Author Archives: Ryan Libel
Party Quotes
“My book is about two women: musicians.” “Many composers – Mozart, Beethoven – wrote for flute and violin.” “I hear you’re really falling in love with opera.” “They call it ‘playing’ at Capoeira, because of the music, right?” “It seems like when you clap long enough people start clapping in unison.” “Are you going to […]
Relaxation and Grace
In Wednesday’s lesson, we returned to the issue of relaxing my bow hold. Getting this hold right is an iterative process; the nuances are myriad, and as I improve I’m realizing that there’s definitely an art to it. It’s more paintbrush than exact-o-knife. Any unnecessary tension held in the hand and arm are reflected in […]
Jazzing up a Space
“Do you all want any music?” I’m at a prestigious downtown law firm way up high in one of the most stunning spaces in Chicago getting ready for an event. In an hour I’ll give a presentation about my school’s work, as well as travel safety for a crowd of about 60 well-heeled corporate folks. Presently, […]
My Danny Boy
Yesterday’s post concluded with the promise that I was going to try to “pick out” Danny Boy on my violin. I’ve done exactly that with some other songs I’ve wanted to play – Ode to Joy, It Is Well with My Soul, and Oh Holy Night. But in all of those cases it was a […]
Danny Boy
Who doesn’t love the old Irish tune Danny Boy? The most visceral rendition I’ve heard was actually live – I was privileged to be able to see renowned Irish flutist Sir James Galway play the classic with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra way back in high school. Galway brought the house down. I’m always interested to […]
Girls Girls Girls
This morning my thoughts are turning to folksy women – Tracy Chapman and The Indigo Girls. The artists were significant to me when I was a young adult, and I still very much enjoy their voices and their style of music. It occurs to me that I know nothing about what they’ve been up to […]
A Debutante at 100
This is my 100th post on Musical Me, happening on the five month anniversary of the blog’s creation. To mark the moment, I’ve finally decided to come out about this project, so welcome to you! I do not blog about blogging – this is a first. But on the occasion of my 100th post, retrospection […]
Moisture and a Minuet
As the Chicago winter has worn on, mercilessly, the air has been dry. Cold air is always dry, but the hygrometer in my new violin case provides some data – when the case arrived, it read about 30% humidity, but within two days it read 0% humidity. It stayed there, and I actually began to […]
High Three
I’ve posted on low second finger, a necessary feature of playing in G major on the A and E strings. Low 2 is coming along. I do struggle with being in tune, so I’m drilling a lot of G major scales and arpeggios to try to train my fingers into the low 2 groove. Of […]
The Vieuxtemps Guarneri
The Vieuxtemps Guarneri is a 1741 instrument that recently found a new home with premier violinist Anne Akiko Meyers. The new, unnamed owner of the instrument worked out a deal with Meyers whereby it is on loan to her for the rest of the musician’s life – one of the conditions on which she made […]
Ryan Libel 