Thanks Terry.

Yep, you caught me.  I start in the middle to upper parts of the bow because when I get down towards the frog my bowing gets nervous, bouncy, and unsure.

Some self-crtiques of mine:

Too much upper arm and not enough wrist flexibility.

Poor intonation, especially around the c/c# area on the A string.

Gripping the neck with my left hand and a poor hold in general.

Any suggestions are always welcomed.  

Wow Steve, that's quite a compliment.  Thank you.  A slight self-esteem boost can go a long way.

I have never played an instrument before I start last March just before my 24th birthday.  I don't come from a musical family, so I was never pushed in that direction, but something about the fiddle draws me too it.  I learned on my own for a few months before taking ten 1/2 hour lessons last summer from a very gifted player about my own age.  I learned a lot from him.  Since then I have been on my own again, but am I thinking about taking some more lessons this coming spring.

As far as practice goes, I do put in a lot of hours.  I don't really set down a specific time allotment.  I just leave the instrument out and play it off and on all day when not at work.  I would estimate that I played/practiced for about ten hours over this past Saturday and Sunday.  It's strictly for enjoyment, however.  I have no plans of trying to play professionally.  If it ever became a chore, I think I would give it up.

Thanks again.

And Pfish, I just spent a half hour working on posture and proper arm mechanics.  It's like learning to walk all over again.

Thanks, Mt. Fiddler.  I am very happy with so far.  The only thing holding it back is me.  But how did you know I am applied to be an usher at Carnegie Hall?

Thanks about the lighting, etc.  It's awesome working at a place like where I work because A: Lots of down time and B: Lots of cool/expensive gear I can play with.  It's nice having a job that I look forward to going to each day.

The microphone is a Sennheiser brand shotgun mic.  I don't know the exact specs, but it's mostly for recording dialogue.  I actually think it did the violin little justice, but I believe this was more of a position issue rather than a technical flaw.  I had it point right at the point where the bow touches the stings and it picked up a lot of the nastiness that the player hears.  Of course, my playing didn't help much either.   I will experiment.

Thank you, Ozmous.  I think I was a little long winded and could have been more succinct, but it was my first time...  

I definitely get tense when I play.  I guess it is because I am concentrating on so many things that I forget to relax.  This video made me realize how bad it was.

Thanks, Fiddlestix.  Yeah the "Blue River Waltz" is awesome.  Jay Unger can write a tune.  I've been attempting another of his pieces, "Ashokan Farewell."  It's a beautiful little number too.

I'm not sure what you mean by, "run it through YouTube?"