. This time, I was adventurous enough to pretend that I have a perfect pitch and tune without an aide, and then see how far I am after I finish by comparing with sounds from the "Violin for Dummies" CD. (By the way, there are also some nice websites for violin tuning. All you have to do is search google for "voilin tuning". One I particularly like is from Violin Online.

I thought I was doing pretty well until :: snap::, my A string broke. Luckily I didn't sustain any injuries to my face or other body parts, but I've now officially broken my first voilin string. I remember my former summar instructor reminding me that it happens to the best of us, (sometimes even while playing in concert!), I was only slightly consoled by that fact. I am frustrated though that it was the A string that broken on me instead of the E string, which is more thin and fragile, therefore more likely to snap.

Now I must look for a good voilin repair shop. I believe it should be a pretty quick and easy fix, and hopefully not too expensive. I also noticed a weird vibration on the G string which I haven't heard before. I'll ask them to check it out while they're at it.

Unwilling to give up, I went ahead and practiced "Twinkle twinkle little star" and "Jingle Bells" using my mere 3 strings. Hopefully I'm not sounding too bad, though its hard for me to tell sometimes if I'm out of tune. For now, I'm trying hard to practice keeping my left fingers down on the finger board while playing the higher notes. The twisted arm position is still pretty strange for me. Meanwhile, trying to hold the bow properly while keeping a relaxed positiong is nothing less than difficult. At least I'm getting back into the mode of practicing. Being a piano player since I was young, I can't help but yearn for some piano time after my violin practice. Too bad its not possible now in my small apartment.

French and violin

I'm starting to learn violin and French. I believe life should be full of learning, no matter your age. Learning is the only thing that keep you fresh and open to new ideas, its the only way you can keep growing.

For great fun French lessons, check out Coffee Break French on iTunes. They also have Coffee Break Spanish. (I'm also trying to brush up on my Spanish...) Check out Radio Lingua's podcasts for fun 20min lessons.

I just bought Violin for Dummies. I'll try to follow it step by step, although I had a few lessons before, I hope this book will help me get some basics down. Can't wait to play some beautiful tunes! O yeah, the book also comes with a CD that includes piano accompaniment music, so you can play with your computer! Now, that's technology!