This is how a typical conversation with someone new goes. “So what do you do?” “I’m a freelance violinist, and violin teacher.” “Really?!” “Yes, really.” “That’s so cool.” Yeah, I’m cool, or crazy depending on who you talk to… I do really love being a violinist. It’s what I’ve wanted to be since the 8th grade. It hasn’t always been easy, and there have been a lot of bumps along the road. At last count I think I’ve relearned to play violin around 4 times now, but now I’m finally getting to a good place. I can actually listen to things I record, and hear the good parts of what I’m doing instead of focusing on the things that are wrong, or negative.
The last question I get is always, “so, are you any good?” I never know how to answer the question. I have two degrees in music, so yes I guess I’m pretty good. But since I mentioned that I feel better about my recordings I have something fun for today. Here’s a little recording of something that I was working on last week, an etude from Rhode number 13, that I passed last week. We were working on phrasing, and connecting sound through the phrase. Basically, matching what I’m playing to what I hear in my head while I’m playing. Enjoy!
