June 2006
Well today I am trying to arrange the piece Graduation By: Vitamin C for violin instead of the original piano. I like the way it is sounding so far but I had to write in about a million double stops so I hope it isn't too hard. It is officailly 241 days to my 16th birthday! So I decided to start looking for birthday presents. I thought I wanted a violin, but I don't think that I will be able to part with mine until I get a professional one (mine is an advanced). But I am getting (hopefully) a laptop for my birthday. I can spend like upto $500 on it (plus any money that I have to put towords it). But I am not sure what kind, make, model, color, etc. I want. But I am sure in the next 241 days I will be able to decide :).
*Violins Make the World go Round*
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June 29, 2006 15:37
Well I have been away from the Internet for officially almost 2 days :(. But now we don't have AOL and we have Earthlink. Anyone that sent me a comment and I emailed you back on Violinists2004@aol.com, now please email me at Violinistsrule3@aim.com Thanks :). Well the other day I was practicing the violin in my room, I was practicing Graduation, my sister and my duet. It was originally made for piano but nothing much happens in the left hand so i figured why not play it on violin and just turn some of the cords into double stops. Well I tried it and I thought it sounded good and when I came out of my room my sister says Wow, You sound good on the violin, maybe you should play that instead of the piano and I took it semi as a compliment and semi as an insult. But she has always refused to hear me on the violin because of how bad it sounded the last time she heard me play, in 4th grade. And I know there was an immense difference in my playing now. But anyways today I went to the mall, and there were those cell phone people that always bother you. Well this time it was hilarious here was the conversation:
Them: What kind of cellphone do you use?
Me: I don't Have a cellphone
Them: Well are you atleast 18?
Me: No, I am only 15
Them: Holy crap, look at the size of you, you should play in the NFL, yah you'll be the 15 year old NFL player
I just started cracking up me and my sister, but I guess they were right (I am 15, 6 ft 3 inches tall). Btw pictures of me in the parade/orchestra comming soon, as soon as I get them printed and scan them on and then figure out how to do it :).
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June 27, 2006 15:45
OK well today was a very boring day, yet very busy. Well I went to the mall today, which was very funny (long story). But then when I went there the piano store, the one store I actually WENT there for, was now moved out of the mall into the city of Rochester :(. But I went to staples to get the music I wanted printed (thank god I remembered my jump drive!) Which was Graduation by Vitamin C for vocals and piano (awesome song, even though it isnt classical). And it has a really easy piano part too. Me and my sister are playing in the talent show (as told in my last blog) and this is the song we are dueting on, not quite sure yet about my piano solo. But she is nervious (even though she hasnt told me) So i am trying to set it up so she can get some practice in front of some seniors at the local VA. I hope it works, and just so we dont only do one song Ill play some piano solos and violin solos I already know.
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June 26, 2006 13:34
So Today I got PAID!!!!! Not like it was a whole lot but enough to get my bow rehaired. But now that I got the money (and I actually had to work for the money the first time in my life :) I have also started looking for talent show pieces, I know that it is 4 or 5 months away but we need the practice. I am going to do a duet with my sister. Her singing and me playing the piano accompaniment. I also want to play my own piano solo. But I haven't chosen a song or piece yet, but for the song I know this awesome web site Mr. Piano they also have a petition to sign to legalize free sheet music on the web (where the composer hasnt been dead for more the 70 years) that can be found here: Legalize free sheet music. I have been practicing the prelude for unaccompanianed cello lately, it is extremely difficult (obviously) but I have got 2 measures down!! YAY. I told someone at school that I was playing that song, and they didn't know it, so i told them I had to measures down and they started laughing, then I showed them the music and I started laughing while they stopped :).
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June 25, 2006 00:32
The past couple of day I have been quite insomniatic (is that even a word?), either not getting to sleep at all or getting to sleep at like 4 in the morning, lol I am writing this blog at 3:12 Eastern Standard time :). I have found out that this early in the morning there is nothing on TV and I am so bored I am taking a survey on what flavor coffee am I? lol. It turns out I am a smooth coffee drinker (that is if I drank coffee). Ok so I was on 8 notes looking for sheet music as I normally do and I almost never click on any beginners, easy or advanced pieces mostly intermedite. But for some reason today I decided to click on Bach, Johann Sebastian Prelude from Suite no.1 for unaccompanied cello which was advanced, and I instantly fell in love. I have heard the piece before on Music of the Heart Most amazing movie ever and I liked it there too.. But the song is so incredibly hard.. I am spending every waking moment (there has been a lot of those lately) practicing it. I pretty much got the first measure down :D. I have been composing lately, mostly either a quartet or solo violin stuff that I want to play.. In my town they have this radio Tv thing and if it is original music you can have your band put on it for free, well I figure if I compose my stuff why cant I be on there with my violin, or me and my sister (me on violin or piano or tuba) and her on the Alto E flat clarinet. I dont know, but I have been too lazy to check out there website :). But I think I will after I am done Blogging. For any one who has played Bach, Johann Sebastian Prelude from Suite no.1 for unaccompanied cello are your arms supposed to feel like they are on the ground after you are done playing? lol
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June 24, 2006 12:06
I know it has been a few days since I have have posted anything to do with music. It is just that I have been so busy, yesterday I had rehearsal for graduation (playing tuba) and today was graduation. It was ok besides the fact that we were crammed into the pit and it was pretty uncomfortable. For some reason today I was playing pretty loudly and it was much louder then I have ever really played before, and it was twice as difficult to play softly. But on the other hand my mom bought 3 alto E flat and 1 bass B flat clarinets. She was supposed to get a saprano but she saw these at an esate sale, but my lil sister cant play it in band so me and her are just going to learn it and play a duet in talent show next year... the reeds for them are expensive though $2 a piece and my sisters broke already!?!?! But it is pretty fun and if we like it we figured that we will order a pack of 25 and save a lot of money. But I have nothing to do with my violin right now... I have practiced my method books so much that the songs ring in my ears and the orchestra music is about as good as it is going to get, so I can't wait to get to the violin shop!
