Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Skillz?

My violin....Gertie. Nice name, doncha think?
I'm going to introduce you to Gertie the violin. I'm going to call her Gertie because it just feels right. 

Please ignore the very ripe bananas behind Gertie. They have nothing to do with this post. 

A few facts about Gertie. She's 40+. And when the cute little violin repair guy was working on her he did some sighing. When I mentioned that he'd sighed and whistled while he worked my teacher said it was probably because he's used to working on $100,000 violins. My mom and dad love me, but I'm real sure they didn't shell out 100K for Gertie.

Gertie 1977 Instagram style...brrowowwoow
The top of the case holds my bows. I have two because the 40-year-old top one is warped and contains about twelve strands. The bottom guy is brand spanking new. The white stripes by the curly top section of the violin are my cheater tapes. Those lines are where my fingers go when I attempt to play notes. And the notes are sometimes speedy, speedy fast and very challenging. The reach can be a bit tough, too.  

Yesterday's lesson included clapping. Interesting, huh? Why would I clap during my lesson? And why would I be assigned clapping as part of my homework? Because I ain't gots no dang rhythm. Annoying, annoying, annoying. I can not get my mind wrapped around eighth notes and half notes and keeping proper time...yet...maybe the clapping will help.

This video is pretty funny. My brother shared it with me when I mentioned my violin adventure. Ha. A little language but amusing... an interesting reminder of how "nothing is new under the sun."