The-Violin.com

My Story

Before I can begin my story there are three things that you need to know about me; I love the violin, running, and ice cream. In fact, once I tried to combine two at once and it didn't end well.

Okay, so it wasn't really two but rather part of all three. I was walking (not running) while carrying my violin and there was 'ice' (but unfortunately for me it wasn't very creamy). I bet you can guess where this is going, if not read on and I'll spell out my story.

It was late one winter night after an orchestra performance. The beauty of the snow falling almost made up for the freezing temperatures. Actually I was enjoying a walk in the cool air after suffering through a performance on the sweaty stuffy stage, when before I even knew what was happening I was flat on my backside. I quickly jumped up embarrassed, and realized I had landed on my violin case instead of the hard ice. Walking cautiously the rest of the way home I quickly went to my little college apartment and opened the case to see if my violin was still in tune. I thought, "Surely a fall that hard would've knocked it out of tune."

I gasped as the case opened and chunks of wood rattled inside. The face of my violin was completely smashed in, the violin had splintered into two jagged parts, and the bridge had rearranged itself. Instead of sitting proudly on top of the face of my violin holding up the strings, the bridge had cozy'd up next to the sound boards inside the violin.

No, my violin hadn't been knocked out of tune, it had been knocked completely out....ding ding ding, round over!

There were valuable lessons I learned from that hard experience. First, it pays to pay good money for a good violin case. Second, an instrument that you have given your life to in practice and performance is hard to get over (kind of like a first love). Third, having insurance on your instrument is ALWAYS a good idea.

Lastly, I discovered that a really good instrument is a wonderful tool in the right hands, but it is still the hands that are truly the instrument. In other words it is the violinist not the violin that makes the music.

Fortunately for me all of my experiences with the violin have not been that devastating. Let me tell you the rest of my story, and how I grew to love the violin. I started off squeaking on the violin. Nobody in my family wanted to stay in the room when I was practicing, yet they encouraged me. I could always count on parents and siblings attending all of my concerts.

I had a wonderful violin teacher you know the kind that looks past the squeaking and tells you, "You are awesome, you have potential". She tells you this until you realize it yourself.

I have also experienced the ups and downs of being in "dorchestra", that's what my sister and I called it. It was called dorchestra because we were all pretty much 'good kids' that studied hard, went to bed at 10:00 am, took A.P. classes, and were rarely tardy or sluffed class. (P.S. Parents, if you want good kids, enroll them in Orchestra!)

Turn the pages 10 years and I know what it's like to try so hard to practice with kids running around, a husband in a busy profession, and students of your own to teach.

Collected all together, tragedy and triumphant, these life experiences have created within me a deep and passionate love for the violin.

Join me on the-violin.com and learn for yourself how life-changing a musical instrument can be. That was 'My' Story, now it's your turn.

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