IT'S HERE!!!

No name yet but i will think of one soon.  I took it out for a spin earlier and played for around 30 minutes; already it sounds lovely.  So easy to play, nice tone and i can't wait to hear it in a few months once it's settled in.

Playing this does make me realize how much of a crutch those tapes on my suzuki are, at first with no crutch to lean on i was all over the place, flat, sharp and just generally sounded uncomfortable.  Then i played a few scales to get in place and played the piece i'm working on, yes there were flat and sharp notes, but only because my hands do that all the time.  I have tiny hands and reaching on a full sized violin is a stretch; plus i was in the middle of a raynauds attack so i tend to only feel pain in my hands at that point, it doesn't make for good playing.   

I'll try to do a video of a few pieces over the weekend once i've gotten a bit more used to playing crutch-less.  So far i am thrilled with the violin, with the new case (it's beautiful) and the fact fiddler shop included one of their nice violin bags for me.  

My new violin has a new name: Pietro.

It's taking me a while to really get used to it, it's not so much different than my suzuki but it is different.  The first few days with it the A and E pegs were stuck solid, i tried to move them but couldn't so i played the first few days with slightly out of tune A and E.  A few days in ohios dry air and they're moving again  When i next change strings i'll pop some peg stuff n them to keep them moving during the humid summer.  

Playing with those tapes on the suzuki is definitely noticeable when they're not there.  Even if i don't look at my hands when i play to check for finger placement i'm feeling the tapes with my fingers.  It's making getting used to playing without them on a challenge but after a week of playing every day i think i'm getting better at it.  For this reason i won't be taking my new violin to my lessons, i know my teacher will insist on the tapes and i don't want them on the new one!

I've been trying to get a good video of Concerto No. 5 in D Major, Op. 22, 1st Movement (F. Seitz) That i've been working on for over a month now.  I just can't get a good video.  Until i'm happy with what i record for that piece i won't be posting a video of it.  I'm trying to speed it up but my fingers won't move fast enough; i'm getting nerve damage in my hands due to a condition i have and it makes having good dexterity pretty tough.

That being said i'm okay posting a video of the new piece i'm working on.  Been on it for the last week, i'm only doing the first page of it right now and please cover your ears for the double stop awfulness that comes in near the start.  I really need a book with exercises for double stops, i'm terrible at it!  So here is a bad, awful practice version ofConcerto No. 2 in G Major, Op. 13, 3rd Movement (F. Seitz); there are many mistakes and even more bad playing but i'm working on it!  It's a pretty piece and hopefully one day i'll be able to play it prettily.  And yes, my face in the video still says it all really

https://youtu.be/Ifx69hK2Kj8

Another thing that has cropped up recently is a lot of bow bouncing, i'm not sure if it's my bow hold thats changed (probably yes) or something else (i've had a horribly stiff neck on the right side for a week now) but I'm my next practice i'll concentrate on that and see if i can't fix it.

damfino said
I'll give the video a listen when I get home from work

I bet it's more that you are just psyching yourself out about not having the tapes. I bet if you get yourself to just not think about it, your fingers will find their place, after all, even with the tapes they have to know where they belong to find them. My teacher is all about not using tapes if at all possible. For me, it worked to do scales backwards to really train my fingers where they belonged (and to show myself I could do it) but then again I'm still only in first position. 

 

For bow bouncing, I find I do unconsciously adjust my hold when I'm getting pain from something, for example I was getting pain in my pinky finger of my bow hand (it got broke in my teens, so no major injuries, but enough to make it ache sometimes) and without realizing it I had started holding my bow without using my pinky to balance it. Now if my bow is making weird sounds I realizing it's because my hand is compensating for pain I hadn't even been thinking about. 

Fair warning, the video is awful

I probably am psyching myself out; i'm going to spend more time doing scales and exercises for intonation to get my hand used to the placement.  My teacher likes to use tapes because she watches her students hands and if my fingers are even a little off she mentions it.  I'm doing scales in first, third and fifth position, so i think it'll definitely help to just run scales and do the exercises in the scale book for a while.

I noticed when i was practicing that my pinky finger was straight and tense, i'm not sure when this change happened but i was playing with it fairly relaxed and bent.  I'll have to recheck my right hand position when i practice and make changes where necessary.  I've broken both my pinkies over the years, they're both bent oddly because i've broken so many fingers that i rarely go to the hospital to have them looked at, i tend to just tape them and hope they heal.  Both of mine have healed with a slight bend towards my ring fingers, it makes stretching my left pinky quite difficult, especially on extended 4th notes.  Both of my hands are always in pain so it's not me compensating for pain as i've had it so long i'm kind of used to it now.

Fidelestre said
Beautiful violin! - it must feel great to be playing it. The piece you posted is not bad at all, considering you've only been working on it for a week and you're still getting used to not having the finger tapes.

It is a lovely violin.  Very pretty and has a nice tone, i hope one day i will be worthy of it.

You're far too kind, it was a disaster but it can only get better.

damfino said
I've been wanting to try out a Bonmusica, or something similar. Something in my chin rest/shoulder rest set up doesn't feel totally comfortable to me, and I think it's more the shoulder rest. I wish I could play without one at all... when I use my Playonair shoulder rest, I like the freedom it gives, and it feels like my fourth finger reaches its mark so much easier... but when I use it I get a sore neck, lol, so I always end up going back to my everest for the height. 

But I'm interested to see what you think of the Bonmusica as you use it more  

It's a nice shoulder rest.  It's odd though, it's so adjustable that i'll think i have it set just right and i'll be fine playing on it for my practice; then i'll come to play the next day and it'll feel odd and i have to readjust.  I've noticed if i wear just a t shirt one day and then a sweater the next i'll have to re-adjust slightly which is kind a pain.  

the pain in my shoulder hasn't gone away either, but i do have back pain a lot of the time so it might be a trip to the chiropractor to see if maybe my misaligned back is affecting my shoulder.

I looked at the playonair shoulder rest, they look interesting.  Given the choice i'd like to learn to be able to play without a shoulder rest just too see what kind of freedom it offers.

Fiddlerman said

mischa91 said
Thank you!
This violin is a beast, the sound produced is getting better and better every day.  I have found that i don't have to press as hard, it's a very different experience than playing my suzuki.  

I'm not sure which you put on, how can i tell?  I still have the paperwork that came in the box so i can check to see if it mentions which strings are on.  I' be happy to try the vision strings out of there on dominants on now and give a review.

Strangely getting this new violin seems to have made my mother a little more respectful of my playing; she's asked me to play the new one for her so she can see how it sounds.  I told her i'd need to get used to how it handles before i let her listen and that she isn't allowed to make comments of judgements.  I think she was okay with that.

Yeeeee Haaaaaa!!!! Great news. Happy to hear it.

Call me at fiddlershop about the strings.

Also last night my teacher said she could tell i'd been practicing  I took my suzuki along to the lesson because i'd rather she didn't put those tapes onto Pietro but apparently playing my new baby is making me able to play the suzuki better.  Win Win i'd say!  

Win win is right!

Thanks, i'll be in touch when i get a few spare minutes at work.