Author Archives: Ryan Libel
Tchaikovsky and Sayaka Shoji
I’ve become obsessed with Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. This morning I woke up with one of the strong melody lines running through my head, much to my delight. Since reading Lois Shepheard’s memoir of Suzuki, I have taken to heart the notion that I must listen to good violin music if I ever hope to play […]
“This Is Going to Be a Nice Instrument”
I took my new violin to the shop Teacher recommended. It’s not conveniently located for me at all, but the moment I met the man at the helm I knew it was worth the trek and that Teacher had not steered me wrong. I plopped the instrument on the counter, told him that I’d received […]
Oh Holy Night
Well after writing that post about Christmas Music the other day I couldn’t get Oh Holy Night out of my head. I practiced my usual repertoire for over an hour in the morning yesterday, but upon returning from the grocery story in the afternoon I became obsessed with picking out the holiday tune on the […]
The Dream Man
My Granny Pat was a twin; she and my Auntie Bob were born around the turn of the 20th century in rural Texas. The twins were so small at birth the family says they were bundled up inside the house’s stove as a sort of early incubator. She was my Papa’s mother, my mother’s grandmother, […]
Christmas Music
Growing up I loved Christmas music – when I was a churchgoer the music was the marker of a true holy-day – we sang in special programs and in the worship services, and the music resonated with me deeply. But sometime after I stopped being a believer, the whole season took on an air of […]
Assessment and Progress
I showed my new violin to Teacher at my lesson yesterday. She played it for me (I have no ability to test an instrument), and it sounded great. The 87 year old violin has a couple of things that need repaired, in addition to having the bow re-haired. I’m also contemplating replacing the very old […]
My New Violin
My new violin arrived yesterday. It’s German, a 1926 Ernst Heinrich Roth Stradivarius 1714 (I think) copy that my father-in-law has had since 1948, though he hasn’t played it since the mid 1950s. He purchased it with the help of his beloved music teacher, Virginia Franks, at a good shop in High Point, North Carolina. […]
Lament, Excitement
My work life is crazy busy right now; it always is at the end of the year. Sadly this past week, I found that too many twelve hour days can be incompatible with other pursuits. For the first time since I brought it home, I went two days without playing the violin. I don’t want […]
Music and Wellness
I often write for my organization’s e-newsletter. One of our features is “Violence Prevention Field Notes” – the issue we’re releasing next Friday will contain this: Last month, I was co-teaching a wellness workshop with a colleague for a group of pre and neo-natal service providers from Ounce of Prevention, a local non-profit organization. One of our […]
Foundations
I feel very fortunate to have had three years or so of music before the “critical period” of my brain’s development. I know that most adult beginners struggle quite a bit more than I am struggling, and the only reason in the world for that is my earlier start, though I have almost no active […]
Ryan Libel 