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June 22, 2006 10:38
My little sister thought it would be funny... to create a bunch of fake accounts on Violinist.com. She is that Pocahontis person a few blogs down. I found out by emailing Pocahontis and it going to my mom's email. I asked her why and she thought it would be a funny practical joke, she makes me so angry. But anyways I just wanted to give that word of warning... plus her Profile is 100% fake she doesn't play any of those instruments. But on a good side I got contacted by the guy for the Savahanna cellar savers, and he got ahold of me through this website. He does have a sousaphone I can use (YES) and hopefully I can start marching with them soon ( I already know how to march so that shouldnt be hard :)
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June 21, 2006 10:20
Well today was the first day of my first summer job, strawberry picking (which in this small town makes up about 50% of the towns industry, the other 50% going to the Sauerkraut factory). Well to yous who havent picked strawberries before, it is hard work. Exspecially when the sun is beating down on your back at 6 in the morning (I still dont know how I managed to get up lol). But other then that and my back hurting nothing much more with that... but I go to my sister "see you shouldn't have quit the violin" because her hands/arms started to hurt from picking and mine didn't because of how "strong" they got from playing the violin :). Another way to put her quiting the violin in her face:). The pay kinda sucks though but it is all going towards the purchuse of my new violin. I hope to make atleast $200 towards it in the next 3 or 4 weeks (how long it lasts). Well nothing else basically besides I am revisiting all my old suzuki books... #'s 1-6.... I can't believe what I thought was difficult back then! lol
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June 20, 2006 08:47
lol did that get you interested in reading?
Today School is officially over... Well until September at least. I took the Earth Science Regents today (before most of my family even woke up, lol). I am positive I pass but I am not positive that I got the score I wanted to, a 90% or higher. I am still so worried about playing/tuning my violin. But I called my luthier and he advised me that if I use the violin as I normally do that the bridge shouldn't fall before he is able to look at my violin and give me a new bridge. I trust him though because he has looked at/repaired my violin before. He said something about the bending slightly is normal and prob due to the humidifier I keep in my case and possibly from the age of the wood. He advised me to take the humidifier out of my case because he thinks that might have saturated the wood with water and that is why it is bending. But I still def. want to get a new bridge before my next performance. The only thing I am a little worried about is he wantes $150 to fit a bridge to my violin... I was like hell it is a $5 bridge.. I am thinking about going with an average fit one with adjustable feet, those are only like $10 and they fit into my budget much bettter.
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June 19, 2006 09:40
Tomorrow I have an Earth Science regents, how fun. And I have been studying so much that it is hard to find time to practice. But I manage, I am just worried about playing and tuning my violin because the state the bridge is in (keeps falling, and is bent) because I am worried if my bridge falls again that my soundpost would fall
:(. Right now I looking for a new violin. Not to seriously yet though, because I dont have the money quite yet and prob. wont have it until February (MY 16th BIRTHDAY!). But if I do get one from where I want they said they would give me $900 for my violin (even though it was appraised for $1200 by them). But whatever. and I get $500 for my birthday so that means i can get a $1400 violin YES!! which isnt a whole lot but I have a nice bow now, but my case is crap so i need to get a new one. I have heard a lot about wolf tone lately and I had never heard it out of my violin. But the otherday I did. But I dont know why to many people would be conserned with it because it is so quiet that I could barely hear it.
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June 17, 2006 19:28
On Friday I marched in the parade in the marching band... We got judged and we did pretty well... though I am not sure what our score was. I spoke with a gentleman at the Savannah Cellarsavers (An awesome all brass marching band... and i might join!) But other then that the orchestra had its first concert. It was awesome. We had someone come up and conduct one of the songs and they got so excited they started jumping up and down! lol. I nailed Dance of the Tumblers from the snow madien! lol I love that song. I am currently working on a Quartet I am writing... still need a name though... maybe ill come up with it after I am done...
