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Gjinja
Tulsa, OK

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March 17, 2017 - 2:31 pm
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Sweet! I'm excited for you Fred, you picked out a nice one for sure! I recently received mine from them as well & I couldn't be happier!

 

I wish you many years of playing & fun on one of the best violins made! :)

"I know that the most joy in my life has come to me from my violin."

~Albert Einstein~

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Fred
Central Florida, USA

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March 17, 2017 - 2:55 pm
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Gjinja said
Sweet! I'm excited for you Fred, you picked out a nice one for sure! I recently received mine from them as well & I couldn't be happier!

I wish you many years of playing & fun on one of the best violins made! :)   

Thank you and the same to you @Gjinja!   Which violin to you get and are you a beginner as well?

And I love your Einstein quote too!

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Gjinja
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March 18, 2017 - 1:10 am
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Fred said

Thank you and the same to you @Gjinja!   Which violin to you get and are you a beginner as well?

And I love your Einstein quote too!  

Thanks, I also got a Master. Mike & I spoke in length over several calls during the shopping/buying process. After getting to know me a bit, I told him kind of what I was looking for & he picked one out for me with darker tones & some very unique firing marks on the back. I have to say he nailed it for me, it is GORGEOUS! (pics included)

Actually, I always wanted to try my hand at playing one but the first time I ever held a violin in my hands was January 14th of this year. So I am as new as new can get to this. I've played some other instruments in my youth but this is my first string. I played the guitar when I was in my 20's a bit but I was never very good at it. But I am super excited about the violin, it just feels right in my hands for some reason & I roll out of bed reaching for it every day. I hope this means it will come more natural to me than the guitar did lol.

I get the feeling you're going to be one of those people that are as excited about it as I am... good luck to you mate! I'm right there with you! :)

Oh, & thanks, yeah, Albert Einstein has always been my hero. I'm a bit of a nerd. ;)

 

ViolinFront.jpgImage EnlargerViolinBack.jpgImage EnlargerViolinRightSide.jpgImage Enlarger

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"I know that the most joy in my life has come to me from my violin."

~Albert Einstein~

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Fred
Central Florida, USA

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May 5, 2017 - 2:39 pm
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Just wanted to give a shout out to everyone!  Hope you are all doing well and enjoying your music.

I am really enjoying my music lessons and playing my violin and have already signed up for the summer semester.   Unfortunately, I won't be continuing with the same instructor.   She (Rebecca) received a full scholarship to study for her masters degree in music. So I will have a new instructor Lauren, I hope the transition to a new instructor will go smoothly.

I am having one small problem when playing.   I have large hands and fingers so I can't keep my fingers down when playing an adjacent string so I have to lift my fingers and then get them back into position quickly.  Training my fingers to lift just a little is taking a lot of practice and focus on my part.   Perhaps others have had this issue and can give me some advice.

Lastly, I miss you folks playing on Street Jelly, perhaps you all are busy with life but I hope things will pickup for you performers.

Kind regards,

Fred

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BillyG
Brora, North-east Scotland
May 5, 2017 - 2:51 pm
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Hia @Fred !   Hope all goes well with your new tutor....

As regards StreetJelly - I am so ashamed - especially with the "Strings on Sunday" spot - we are in the long, VERY long process of moving house with a lot of work to do on the new premises and I haven't managed an SJ session for over 2 months now - and I'm having withdrawal symptoms I might add !!!!

I PROMISE I'll get some time to rustle up some enthusiasm (myself and others) and we'll get back on soon....   

And by the way - thank you for your support !  Thanks !  thumbs-upthumbs-upthumbs-up

I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh - guntohead.JPG

Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)

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Fred
Central Florida, USA

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Thanks Billy and glad to hear you are well!

Hope all goes well for you with your new place and be safe in the transition!

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BillyG
Brora, North-east Scotland
May 5, 2017 - 3:07 pm
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You're welcome - and Thank You as well - once we get ourselves settled - there'll be a STORM of fiddling on SJ and well-promoted here and on FB !   Life just sometimes gets in the way, as much as I dislike when it happens - it can't be avoided....

I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh - guntohead.JPG

Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)

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Charles
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May 5, 2017 - 4:07 pm
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Fred said

I am having one small problem when playing.   I have large hands and fingers so I can't keep my fingers down when playing an adjacent string so I have to lift my fingers and then get them back into position quickly.  Training my fingers to lift just a little is taking a lot of practice and focus on my part.   Perhaps others have had this issue and can give me some advice.

