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Violin BlogsViolinist.com members may keep personal journals on the website. Violinist.com's editor selects the best entries for the column below. Links to all other recent blog posts may be found in the column on the right. Top Blogs6th dan puddy cat.By Stephen BrivatiNovember 1, 2009 21:15
Greetings, as I have noted before, my cat hates the sound of the violin to the point of pathology. Indeed, I only have to unzip one side of the case and his head shoots up, his body goes rigid and glares at me with a depth of hatred I have never seen bettered on a human being. Then he runs screaming and howling out of the room. Anthropomorhism aside, he has clearly been studying my Aikido texts while I am out and he recently defeated me at a level only a sixth dan would understand and be able to control. As I tuned the violin he looked at me impassively in a curious state of no mind. There was no energy to feel. As I begin to play he turned sideways in a seated position (Tenkan- the essenc eof Aikido) and did a breakfall onto my feet so he was lying on top of them, back to the ground legs fully extended and pretending to be alseep. I played a few more notes, but what could I do? I put the violin in the case and scratched his tummy as he carried on gently snoozing. The little swine has become a master! In the meantime here is a perfect description of how to become a good violinist from a martial arts writer: http://aikidoforbeginners.blogspot.com/2009/10/very-useful-little-article-i-came.html Cheers, Buri Read more... 14 replies
Happy Halloween By Pauline LernerOctober 31, 2009 18:41
Enjoy some spooky music for Halloween. Saint-Saens's Danse Macabre was inspired by a French poem about ghosts who are summoned by the Devil to rise up from their graves at midnight to dance and then return to their graves at dawn. The piece begins with 12 notes played on the harp, signifying midnight. Then a violin, representing the Devil, plays some eerie chords, including the "Devil's chord," with the E string tuned down to E flat. Read more... 3 replies
Just in time for Halloween By Karen AllendoerferOctober 31, 2009 08:05
Chatting with Terez about Schumann, I remembered a cryptic misprint in my part for the Symphony No. 3:
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V.com weekend vote: Have you hit your 10,000 hours playing the violin? By The Weekend VoteOctober 30, 2009 23:57
Have you hit your 10,000 hours playing the violin? Read more... 21 replies
Violin Is Easy By Laurie NilesOctober 30, 2009 14:37
Now I remember why I've spent so much time studying Suzuki pedagogy: the man was a genius, and an inspiration. 5 replies
How to Liberate a Bow Arm By Clayton HaslopOctober 30, 2009 11:28
Today’s message should be very helpful to you, IF, that is, you are like most violinists and can always use an insight or two to keep your right arm technique sharp.
Paganini with prunesBy Stephen BrivatiOctober 28, 2009 20:42
I didn’t respond to it at the time but I remember being somewhat startled by a comment on this site about Paganini being a second rate (?) composer/orchestrator, his name being coupled with Chopin in this regard. The work of the latter cited was the f# minor piano concerto. Actually I was playing that work in orchestra at the time and thought that in spite of the criticism of banality it actually had quite a few creative and interesting aspects and was thrilling to play.
Alas, I cannot offer the slightest sensible analysis of Chopin or even Paganini for that matter, but I have been pondering this question a bit recently. Since my in depth musical knowledge is profoundly limited I tend to see the following three criteria as equaling a `good` composer/orchestrator: 1) good tunes 2) interesting combinations of orchestral instruments and 3) knowing when to stop (as opposed to Schubert…) Read more... 2 replies
EmploymentBy Robert EshbachOctober 28, 2009 13:33
¶ In actuality you are always being employed to express all the best qualities you are capable of, such as intelligence, wisdom, beauty, balance, grace, sensitivity, awareness, love...this is full-time employment, and it doesn't take a full-time paying job to put these qualities into practice. Getting the job merely continues the expression of these qualities, which should ever continue to grow and develop. The job is really an acknowledgement of those qualities already expressed.
—Marylou Speaker Churchill Read more...
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