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TheWinterStorm — My Violin
Published: 2009-07-07 10:37:08 +0000 UTC; Views: 1592; Favourites: 17; Downloads: 441
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own photographyI found the first violin my Dad bought me when I was 4!
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Comments: 21
This perspective captures a wonderful sense of nostalgia I think
Cheers!
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You can play violin? Wow, it means that you have a good hearing, since the violin is one of the hardest instruments to learn. It is said that if you are a virtuoso on a violin, you can play almost any other instrument. Nice pic, though
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yeah, I haven't played in almost a year though.
and thanks!
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the bridge is actually kinda pretty.. i mean the pattern on it..
we sold my first violin 
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Not for a year but recently I've restarted. I've played since I was 4 so its kinda second nature now (if that's the right phrase to use)
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i started when i was 6 and gave up when i was 13. most teachers dont know how to teach people who dont want to do grades tbh. im hoping to start again in the summer though and apparently she gave up and started again... maybe it'll be better. i just want to play for my enjoyment. its hard to play without music though... going to the folk festival on the weekend made me want to play it again.
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cool! did you have private or school lessons (like when the teacher comes in once a week?)
There were so many times when I wanted to quit but I had such an incredible violin teacher, Liz Pugh. Quite possibly the most amazing teacher ever!! She really inspired me to carry on playing
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had school lessons and then my teacher went private, so i had private lessons. they were always once a week and pretty much individual even at school so it never mattered. then she just gave up.
where's she based? i never wanted to quit... i more didnt have a choice. i didnt practice all that much though. i find it hard getting motivated to practice... what kind of music did you do?
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She's based in cardiff, lakeside to be precise but she teaches mainly north cardiff.
I did the typical classical stuff and orchestral pieces. It kinda went downhill when I moved to scotland, ironically the string section there was the tiniest part of the orchestra and the majority were brass! So we had a 5 piece ensemble. I got to do solo performance at events and stuff which was fun, but when I moved back down to oxfordshire it was difficult to keep the motivation up, what with my alevels and coursework.
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ah ok
i did the stuff you do for grades. you could hardly call it classical :-/ more just plain crap. i did the county orchestra thing for a bit too. we had strings, brass & wind, and then a junior section brass & wind i think... so yeah, the strings were the smallest part here too. i hate performing. i hate solos... i like to play for my own enjoyment more than anything. that was the worst part about steel pans was we were expected to do concerts and that. solo-ing on a) 2 pans b) ones which are designed primarily for playing chords isnt that easy, not when you hate performing... i gave up violin coz my teacher stopped teaching. plus she seemed to always expect me to go back to playing grades. its just not what i want. i dont mind playing with people if its just for us, just no performances and no grades and no pressure. pressure defeats the point of playing the instrument.
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I did grades too, stopped at 7. I loved orchestra, dunno why, guess perfomances can be fun!
I think that the problem with grades, like you say is the pressure. they're useful for learning step by step, but I'd get soo stressed for exams. Not really good for a primary school child.
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each to their own... i think i'd prefer to get to stage where im confident before starting performances though. i think i'd enjoy it if i felt like i was good at playing the instrument, but when you're at that age what is the point :-/ everyone is at different levels and so it doesnt sound good... there's always so much pressure before the concerts because its not been well enough organised. just wasnt fun... i think i'd enjoy playing classical music if i ever got good enough. i guess its my dream to play Vivaldi's Four Seasons on the violin.. heh... at 2 i heard Nigel Kennedy's version on the radio & decided i wanted to learn the violin 
i stopped after grade 2. i dont see how all that worry before going into a grade is really necessary, and i wasnt playing the kind of music i was interested in. i think grades restrict you to much.
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Grades can be restrictive I guess, but they are good for technical skills. Scales, etc develop with the grades plus if you're registered with the music boards it can lead to oportunities.
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yeah but you can learn those things without doing grades. you just have to dedicate time to it. i dont want opportunities, i want enjoyment.
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I see what you mean, I guess I feel that a qualification kinda makes me feel better. Does that make sense? Its probably some mental crutch
I do however love composing and randomly playing by ear, especialy with a piano.
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i guess. thing is with me, is that just because i got grade 2 doesnt mean im at grade 2 level. i'd rather just play what i want to play. things which interest me.
i dont think composing has ever really interested me. i want to play music i like for myself.
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