violin

we often ascribe the resigned argument of temporary insanity to a number of wild and irrational paths we find ourselves following. one such severe and particularly blinding episode occurred in december last year when a serendipitous encounter with a music teacher, together with an entirely unreasonable potential for dreaming and a complete lack of talent culminated in the commencement of violin lessons.
prior to any such instruction, the acquisition of said instrument was necessary. to this end I was dispatched in the direction of a music shop in brixton who were having a sale on their strings. after some sheepish conversation with a smug shop assistant, who pointedly asked whether I would like to test the instrument prior to purchase when I had already made it very clear I did not know how to pick the thing up, the violin was procured. also in the shopping basket was the necessary instructional material, as well as a (still) hopelessly inaccessible book of sheet music for the corrs. the aforementioned gaelic minstrels had captured my imagination and ignited my passion for the cryptic instrument which is (thankfully) continuing to test my skill and interest.
happily, my maiden lesson culminated in the recognition of several well-desired goals. handling of both violin and bow had been firmly, if uncomfortably established. orientation of violin in all directions was also clarified, as was the identification of all four strings and their corresponding notation. of course, in unbridled eagerness I had rushed home from the music store, brandishing bow and violin in most distasteful fashion, and had attempted to produce the rich, smooth melodious sound I had dreamt about for so long. one can imagine my distaste, then, when nothing but a faint scratching sound resonated from the strings. I am happy to report that my first lesson also clarified the key fact that new bows require copious rubbing with a somewhat sticky substance known as rosin in order to produce any semblance of a note.
ah, the revelations of my first lesson are so distant now... the effortless grace with which sharon corr whisks through her arpeggios and hooked bows was to remain elusive. said manoeuvres, whose theoretical simplicity belie years of practical penitence, are beginning to take root in my repertoire, but the violin remains a difficult instrument.
fundamental to the explanation of my woes is the absence of frets on the orchestral string instruments. while equally descriptive of my emotional state during music lessons, frets are the transverse bands on guitar fingerboards which allow guitarists to effortlessly find the right notes, while violinists (for reasons that are still obscure) must make complicated mental estimates of where to depress the strings, based on relative finger widths. this fact explains why beginner violinists, apart from emulating lactating goats, play notes off key so frequently. one can only speculate at the reasons for this design curiosity.