And the Sign Said -
"Violins for Sale"
A Story about Buying a Violin
(Not What You Think)
Many times the things that we complain
about most as a child are things that we enjoy or regret as
adults. When I was a kid I was enrolled in violin lessons.
My grandfather played the violin and my mother thought at
least one of her children should follow in his footsteps.
I had some musical abilities, but I
felt that I had better things to do than take violin
lessons. It is a complicated instrument to learn how to play
well and it requires a good deal of practicing. I was still
taking the lessons when my grandfather died. My grandmother
insisted that I have his antique violin. At the time I did
not realize what a gesture this was.
I quit lessons before I mastered the
instrument. One of my cousins started playing so my mother
gave grandpa’s violin to her. As I grew older and
matured I have developed more of an interest in learning to
play.
As an adult I decided I would again
take the violin lessons. I began looking at violins for sale
so that I would not have to rent one. I did not realize when
I was playing one as a child that they cost quite a bit of
money. Some of the instruments had not been well cared for
and would have cost a great deal to get back into playing
condition.
My sister suggested that I call my
cousin and find out if she was still playing the one that
had belonged to grandpa. It took some tracking but I located
my cousin. She said that she had played his violin for
several years but had stopped because she did not have time.
She told me I could use it, but that she wanted to have it
back at some point. We made arrangements to meet.
It was in much better condition than
the violins for sale that I had looked at. I am sure that my
grandfather did not spend a great deal of money for it, but
the craftsmanship was superior to those models made today.
When I met my cousin she was carrying two cases. One was
grandfather’s and one was a violin that she had used as
a child.
Her mother was afraid she would break
grandpa’s when she was first learning to play. She said
she was going to list it to sell online but thought I might
want to see it first. It was in nice shape and she was not
asking a great deal for it so I bought it. I went from not
having any violin to owning two of them. Mintz would be so
proud ( I doubt it).
A Side Note about Reading Sheet
Music
The first time that I ever saw violin
sheet music, I was blown away by the complexity. You see, I
was taking violin lessons in the Suzuki method. I was only
eight years old at the time, and my teacher felt that I was
too young to learn how to read music.
The Suzuki method basically teaches
you to start with learning by ear. For young learners, this
has some definite advantages. It allows you to dive into the
music, to develop perfect pitch and musical instincts.
Later, you can get caught up in the technicalities and the
complexities of music. When you're young, however, it can be
great to learn it viscerally.
A lot of people like to dive into
things as a whole, but I would much rather pick them apart
piece by piece. Learning music theory is a good way to do
that. Starting with violin sheet music, you can learn
scales, chords, progressions, and all the rest. It can even
be useful in folk music.
Reading fiddle sheet music can show
you all kinds of things about the violin that you wouldn't
know otherwise. For me, not having the stamina to work with
sheet music until I was older left me with the impression
that something was missing. Music was still mysterious to
me, although I could play it, and I wanted to learn how to
understand it.
It was not until I reached middle
school that I got to work with written notes. I was working
on a piece with my teacher who was as skilled
multi-instrumentalist. It was actually a piece of violin
piano sheet music. She was a new teacher for me, and very
traditional.
Although she kept her feelings to
herself, I could clearly tell that she disdained the Suzuki
method. She was shocked that a talented violinist like
myself would not be exposed to violin sheet music at an
earlier age. In her mind, it held me back.
The violin sheet music that she showed
me was very complicated. It was actually one of the hardest
things I've ever had to learn. Not only did I have to learn
a difficult piece of music, but I had to do it at the same
time as I learned how to play violin. When I was finished,
however, music had taken on a whole new dimension for me. I
hope you enjoyed these two musical stories.
In summary, it's a great feeling to
hold and play the same instrument that my grandfather had
played so many years before. I regret that I had not stuck
to the lessons so that I could have played better sooner.
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