Last night my friends popped into the dojo to say goodbye – this is my ten year old friend who introduced me to Teacher, and her parents. They are moving to Ohio because Mom is an academic and took a new gig there. Dad is a musician, a flutist, who has encouraged me to look […]
When Hilary Hahn was 25 years old, back in 2005, she was already a big enough deal to warrant a biographical sketch on film – in Hilary Hahn: A Portrait, the tireless performer pulls back the curtain on her whirlwind lifestyle. Hahn never stops – one fact the prodigious violinist shares in the film is […]
I read recently that we humans do not acquire a taste for new music much after our younger years – the type of music we love and appreciate as we grow up with our peer group is likely to be the type of music we spend the rest of our lives enjoying. That analysis honestly […]
My new minuet is quite challenging – as I’ve mentioned, it’s a variation on an “old” Bach minuet (in G major, that minuet is itself a part of this piece too), but the challenging part is the new one. The new one modulates from G major – the third key Suzuki introduces, one with which […]
I wrote about that friendly little encounter I had with a random stranger in the elevator a few days ago, and I realized after I wrote that post that I had actually said “I play the violin” to someone – just like that, no hedging, just, “I play the violin.” I think it was the […]
I’ve been making music with my man for over 17 years now. And as of yesterday, if we want to, we can go to Birmingham, AL and get married. Or Tupelo, MS. Or Dallas, TX. I’ve been working hard for this cause for most of my adult life – I can’t believe we did it, […]
Ryan Libel: May I ask what kind of instrument that is? [eyes toward unfamiliar shaped case strapped to stranger’s back] Random Stranger: It’s an Oud. RL: Hmm! How do you spell it? RS: O-U-D pause it’s like the granddaddy of the lute. RL: Oh! Pause I play the violin. RS: Hmmm! From Wikipedia: “The oud […]
My father-in-law and brother-in-law have been visiting from Virginia this week, and last night I had the opportunity to play my violin for them for a bit. It was my second little recital ever, the first being back at Christmastime. It was a treat to get to play my instrument for my father-in-law. Faithful readers […]
In yesterday’s lesson I confessed to teacher that I probably need to change my practice method, which I’ve been using since the beginning. My method has always been to play through all the songs I know well, maybe repeating them if they give me more trouble than usual. A few songs into Book Two, I […]
Teacher was pleased with my bow hold alterations, so we are capitalizing on my ability to change at the moment – a major theme of yesterday’s lesson became corrections to my posture and mechanics of moving my bow arm. In order to accomplish what she had in mind, we located a bare wall (well, technically […]
Ryan Libel 