Thank you Steve! I've had a violin since September, but didn't really give it much attention until about a month ago. I gave up smoking several months ago and have replaced that habit with playing music (it's only a tad cheaper, lol) and have been trying to figure out what I enjoy playing. I'm slowly realizing that the violin is probably one of the more difficult instruments to learn but the payoff is much higher. I've also been playing the mandolin, and guitar more steadily.

I'm doing it on my own. I played brass instruments in school and have retained a small amount of knowledge from that (mainly reading music and practice habits).

Thank you Kevin! In my quitting process I did some research and found something that said that nicotine hits that pleasure center of your brain, kinda like a reward system. So once the chemical addiction passed (took me about 3 weeks), it was all psychological. So I did some deep thinking about what has brought me the most joy in my existence and the answer was MUSIC! I just played a lot of whatever was closest to me for about 2 months when I had a craving and eventually the cravings mostly stopped (I believe weird cravings will probably crop up for the rest of my life, but I know it will pass and isn't an issue.) My wife smokes, kids and their spouses smoke...went to a wedding recently where I met up with some Army buddies, who mostly still smoke...not one craving (well, except while on the airplane). I might not be a very talented musician, but I can honestly say that playing the fiddle has made me healthy, wealthy and...er...happy!