I woke up in the middle of the night and then again this morning with the megahit 1980s benefit song “We Are the World” running through my head. Remember? I’m not too sure I remember very much. I was a child of the 80s, but a young one. So this post is a memory test […]
I didn’t have a lesson the week of Christmas, but this week’s made up for it. In addition to Michael being home and finally getting to meet my teacher, it was my first lesson playing with my new violin. Teacher also tested it again, and it’s sounding great; I couldn’t be happier. As I mentioned […]
The driver said, “Sir?” and then, more loudly, “Sir??” I looked up and noticed only two other people on the bus – the driver and his son, about age 11, standing near his dad. The driver, looking at me in his rearview mirror, asked, “Is that an instrument?” “Yes, a violin, I’ve just had it […]
“A clever baby can become tone-deaf. It can even become a wolf. In fact, it can become just about anything, in accord with its specific environment. I firmly believe that cultural and musical aptitude does not come from within, and is not inherited, but occurs through suitable environmental conditions.” – From “Nurtured by Love: The Classic […]
I am on Cloud 9, having retrieved my new violin, a 1926 Roth Strad., from the shop late this morning. I was already completely taken with the instrument’s appearance, but most of the minor cosmetic blemishes were evened out at the shop and it’s even more beautiful now. It’s got new strings, a new bridge, […]
I just got off the phone with the luthier who’s been working on my new violin, and it’s just about ready. As I expected, I was unable to retrieve it before our big Christmas trip, so I’ve been without it for longer than I would otherwise have been. I don’t know much about exactly what […]
This Christmas trip has me away from the violin for longer than I have been since I rented it from the shop. I’m missing it, but I’m also enjoying the company of my family. It seems I share a passion for this instrument with one of my nieces, about 13 years old now. I’ve mentioned […]
Michael and I are in a hotel in Wichita, Kansas prepping for family Christmas festivities, so I thought I’d use this Musical Me moment to think about some of the Christmas albums that I have listened to over the years. But as I started to write the list, I realized it’s brief – my family […]
Yesterday as I practiced I struggled to be in tune. It was so bad I stopped half way into the session to see if the instrument was out of tune. It was not, so I had nothing to pin it on save my own fingers. Some days are harder than others! I experience the same thing while […]
When I was a child I sang. For a number of years, the children at the church I grew up in put on an annual Christmas musical, and I always participated enthusiastically, often with leading roles. One year, I was the title character in “Good King Wenceslas,” a fictionalization in musical form of the man […]
Ryan Libel 