Violin Anyone?

So this is my friend Natalie. She is pretty much amazing and a better musician than I could ever hope to be. Doesn't she have an aura of professionalism?

And this is me. I have no Idea what I’m doing and I just walked into the HFAC, BYU’s performing arts headquarters, for the first time. Deer in the headlights? I think yes.

(trying not to go cross-eyed)

This little adventure has taught a few things

1. finding a quiet, secluded place to practice is next to impossible. We walked through a few floors in the HFAC and finally decided to just play in the stairwell (this provided the uncomfortable component, as I would rather not have witnesses to my embarrassment, but you do what you gotta do).
2. a violin is not held perpendicular to the shoulder bone, it’s at a slight angle
3. when they say rest your chin on the violin, they don’t mean lay half your face on it
4. holding a violin’s bow is more complicated than holding a baseball bat, and nothing like holding a cello’s bow (my brother plays the cello, so I tried to mimic that, but it didn’t work)
5. putting your finger lower on the string make the pitch higher (I already knew this in theory, but in practice, my brain died)
6. It doesn’t work if you move the bow over the wrong string
7. it’s difficult to differentiate strings when your crossed eyed
8. even holding a violin for a few minutes makes your arm hurt because people don’t usually use the muscles in that way

(Oh look, now I'm smiling)

I definitely have a renewed respect for musicians. I was able to make my way through “Hot Cross Buns” because it’s a very simple piece with only three notes that only requires one string, but people like Natalie use all the strings and work through difficult pieces everyday. Right now, I couldn't show you how to hold a bow. Natalie had to correct me over and over, by physically moving my fingers into the right position, with the right amount of bending. I had her get the camera out of my backpack, so I didn't have to start all over again with just holding the bow. Needless to say, you probably won’t be seeing me play in an orchestra anytime soon.

(My apologies, the page break icon doesn't appear on my list of icons)