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June 15, 2006 22:45
Today is the day before my first concert with my first semi-professional orchestra. But that isn't what has me confused/angry. I told my entire class that I play the violin (not that most of them didn't alreadt know.. only a few of the, and the teacher didn't know.) So someone asked me.. "are you good?" AND I HATE THOSE 3 WORDS. So I said my speel about how it depends on what your opinion is and stuff. So they ask me again... so i respond (which I thought was pretty funny at the time, but no one else got it)"Yes I am frecken terrific, I rival fricken Itzhack Perlman." (I was really angry at that point) And they say "oh cool". I wanted to like scream or something.. but I got over it quickly :). But I have also been confused lately too... I just have been thinking what I want to do for the rest of my life (I am pretty sure it is music/violin related) but still no answer :(. And I have also been wanting to try the cello (my secret that no one knows lol) I found out in the 6th grade that I wanted to play the cello... but I had already sunk (well my parents did) $1200 into a violin. So the answer was "no" but I think I might borrow one from a friend I know/Rent one for a few months to try it out to see which one I like better, violin or cello. I'm not quite sure though that it is the playing of the cello or the look/sound of it I like.
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June 14, 2006 09:23
Today was the last day of my first year of high school :(. Up until this year I always counted down 'til the last day of school but today was different. I was so sad and so were a lot of other people. I am just now relizing with only 3 years of high school left that we need to make the best of those 3 years because we'll all be taking seperate paths after this :(. Well they say that high school is the best four years of your life. But hopefully we will all still be friends after this :). Yesterday I was at orchestra again, and we have our first concert this Saturday! There were a lot more people there but I am still the Youngest! All the people there are so nice and willing to help if you need it! Like I was missing a piece so this man in front of me gave me his copy so I could use it even though he needed it to practice, I thought that was so nice :). Well I should probably be studying for my Regents Exam like my mom thinks I am lol. C'ya!
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I am now in my second week of what seems to be a never ending quest to find a good violin solo to perform in my first "solo apearance" in front of 1000 people. I thought I had one picked out but it didn't work out :(. I was going to play Canon In D by Pachelbel, but i didn't like the sound of it when it isn't played in a big orchestra. Does anyone out there have any suggestions (I am about a high 5 or easy 6 on the NYSSMA level). But I think now I want a violin and piano duet. Graduation is in a couple of weeks (and I get to play Pomp and Curcumstance on the tuba!). I also get to play in my first concert with the Finger Lakes Symphony Orchestra
Usually I don't read Horoscopes because I think that they are all fake. But today I got an email with a pisces horoscope in it( I am a pisces). So I opened it and it like seemed that it was directally aimed at my life! Here it is:
The heavy fog that you recently encountered could be blasted away by a metaphysical storm today as you learn something new and revealing. Flashes of inspiration and intense moments of awareness clear the air and give you a fresh lease on life. Don't waste energy trying to hold on to the familiarity of your old dreams.
Because recently with all the stress from school (finals :( ) and stuff like that I thought that I wasn't good enough at the violin and stuff like that, and that I would never amount to anything I wanted to be. But then I went to school today, and I found out that my friends were there for my and they cared and was interested in the orchestra and all my violin accomplishments, which to some people I could see it not meaning a lot but me being the only violinists in my school, and the youngest person to be in the orchestra it means something to me, and now when ever i think of that it is inspiring to keep going. Before it was like no one ever hears me play the violin in concert like they used to but now there is "a light at the end of the tunnel".
C'ya
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Today I went to the music store, I love it there. I was looking for a bow but didn't see anything interesting. They only had 4 dif. wood bows, they had a lot of fiberglass and Carbon fiber ones but I only use wood. I was also looking for my solo (Canon In D by Pachelbel) but they didnt have one there for violin :(. I love Pachelbel, i just wished that he was more known then he is, when everyone asks about composers it is always Bach, Copain, Mozart, And Betoveen (sorry about the spelling). Btw does anyone know where to get a good Canon In D tranposition for violin and piano? But I need a web site that will ship it to me b/c I dont have a printer :(. C'ya
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Today I recieved my package with my rosin, mute and strings in it. (YES!) I love the mute, and the rosin is high quality, but I havent tried the strings yet. I was so excited when I looked into the mail box and saw it! But of course I need to test them out to insure they pass my test lol :) we got to watch our concert in Band today and I was so happy I didnt mess up! Just met this person online that might join Violinist.com! yes. So today Was a pretty uneventful day. C'ya
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Today here in NY it was about 80 degrees, but the bad part was it was nearly 100% humidity. On top of everything else that happend, nothing major but dont get me started lol. But I have been waiting for a package from amazon.com for ever and I need it :(. It has my Violin mute and My violin Soloist strings (YES!) and my rosin. lol this might sound wierd but My violin turns 66 this month!!! And (this will sound even wierder) but I named it (get ready) 'lil vio. LOL. But I need the mute for late night practicing (my favorite lol) Well it was a pretty boring day so that is about all :). C'ya.
*Violins Make the World go Round*
