Happy Holidays

[Megan]

I guess that's a good start, but the speakers you are listening through and all kinds of other things will affect what you hear. I got my present violin about 10 years ago, and it was about $6000. I think it was overpriced, but it is a good instrument. Not fit for a true professional, really, but it's more than good enough for what I am able to torture out of it

$6000 Wow, what a treasure to behold.

Do you mean professionals go higher than that price ?


Actually right now I am practicing slurs and broken slurs.
I am finding slurring from E to D a bit tricky .
Though I can play the Skye Boat Song reasonably fluently.
,

[Chris]

$6000 Wow, what a treasure to behold.

Do you mean professionals go higher than that price ?

Oh yes, a professional playing in a good orchestra will likely play a violin that costs tens of thousands of dollars. I know a man who paid for $70,000 for his violin and then another $15,000 for his bow! The top soloists in the world have instruments worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But like I said, you can get a very nice violin for a few thousand dollars if you know what you are doing. My violin would have served me well in college if I'd decided to major in violin.

Actually right now I am practicing slurs and broken slurs.
I am finding slurring from E to D a bit tricky .
Though I can play the Sky Boat Song reasonably fluently.
,

Well, keep at it! How long have you been playing?

[Megan]

Oh yes, a professional playing in a good orchestra will likely play a violin that costs tens of thousands of dollars. I know a man who paid for $70,000 for his violin and then another $15,000 for his bow! The top soloists in the world have instruments worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. But like I said, you can get a very nice violin for a few thousand dollars if you know what you are doing. My violin would have served me well in college if I'd decided to major in violin.



Well, keep at it! How long have you been playing?

I started private tuition in violin lessons from scratch last September, as a mature student and very much enoying it.
My tutor is encouraging me to start my grades at Easter, but I don't feel ready yet.

[heidi]

I started private tuition in violin lessons from scratch last September, as a mature student and very much enoying it.
My tutor is encouraging me to start my grades at Easter, but I don't feel ready yet.

I think that is great that you took up an insturment. I started taking piano lessons four years ago (at 40) and am still taking them. I inherited my Grandmothers's piano and dicided I would learn how to play too. Both my daughters were taking music classes (one flute, one violin) in school but alas when the reached high school they stopped. I have come pretty far and have played at a few recitels, although I am one of very few adaults that have the nerve to do it. Last year I was the only adult. It's something I like to do to keep challanging myself and it also gives me a better appreciation to those who can play well. I hope you stick with it. I know I get very discouraged at times but I keep trying. I want to master a Beethoven Sonata (a simple one of course). Right now I can play some of his Sonatinas.

Has anyone else in the forum taken up an insturment as an adult? I'd love to hear about it.

Heidi

[Arno]

Heidi,

At 30 I started playing violin. Six years later I became a member of an amateur symphony orchestra. At 38 I switched to the viola. I'm now playing the viola in the orchestra. We did some Beethoven: symphony #1, piano concerto #3, both romances for violin and orchestra, ouvertures Coriolan and Egmont, allegretto of symphony #7.

Arno