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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