November 12, 2005 at 1:48 AM

Oh, my aching neck...

I haven't really been playing that much, just a 2.5 hour rehearsal on Wednesday and a 1.5 hour lesson yesterday, but clearly my body isn't used to this. When I exercise, I like the mild soreness because it makes me feel virtuous somehow. But violin playing is its own reward, so the pain is just that: pain that prevents me from playing more.

I really need to get up to Ifshin Violins in Berkeley to buy a new violin case. I've had my current one for almost twenty years and it's got a broken shoulder strap, exposed screw, and the swively things that hold the bows swivel too easily so my bow falls off all the time. But given how much I dislike that city (it brings back memories of my five miserable years of graduate school) I require significant incentive to make the trip. Maybe I'll also try out some shoulder rests and bows, though I don't plan on buying the latter until (unless?) I get my end-of-year bonus at work. And how carefully should I pick out a 1/32 size violin for my young daughter? I know it's just about impossible to get decent sound on something that small, so I'm really tempted just to find something cheap for her to learn on.

I haven't yet told the director of my community orchestra that I'm staying in the country after all, because I've decided to drop out of the group regardless, at least for the spring semester. He's such a sweet man, and the orchestra really, really needs first violins. But it's just such a time sink, and I don't think it's really making me a better violinist. I have little enough time to work on my solo repertoire as it is, so I think I really need to prune down my activities and focus on the ones I find truly rewarding.

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November 12, 2005 at 1:48 AM

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