« Extra Baggage and the Enjoyment of the Trip
Main
Scribal Schools in Canaan »
May 19, 2008
The Violinist
I wrote the paragraph below as part of a much longer draft that I decided not to post but I do think it fun, so I'm posting it here.
I started studying the violin when I was in the third grade. By the time I reached the sixth grade, I represented my elementary school in the All Los Angeles School District Elementary School Orchestra; first violin, third row, first chair if I remember correctly (and I may not). There were over one hundred violins from all over the sprawling district in that orchestra. We played two or three concerts at the old Los Angeles Philharmonic Auditorium. And from those triumphant days, my career was all downhill. Upon graduation from elementary school, I moved from first violin, first row, second chair of my local junior high orchestra, to the second row, to second violin, second row, to second violin, third row, and by the time I was in high school I was "promoted" to the viola. Now, I loved the orchestra; I loved the violin and the viola; I even enjoyed practicing. But I peaked in the sixth grade and I never got any better. Why? I am nearly tone deaf. I was never able to tune my instrument reliably from an external pitch. Oh, I came close on occasion and because of the physics of beat notes, I was able to tune the four strings so they were consistent each with the other. But without help, I just couldn't tune to the orchestra. Sometimes I got help. Sometimes I got lucky. If the orchestra teacher gave me a frown, I'd play softer. Sometimes the orchestra teacher kindly turned his ear in some other direction. But that wasn't all of it. The violin requires constant attention to pitch. Good violinists can come extremely close to the right note with the dexterous placement of their fingers. Great violinists, directed by their ear and the flow of the music, subtly move their fingers to the perfect note. I'm not talking about vibrato. Bad violinists, as I was, use vibrato to hide the fact that they may not have quite hit the note. Great violinists use vibrato to enrich exactly the correct note. Even with my instrument properly tuned I still couldn't be sure I had hit any note and as often as not I didn't. But with what some may consider a handicap, I still love and appreciate music, particularly classical music. I know more about it than many people. I'll go to almost any concert. I did give my violin away a few years ago and at my wife's loving suggestion, I have begun to sing a little more softly at birthday parties. She's been suggesting this for a very long time.
Posted by Duane Smith at May 19, 2008 3:09 PM | Read more on Odds and Ends |
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.telecomtally.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2505
Comments
Maybe you should have switched to a fretted instrument, like a guitar.
Posted by: Aydin at May 21, 2008 12:04 PM
Post a comment
Please read Abnormal Interest's Comments Policy.