"... and even adult beginners."

August 12, 2010 at 1:08 AM

... or in my case, odd adult beginner.

i came to the violin by way of the mandolin and came to the mandolin after a lifetime of string instruments tuned in 4ths: ukulele, guitar, oud, charango ...

at one time or another i was probably enthusiastic about them all but the lights really went on when i discovered tuning in 5ths - the logic of it gave me some understanding of music theory. up until then it was a few chords here and there and endless repetition.

i'm still illiterate, in terms of reading music but the wonderful thing about the fiddle - i'm afraid it's more "fiddle" than "violin" for me - is its closeness to the human voice. being able to hear something and play it in the same way that i might sing it is wonderful - so much easier than having to translate it into guitar-eze, or whatever.

my preference is for early european music. i sing and play with a small group of medieval minded people in the area where i live in italy - happy-clappy, march-along-type pilgrim music mostly, from the 12th and 13th cent.. we're starting to introduce more renaissance dance music into the repertoire, which is great for me as i feel very uncomfortable singing anything churchy.

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on August 13, 2010 at 4:30 PM

Welcome to the club of violinists. It's never too late to start doing something that you love. You're right about the similarities between the violin and the human voice. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Please keep us informed about your journey through early music.

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"... and even adult beginners."

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