Jim Glasson on Violinist.com

Hearing Loss and String Playing

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:08:45 GMT

I'm not sure how many readers here have a bit of hearing loss but I & nbsp;guessing I'm in a minority as having some.

As a child of the 60's, I went to many a concert and learned to play (electric) guitar as an extension for my love of the blues. Add to that a hobby of flying Piper Cubs and being around unmuffled engines and I now & nbsp;own a self-inflicted case of & nbsp;hearing loss and some persistent tinnitus.

While my hearing loss isn't severe enough yet for aides of any sort, & nbsp; I'm finding that & nbsp;my reduced hearing & nbsp;has put a crimp in my confidence to intonate correctly though it & nbsp;appear to have & nbsp;affected my intonation (yet).
As many of you may know, I'm a & quot;newbie & quot; and an adult learner of violin. & nbsp; As such, I'm forever asking my teacher if I'm voicing notes correctly as I've learned not to trust my hearing completely.

Coincidentally, an article appearing in last months Strad spoke of the success hearing impaired individuals have playing stringed instruments. Some actually taking their hearing aids out and playing BETTER! & nbsp; & nbsp; There have been many articles written on the plasticity of the brain and it's ability to & quot;rewire & quot; if you will to counter a deficiency such as hearing loss, I try to read them all.

Does anyone else suffer from hearing loss and how do you find your playing to be in this situation?

Any thoughts or comments on hearing loss and playing strings? & nbsp;
If you have hearing loss, I'd be interested in reading of your experiences while playing.

Best,
-Jim

& nbsp;

Tough Book to Find

Tue, 26 May 2009 13:07:07 GMT

I'm searching for - A Violinist's Guide for Exquisite Intonation & nbsp; by Barry Ross.

What a TOUGH book to find!!
Amazon has a used copy for $53 bucks (it retailed for half that).
I checked the Association of String Teachers sites - out of stock.

Nothing on Half.com or Ebay or the & quot;Hard to find & quot; book sites. I've googled and visited the promising sites but no luck.

I just wrote the Juilliard bookstore to see if they have a copy of can they get a copy.

Anyone have an idea where I might find one?

& nbsp;

A Monday Morning Lament

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:37:56 GMT

I've been practicing 1st and 3d postions rather diligently I would say for perhaps 5 months now. Still, & nbsp;I need & nbsp;those dang & nbsp;position markers (a.k.a.tape) on the finger board to accurately find the notes.

Every now and then my instructor will & nbsp;offer me her violin (sans markers) and & nbsp;I may do fairly well. I must say though that during home practice, & nbsp;I stink without them.

How long did it take you before the & quot;training wheels & quot; came off.

& nbsp; & nbsp;

Merry Christmas!

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 12:40:33 GMT

As time is getting VERY short in my house what with all the Christmas stuff and family, I thought I would just post my Christmas Card to you all now and wish each of you the BEST for the Holidays!

I didn't want time to get away from me and not post a little somethin' :)

-Jim

& nbsp;

My Violin May Need Work

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 01:25:33 GMT

Looks like my poor violin may need a bit of work.

I've been saying to my coach.teacher that my violin doesn't sound quite right to my ears. Regrettably & nbsp; she concurred saying it sounds a little nasally.

Off to the luthier it went this afternoon.
The luthier moved the sound peg saying it was WAY & nbsp;too tight and offered to take it for a day or to to & quot;fiddle & quot; (sorry) with it.

Her first thoughts we're the back and belly are a bit to thick but before any scraping and redefining the dimensions occurred, she wanted to fool around with the sound post first.

Dang...

& nbsp;

Squeaking with the Best of Them

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:29:44 GMT

After surviving the 60 & rsquo;s and playing blues for 40+ years, I find myself a whopping 9 weeks into learning violin.

& nbsp;

Let & rsquo;s see now & ndash;

Bow hand relaxed and in proper position & ndash; check

Tilt the wrist forward slightly - check

Draw the bow parallel to the bridge and somewhat midway between the bridge and finger board & ndash; check (kinda & rsquo;)

Draw the bow at an even speed & ndash; SQUEAK!!! & nbsp;LOL!!

Actually, it & rsquo;s not that bad. Well, maybe.

& nbsp;

I & rsquo;m immersed in Muller Rusch book about 2/3 & rsquo;s the way thru and Suzuki book two but just for the music printed.

& nbsp;

I'm able to do some scales fairly well and quite a few arpeggios.

I & nbsp;(just) beginning to play & nbsp;well enough that my little Beagle no longer howls and my wife no longer peaks into my & quot;conservatory & quot; to see if everything is alright.

& nbsp;

I also believe I & rsquo;ve stumbled onto a teacher who fits my personality and not only speaks my language, but who & rsquo;s patience is generously deep. & nbsp;

& nbsp;

As an aside, I & rsquo;ve found that having the proper teacher in music and other disciplines in life can make or break the student. It & rsquo;s a piece of the learning process that tends to be ignored though probably shouldn & rsquo;t be. & nbsp;Sorry for that bit pontification. & nbsp;

& nbsp;

By the way, why is there a love/hate deal & nbsp;going on with the Suzuki method? & nbsp;When I tell some musicians about Suzuki & nbsp;it & rsquo;s like I just besmirched their mother, others & nbsp;congratulate.

& nbsp;

Oh well.

Do I still squeak? You bet but I & rsquo;m really enjoying the learning process of this fine instrument.

I love doing first position Bach and Handel pieces as they sound like music meant for the instrument. After all, & ldquo;Twinkle Twinkle & rdquo; and other such standards of learning are fine, & nbsp;but a little repetitive in my opinion.

& nbsp;

I & rsquo;m learning SO much and actually learning to read music!

(We guitarists are NOTORIOUS for not being able to sight read.)

& nbsp;

I & rsquo;ve even & nbsp;attended some adult night courses at Juilliard (yup, they offer them!), such is my newly found fascination.

& nbsp;

Move over Mssr. Shamam, I & rsquo;m coming!

& nbsp;

-Jim

& nbsp;