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.