Looking back at the week before, I noticed that there was not much "in-depth" violin language that I researched, so I took a section of week two to do so. The two websites I used were violinist.com and violinonline. Using these two websites, I divided violin vocabulary words into three sections: parts of the violin, parts of the bow, and accessories/necessities for the violin.
2. Parts of the Bow
3. Accessories/Necessities for the Violin
Bridge: The ornate, raised wood that hold up the strings in the middle of the violin. It is not glued down; it stays in place only because of the pressure of the strings.
Shoulder rest: A contraption with a cushioned bottom and plastic support that is placed on one's shoulder to help support the violin.
Mute: A small device that fits over the bridge to mute the sound of the violin.
Chin rest: A wooden device attached to the bottom-front of the violin that separates the chin from direct contact with the violin surface.
Once I knew for sure that my research was complete, I began to actually learn how to play the violin by starting some pieces! I used the same Suzuki book that was used in order to obtain the "research" I did last week. The results were...um...interesting.
I'm not sure if I can express in words as to how disgustingly squeaky I sounded the first time I attempted to play a note on the violin. I thought that now knowing the correct posture, bow hold and fingerings, the actual playing of the violin would be easy to do. Uh...let's just say that I was wrong. Wrong to the point that there were times during my first few days of violin practice where I questioned as to why I decided to choose this topic for my project. I thought that most of you would not be able to understand how bad I was at first, so here is me playing one of the first of the Suzuki Book 1 songs, "Lightly Row."
Not the best thing you ever heard, was it?
Listening to the recording taken of my violin playing, I came to the realization that I needed a lot of practice. So, unlike my original plan of slowly increasing five minutes a day, I went straight to practicing two hours daily. Through this, I was able to progress significantly quicker and was able to (kinda) get the squeaks away. This was the result of continuous practice for seven days:
It's clearly not the best playing that you will ever hear, but I think that I got right where I wanted to by the end of this week. I hope that I will have the same motivation on week three as I had on week two and will be able to continue progressing at the rate I currently am! Wish me luck! (Really though, I need it.)
HOLY BAGELS! (Sorry Allison I stole your quote) Christy, your improvement is beyong words! I never practiced when I started, so it probably took me about a year to get to where you are now. I can tell you've been practicing really hard, and that you've been practicing efficiently, which is probably the hardest part about practicing. I can't believe you put in TWO HOURS everyday for this, and at this pace you'll sound amazing by the end of the presentation! Dang, I even think you could play an intermediate piece perfectly and an advanced piece pretty well. We should set up a time so we can do a duet in Mr, Hill's room or something :D I think the Suzuki series you're using has an easy version of Bach Concerto for two violins, which is sooo fun. You've really shined your musical talent, passion, and dedication through this and I'm pretty sure others feel the same way. Keep up the great work!
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