I have the same issue, so I think I'll have a few tips you'll find useful. First is the issue where you don't want one finger to affect the string next to it. (To put salt on its tail, lets say it's D on the A string and F# on the D string.)  Play the D (note) with the bass-side corner of your 3rd finger (the left corner) to make sure it stays off the D string.

Since you're playing the F# on the D string with your 2nd finger, higher up, it doesn't really matter whether you touch one of the other strings or not. You generally get a cleaner note if you use the corners of your fingertips, so it's good practice to do that even when you don't have to, but the exact position of the higher finger is a lot less critical.

For the opposite case, where the third finger is on the lower-pitched string, you just reverse which corner you use. You use the right (the treble-side) corner of your fingertip. (Squeezing another finger on the higher (more-treble) string is not so easy - you'll have to work out ways to do that on your own.)

For the case where both notes are at the same place - a G and D (on the D and A strings, respectively), you don't move the finger at all. You play both notes at once. You take advantage of having big fingers, and you put the center of the finger in the middle, between the two strings, and let one corner of the fingertip cover each string.  Since your hand isn't parallel to the strings, it may need to be slightly off center to cover them both well once it's pressed down, but you should be able to get a good, solid depression of both strings. At most, you might need to rock your fingertip slightly to one side or the other. (Hope you don't, because if you're playing double-stops, rocking from side to side won't work.)

There's one case that's tricky, when you're trying to go from one position on one string to a very close position on the next (like high 3rd on the A string to low 3rd on the D). Because of the interval involved, that's not common, but it will happen from time to time.  Use what I said above about the corners of the fingertips. It will be a tight squeeze, but it is possible. 

On the flip side, sometimes, yes, you DO need to pick your fingers up and put them down on the next string over quickly, so keep practicing that. Just remember to practice it slowly enough - you're training your brain and muscles to make that motion, remember: the worst thing you can do is train them to do it wrong by trying to go faster than they're currently capable of. Speed comes automatically - do it at the fastest speed that's easy.  (And ask Pierre on that if you don't believe me. :) )

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Fred
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May 5, 2017 - 4:40 pm
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WOW!!! Thank you Charles for this excellent advice, I printed your reply out so I can study it while trying to implement your suggestions.

I really appreciate your input - thanks again!

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Charles
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I had to make one small edit. At the end of the first paragraph, I had "to make sure it stays off the A string", which didn't make sense,  because you were playing the A string. It now says D string like it should.

Also, for clarity: everywhere where it says "right" or "left", that's as you're looking at your hand in playing position (and assumes you're playing a right-handed instrument. :) )

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Fred
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Charles said
I had to make one small edit. At the end of the first paragraph, I had "to make sure it stays off the A string", which didn't make sense,  because you were playing the A string. It now says D string like it should.

Also, for clarity: everywhere where it says "right" or "left", that's as you're looking at your hand in playing position (and assumes you're playing a right-handed instrument. :) )  

Thank you Charles, I hadn't even noticed the error cause I knew what you were saying to do.

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coolpinkone
California, the place of my heart
May 18, 2017 - 1:02 pm
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@Fred 

How exciting to get your violin.  It's beautiful.

When I was picking out my Ming from the Fiddlershop, I got to pick from many played by Pierre.   I wish I knew which one and had that video now.

Good times.

Congrats.

Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato

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Fred
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May 19, 2017 - 4:59 pm
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coolpinkone said
@Fred 

How exciting to get your violin.  It's beautiful.

When I was picking out my Ming from the Fiddlershop, I got to pick from many played by Pierre.   I wish I knew which one and had that video now.

Good times.

Congrats.  

Thank you very much Toni!

You can do a search on YouTube if that's where the video was published...hope you can find it!

I love my Master violin and I'm so glad I purchased this one.   I practice every chance I get both formally and while I'm watching television (HaHa!).   If I could bring it with me wherever I go I would.    The sound of a good instrument is invaluable when learning and my teacher was quite impressed with its tonal quality.   I only wish I could take lessons 3 times a week instead of just once, that's how much I am enjoying this beautiful violin.

However, I'm currently talking with Michael on an upgrade which I will post when I have made my final decision.

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