Charlie Caldwell on Violinist.com

Honesty

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:33:42 GMT

I want to be honest. I am really frustrated with violin playing. I love my violin, and I love my bow. They are great. However, when I listen to myself practice and I don't like what I hear, it is no longer the fault of a bad violin or a bad bow. It is my fault, and I am really frustrated at myself. I am worried that I am not good enough to use this fantastic bow.

I can play all the right notes in the world, but when my phrasing stinks, I get really disappointed. Trying to think objectively, I think my playing is & quot;okay, & quot; but the problem is that I can hear the finished product in my head. So, while I have a clear idea & nbsp; about how I want & nbsp; a piece of music to sound, my playing is slightly different than the final product that I want. And then I have to keep working, trying to get my playing to sound the way I want it to.

I feel like my work is never done.

The good news is that my body knows how to produce the sound that my mind wants. I just have to focus on the task at hand, and I'll be fine.

I am so happy. Every day, I learn something new about my violin and bow. Every day.

The Inner Game of Tennis Works

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 03:11:46 GMT

It is amazing how a simple pat on the back can boost one's self esteem. So why does it not work? I got the pat on the back, but I still feel empty inside. A total stranger says & quot;that was just incredible. & quot; I didn't even look at him. I just said & quot;thank you & quot; and kept walking. Why? Perhaps, my thinking self is jealous of my doing self.

Trying New Strings

Sun, 06 Sep 2009 04:53:44 GMT

I have been thinking about trying new strings on a violin I bought either in April or May. It came with Evah Pirazzis, and I bought and installed a second set of Evahs a few months ago. The violin (made in 2005) sounds all right with pirazzis, but I have never really cared for the way pirazzis felt under my fingers.

On my previous violin (made around 1930 in France by an unknown amateur maker), I experimented with several different strings over a period of 2 or 3 years. The best strings I found for that particular instrument were Infeld Reds. I was able to get a big, warm sound on what I thought was a bright instrument.

I sat in front of the computer screen puzzled where to start my search for different brands of strings. What kind of things do I like about my new violin? What is the best part about its sound? What do I want to bring out more?

I'm sitting and reading and I start to see a theme among synthetic strings: & quot;sounds like gut but has the stability of a steel string. & quot; I got to thinking. I've tried steel strings before (regrettably), but I have really no idea what a gut string sounds like under my ear.

The solution was simple. I decided to buy a gut A and D string and a covered gut G string (along with some steel e strings). The strings arrived in the mail on Friday and I installed them on my older French violin (I did not want to put them on my primary instrument in case I did not like them). The strings went flat a lot on the first day, but immediately I could hear a lot more overtones/harmonics when I played. I really liked the sound, but it wasn't enough to convince me to switch to guts forever.

Today, I tuned the violin when I woke up, but didn't get around to practicing until the evening. I practiced on my new violin (with Evahs), but for the last fifteen minutes, I took both violins out and decided to test them. First, I did scales. I really liked the feel of the gut strings. They are very flexible. I also like the way the bow feels playing on gut strings. Not to get off topic, but I have a really fantastic bow. I can confidently say I may never need to buy another bow my entire life. Anyways, going back and doing scales on the Evahs, I noticed that everything sounded all right, but there were less overtones.

Secondly, I decided to play some music: second movement of Mendelssohn. This time I started with my new instrument. It was nice. Clear, good sound production. It reminds me of looking at the sky on a clear day. Yes, it is nice, but all you can see is blue sky and a yellow sun. There is no character. Next, I played the same on my older violin. BAM! It was as if I had seen heaven. Every note had depth and color. This old violin, in all of my days of ownership, has never had a sound as good as this come out of it. It was gorgeous.

For all who I curious, the set up is like this:

-Goldbrokat E

-Medium+ A

-Medium+ D (pistoy)

-Medium+ G (silver covered)

I ordered the strings from Daniel Larson's website: www.gamutstrings.com

April 11, 2009 at 6:34 AM

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 06:34:28 GMT

Just about all the time in orchestra rehearsal, I play scales before we start (while everyone is still arriving and warming up). I & nbsp;do this because I find it disrespectful to play concertos during & quot;orchestra & quot; time and because I do not feel warmed up enough (or just do not care to) play the orchestra music . I am not left with many options, so I just assume scales are a safe bet.

