There is life after twinkle

April 1, 2008 at 3:25 PM

I was worried that I would not "stick" with the violin when I first considered learning it. Thats why I bought that VSO from craigslist. (It is now underneath my bed since I got a lovely Gliga violin) Why did I say that? I am notorious of hobby hopping, nothing last more than a few months with the exception of martial arts. My husband always frowns when I tell him "Honey, I want to take xxx lesson". His answer, always "No, you are just wasting your time and money."

Why is that a waste of time/money if you made the choice yourself and enjoyed the process? This puzzles me. Even if I had just learned how to play say, the flute for 3 months, I'm sure I gained something. I added "colour" to my life!!

Anyways, I just passed the 3 months mark for my violin learning. Listening to violin music excites me. Playing it excites me. It is indeed a very difficult instrument to learn, but when I look back at the problems I had the first few weeks, for the most part has been resolved! But new problems will develop every week (that's how you progress, right?)

Forth finger- every beginner has a weaker forth finger. When i play quarter notes or shorter duration notes with it, I did not notice the problems I had with it, other than feeling weak. I have a piece of music that i need to use the 4th finger for 3 beats, and all of a sudden, my tone becomes "weird". It's shaking, it's like a cat trying to scream but can't get to the right pitch. I don't know what to do.

Counting: I rely on my ears alot. I must heard the music once before I can play it. This goes way back when I was playing piano as well. Problem- I guess the rhythm alot. I never counted. Playing the violin usually requires accompanyment with the piano, or if I ever get to play in a community orchestra, this will be a huge issue. I must learn to count from now on.

String Crossings- This still seems to be a bit of a problem for me, especially when they are fast, and sluured.
Also, if i have to cross from say D to E string... how can i avoid hitting A string? Yes, if i pause between, it's clean, but I can't be pausing that much...

Help me. :)

If there are other adult beginners reading this, I want to reassure you that there is life after Twinkle.

From John Allison
Posted on April 1, 2008 at 4:19 PM

I am also an adult beginner and I can assure you there is life after the problems you have listed. If you continue to take this seriously and have fun as well, you will learn.

It really is as simple as this, practice, practice and practice some more. Listen to your teacher and practice.

As far as hobby hopping. I can't comment outside of violin demands alot of attention. If you put in the time it really demands of you, it might become more of an obsession to outsiders looking in.

I had been studiing violin, listening to classical music and reading of it's history, construction, etc., for several years before I purchased my instrument. I knew I would put in a lot of time on it. It was a sacrifice for the first year or so, as my wife and freinds thought I was a little "over the top".

Though, now that I can actually play my instrument, the work has begun to pay off. My wife has accepted it as being another member of the household and she is not jealous of the time I spend with it anymore.

Anyway, just my bit of story. I encourage you to stick with it. It was one of the best decisions I have made. I know that I will enjoy playing for the rest of my life. Damn the nay sayers, full speed ahead!

From Kim Vawter
Posted on April 1, 2008 at 5:41 PM

Keep going.
This is the beginning of my 3rd year and I may get to start the 3rd Suzuki book soon.
See how slow I am going.
I had the operation on my second finge to remove a cyst and it is still stiff--hard to coordinate-2nd and 4th finger. Also I have a torn rotator cuff--ouch!!! That is still a problem however I seem to have grown other muscles from playing and practicing.
YES there is life after Twinkle! The Suzuki books have familiar melodies so it is still fun. Practice, practice and keep a blog journal. This helps me.
Adults have more patience and we can do this.

From al ku
Posted on April 1, 2008 at 6:06 PM

great going indeed pm.

where is sensei buri when you need him?

till then, consider this:

stand in front of a mirror at an angle so that you can appreciate the angle of your shoulder doing E and then doing D string (E position is closer to body, right?). of course, there is associated wrist involvement, but shoulder position is quite different for E and D.

doing E first, legato half bow from frog to mid point. stop. "quietly" roll the bow across the A onto D without any sound on A, and then continue lagato on D. repeat it backward, from D to E, via A. the key is to make no sliding/bowing motion over A, only rolling motion, sort of like a rocking chair.

keep repeating this series, and soon you will say, heck with it, i can do it much better by skipping the stop over at A. the "shift" across needs to be rather subtle and "snappy", like you mean it and believe it.

trick question for you pm,,,,how many bow arm positions are there in total (we just mentioned D and E arm positions)? :)

From PM Rolf
Posted on April 1, 2008 at 6:37 PM

Al, interesting ...playing in front of mirrorat an angle! I will guess there are 7 bow arm positions? G, G and D double stop, D, D and A double stop, A , A and E double stop and E?

From al ku
Posted on April 1, 2008 at 6:59 PM

some would say there are 3 more:)

From PM Rolf
Posted on April 1, 2008 at 7:07 PM

Hmmmmm. I know my teacher always says if I'm string crossing front a to d, I should play on an imaginary plane that on d but closer to a than g. Is that it? Also would apply to the a string ( close to D and close to E)?

From al ku
Posted on April 1, 2008 at 7:13 PM

the last 3 are debatable:)

gda cord, dae cord, and then gdae cord:)

From PM Rolf
Posted on April 1, 2008 at 8:16 PM

I'm lost.... You mean you play 3 strings at once? The most I encounter at this stage is the ONE double stop note at the last measure. :)

From al ku
Posted on April 1, 2008 at 10:27 PM

of course not "at once" as in the double stop way, but in the same moment shall i say?:)

From Neil Cameron
Posted on April 2, 2008 at 12:47 AM

Arrrghh counting! My great bugbear as well.

The rest comes with time, but geez I struggle with counting.

Neil

From Susan Jeter
Posted on April 2, 2008 at 9:26 PM

"like a cat trying to scream" LOL!

Seriously, hang in there!

Try using a metronome to help develop your "inner metronome". I was at Interlochen one summer for the chamber music week - the Cleveland Quartet was the guest - and one of the quartet members suggested to our group trying to sight-read a quartet, to imagine the beat in the center of the space described by the four music stands. I don't know if I described that well or not...at any rate, in a community orchestra, at least you have the conductor to follow.

Playing in community orchestras has been one of the greatest pleasures in my life - a "community" in the truest sense of the word. In a group that's been playing together for a long time, you sometimes get a "group mind effect". Like the time we were accompanying a contest winner (9 or 10 years old) in the Schumann piano concerto, and she took off like the wind in the last movement, and at one point, added an extra beat, which the conductor picked up, and we all followed!

From Benjamin K
Posted on April 3, 2008 at 5:36 AM

> the last 3 are debatable:)
> gda cord, dae cord, and then gdae cord:)

Al, for those you need the BACH bogen bow ...

http://pagespro-orange.fr/bach.bogen

From Benjamin K
Posted on April 3, 2008 at 5:38 AM

To avoid controversy, the BACH in BACH bogen stands for Michael Bach, who developed it, it does *not* stand for J.S.Bach

From al ku
Posted on April 3, 2008 at 2:13 PM

thanks, ben. neat!

This entry has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.