Strads

We have some choir concerts coming up this weekend and last Saturday I decided to practice after I gave violin lessons. Instead of working on the songs we're singing I played my violin for 3 hours straight. It felt so good. I really need to practice more, but I have a hard time feeling inspired to practice since I can tell I need violin lessons to help me know what to work on and fix. Either way, I can tell I'm getting better the more I play. Hopefully I can afford a new violin this summer too!! That's the goal. Pay off the car in May and put the money towards a new violin. :D I've actually outgrown my violin to the point I can literally tell. I just know I'd sound better on a better instrument. Is that weird knowing you're better than your instrument? I want to feel what it's like to play without feeling limited by the violin.

This brings up a very fond memory of a visit to Peter Prier and Sons when I was in High School. I needed a new violin bow and we decided to go there to ensure I had a good quality bow. And I have to say, my bow is awesome. It made my playing sound four times better than with my retarded student bow that would bend and warp when I played. I got a carbon fiber JonPaul bow, the Bravo and I'd seriously consider getting a JonPaul bow again. As a random side note, check out how many violinists use their bows. The violinist for the Rascal Flatts uses it. How cool is that?

In this trip to buy a violin bow the sales girl was super nice and asked if I was looking into upgrading my violin. I told her I would be in a couple years (it's been a few more now than just a couple...) and she offered to show me one she thought I would enjoy. She says she'd be a moment because she has to open the safe and disappears. When she came back she handed me a violin and bow and told me to try it out. AMAZING. That's all it was. The violin was soooo light weight and the sound was so pure and so sweet that I didn't know I could sound that good. Then she told me about the bow, it was from the 17th or 18th century (I don't remember which) and was worth somewhere from 4-6 thousand from what I recall. That's when my jaw hit the ground.

But the real bombshell was the violin itself. I was holding a violin made my Antonio Stradivarius named the Mackenzie worth anywhere to 4 Million Dollars. I was too nervous to really play well at that point I was so much in awe and in fear of breaking it if it were to slip from my trembling fingers. When she took it back she said that she had another violin to show me and came back with a second Stradivarius violin! I loved the second one even more and I don't even know what it was called. But it had such a rich mellow sound that I knew I wanted a violin that sounded like that. I loved just holding it, I didn't even have to play it. Just knowing I was holding a Strad was enough for me.

When she took that one away she brought out one that was closer to my own price range that was made in their violin workshop. I certainly felt like I had to work back down to my own instrument. My poor student violin that I've played since 5th grade just can't compare to a Strad. Even the student-made violin was so much better than mine, it made me wish I could upgrade my violin right there and then. In one afternoon I had played instruments worth over 8 million dollars combined. I certainly can't wait until I can go back. Right now they have another Stradivarius violin the Firebird which I have pictured below. Do you know how much I wish I could just go and play it for a while?

Why do violists stand for long periods of time outside of people's houses?

They can't find the key and they don't know when to come in.