Well, the same goes for orchestra concerts. It was last night after intermission. Most of the orchestra was already on stage getting ready for the second half of a long Mendelsshon program (Elijah), and I am doing something stupid like E minor sixths and I look at my stand partner. She just has this blank stare watching my left hand. I stop and ask her what's the matter.

With a disgusted look, she asks & quot;Why do you want to be a violinist? & quot; I felt insulted because of her tone. I wanted to ask & quot;Is there a reason why I shouldn't want to be a violinist? & quot; Instead, I took a moment to collect myself, and assume that she did not intend to insult me. I asked her & quot;Why do YOU want to be a violinist? & quot;

No Answer.

So I tell her & quot;I used to enjoy it. & quot;

& quot;Do you not enjoy it anymore? & quot;

& quot;I enjoy it, but it isn't as much fun as it used to be. & quot;

April 2, 2009 at 1:07 AM

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 01:07:07 GMT

A lot of people assign names and gender to their violins. I am no exception. My very first violin was a girl. Her name was Lucy (the usual beginner violin). My second violin, which I still play on is about 80 years old and made by some unknown amateur in France. This one is also a girl.

However, I played on a violin today that may never have a gender. It was more like an animal than a person. Maybe I will try to tame the beast?

February 10, 2009 at 3:26 AM

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 03:26:02 GMT

One thing I'll probably never understand is the weather. One week, it is 14 degrees outside and now, it is 70 degrees outside. One day, I wear a jacket, hat, and gloves, and then next, I wear a t-shirt and shorts. Oh well. Reminds me of the way a woman changes her mind.

November 21, 2008 at 2:10 AM

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 02:10:37 GMT

I have a recording of Phillipe Hirshhorn playing Bach Sonata No. 2, but I had only listened to it a handful of times. I never really liked it, but I listened to it very carefully tonight and I realized how incredible it is.

October 4, 2008 at 10:08 PM

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 22:08:43 GMT

A year ago, there was a significant difference in how I felt I could play in the practice room, at lessons, and for seminar. It was okay, bad, and terrible, respectively. I have been playing well at lessons, recently, so I am kind of worried. I sound better playing at lessons than I do in the practice room, and when I played at seminar (a high pressure situation to me), I sounded about the same as I do in the practice room. I know I shouldn't be complaining, but I am left wondering if this is a fluke.

August 22, 2008 at 4:12 AM

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:12:16 GMT

I don't know if anyone here is a chess fan, but here are two short games I played against a very easy computer.

7. You: c4 - f7
6. Comp: e4 - c5
5. You: d1 - f3
4. Comp: f6 - e4
3. You: f1 - c4
2. Comp: g8 - f6
1. You: e2 - e4

15. You: c6 - e8
14. Comp: a8 - b8
13. You: f1 - b5
12. Comp: e8 - d8
11. You: b5 - c6
10. Comp: d8 - f6
9. You: a4 - b5
8. Comp: b7 - b5
7. You: d1 - a4
6. Comp: b8 - c6
5. You: c2 - c3
4. Comp: e7 - e6
3. You: d2 - d4
2. Comp: d7 - d6
1. You: e2 - e4

It usually takes me about 60 moves to win, but in these games, the computer made some terrible mistakes.

In between chess games, I try to do a little bit of practicing. I have been trying to get back that old feeling I had in my playing last year, where everything was comfortable. Funny. Scales did the trick. I had been kind of shorting my scale "routine." I would start the day with a little bowing exercise, and then do scales in thirds, and then long bows and then etudes.

However, doing the scale, arpeggios, and double-stops makes a world of difference. I have always been a big fan of double stop thirds and fingered octaves because you have to used all four fingers at the same time, but someone mentioned doing thirds at the beginning of your practicing time. I have tried this for a week or two, and I really like it.

August 13, 2008 at 3:30 AM

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 03:30:32 GMT

I have been listening to a lot of Jascha Heifetz recordings lately. I really like the intensity of his play, but also the beauty and sincerity. I can never get over his recording of Castelnuovo-Tedesco's second violin concerto.

The first time I heard Heifetz play was on a CD of Brahms and Brahms Double with Piatigorsky. I was blown away. First of all, I had never heard the Brahms Violin Concerto before, and second, I had never heard of Heifetz before. To be honest, at that point of my life, I had no idea what the violin could do or what it could sound like.

There are so many recordings of great violinists to listen to. I try to listen to as much as I can, but there is so little time to listen to new things when I keep coming back to some of these wonderful recordings I already have. I really enjoy listen to music.

Unfortunately, I find my own playing boring.