October 2010

contemporaries

October 12, 2010 15:11

there's a 12 or 13-year old girl who sees my teacher after me - says she's been studying for 4 years. i complimented her on her 3/4 (i think) violin and asked her where she got it. "turkey," she said "in the grand bazaar."

i don't know how much she paid for it - don't want to know - but having visited istanbul recently and having survived a claustrophobic whip-round the grand bazaar (you've got to see it ... got to go - what a trip!) it's not hard to imagine a very happy little girl, clutching a newly acquired violin, with some happy parents forking over who knows how many euros to a not entirely unsympathetic and equally happy vendor of musical instruments ... surrounded by a heaving mob of entirely uninterested bargain hunters, searching for something cheap from the (exotic) near-east.

i hope i get to know this girl better - she is (no doubt) a way better player than me. but i had to marvel at little girls - and waaay older guys - and their very first violins.

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1st lesson - yay!

October 5, 2010 03:47

had my first lesson yesterday in montepulciano - 1/2 hour, every monday afternoon. il maestro and i seemed to get along well - only thing he taught me in the time allowed was how to hold the bow properly, something i thought i'd already mastered. can't tell you how exciting this is. at the end of the day, what i'm hoping for is an improvement in tone and bowing and to learn how to read music!

photos to follow.

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More entries: August 2010