I've been spending quite a lot of time working on tone production (bow speed, position, pressure). It's interesting how every string is different, and how your technique on every string develops differently (they came with the violin. I assume they are Tonicas, and I assume the E string is wound). 5 months ago I was bowing everything (wrongly) sul tasto thinking it sounded sweet. In those days I hated my A string. My E string never whistled, so that was fine. Letting rip on the G string was a good confidence booster. That was then.

Nowadays I love my E string - as long as the intonation is perfect, that's all that matters. The A string is fine, although perhaps a little bit powerful if I don't control it. The G string is still good, although getting a good note started immediately is sometimes tricky - gauging the right amount of pressure.

But I don't like my D string yet. I don't know why. Maybe it's because it's neither an A string nor a G string (lol), maybe the soundpoint needs careful control - should it be a little bit closer to the fingerboard like the G string? Maybe it just sounds thin compared with the powerful A string. This is too vague for me to expect advice, and everything will change over time anyway. Actually, my D string sounds better in 3rd position than in 1st position. I wonder if that means something?

I've begun vibrato. I spent 6 months learning vibrato on the oboe and so I expect to spend 6 months learning it on violin, but those slow exercises bending the first joint of your finger are not so easy with arthritis, so I may tell my teacher she'll just have to let me ad-lib that one, lol! However, exercise does alleviate arthritis, so I really should stick with it.

Learning the violin is an Odyssey.